Going to town

We live close to Naresuan University which is about 10 km from downtown Phitsanulok, a busy city of about 90,000 in central Thailand. There are numerous little villages between us and the city which makes it seem like all urban area, but it really seems quite rural around our house with all the cackling chickens, honking geese, and banana groves around us. Phitsanulok is not in the tourist routes of Thailand so there are not many conveniences here for English speaking-only Falang (whites). But the people are very gracious and helpful.

Yesterday morning we ventured out to catch the number 12 bus from the university to downtown. We got to the bus stop in front of the university hospital at about 7:20 and after a while a 12 bus stopped. We told the conductor we wanted to go to the railway station (in the downtown centre). After a while she figured out what we wanted and she shook her head and she showed us her route schedule and pointed to the next arrival time at 7:50. So we waited. Shortly a pleasant little Thai lady came walking along the sidewalk. In very minimal English she greeted us and asked us where we were from. Then she asked us where we were going. We told her we wanted to go into the city and were trying to get the bus into the city. She did not know about the buses but she kindly went across the street to ask the university security guard about the buses. When she came back she told us we had to catch the 12 bus with the blue banner on the window. We thanked her and she went on her way into the hospital.

Shortly the blue 12 bus came by.. We got on paid our 21 baht (about 70 cents) and had a pleasant air-conditioned ride into the city. We first went to visit Noi at her language school. We met her at a Thai church here and she speaks and teaches English very well. Then we walked along the Nan river for about a km to the girl's high school where Chris teaches English.

A lovely blossoming tree along the river and a view across the Nan river

We visited Chris in a class of teen age girls that he was teaching. Then we had a good Thai lunch at the school cafeteria and met some of his teaching colleagues, some teachers from the Phillipines.

Then we walked to Topland, an indoor mall in the centre of the city. We did a little shopping and had a smoothie at the Black Canyon coffe shop. North American style and with North American prices. It was mid afternoon and getting hot when we went outside. We decided to get a taxi home rather than wait for the bus on the hot sidewalk. We went down to the railway station to find a taxi. We stopped a taxi and tried to tell the driver where we wanted to go. W e kept telling him we wanted to go to Naresuan University but he thought we wanted to go to a hotel. We weren't getting any where in this interchange but he wasn't giving up. Then I thought of calling Noi on the cell phone. Fortunately she answere right away and when I told her our problem she talked to the driver and he understood right away. He had a big laugh and all the way back to the university he kept practicing us on how to say the local idiom for Naresuan university (mono Nalesuan, Thai language does not have an r sound). We paid him our 150 baht, same price as the 2 smoothies. We retrieved our bikes took the hot 10 minute ride home and arrived tired but satisfied that we had survived the day, with the help of friends and kind people. We are learning our Thai numbers and a few phrases but are a long way from being able tocommunicate  in Thai sensibly. But it is fun trying.