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On Dec-29-2007, we arrived in Phu Rua in the afternoon.   It was sunny and warm.   The temperature was 25C, which was very pleasant.  See pics:

We were surprised at the number of camping tents near the parking lot. This was where the second check-point (or Visitor Center 2) was located. It was about 3km from the entrance (or Visitor Center 1).

The atmosphere was very different from our first visit in August, when the whole place was covered with thick fog and was windy.

We parked the car and walked about 200 meters to Lonnoi Cliff.

See pics taken at Lonnoi Cliff:

When we returned from Lonnoi Cliff back to the parking lot we took a local pick-up truck up Phu Rua Top.   It was 10 Baht/person and free for the kids.   The pick-ups were ancient!

The top was 700km away and no cars were allowed to go up there except these pick-ups.
Some people walked all the way up the top.
It is 1,365 meters above the sea level.
The top was kind of flat.

Left:
The rock was still warm when the air started to cool down!

Below:
"White Christmas trees"

Left: Ken was out of patience!

After Phu Rua we went straight to our resort.

See top of this page for the view of the road on the way.

Below are the pictures of Loei Garden View Resort that we stayed.

That evening we met Tony's friend, Minn, and her parents, and had dinner together.

Actually it was our second time to meet them.

Minn's parents work for the government.

A very nice family.

The next morning (Dec 30, 2007) our friends took us to Pha Pu Cave ("Wat Tham Pha Pu").

"Wat" = temple, "Taam" = cave, "Pha" = cliff, "Pu" = grandfather.

It was a huge cave under a rocky mountain, with stalactite ("hin-yoi") and stalagmite ("hin-ngawg") and some buddha statues.   The entrance was wide enough for us to see a few statues.

There were wide stairs on both sides inside the cave, but it was too dark to see what was beyond the stairs.   We had to use our flashlight and were surprised to see a huge reclining Buddha statue.

Deeper inside we saw a well that was supposed to have "sacred water" but it looked so dirty probably due to years of improper care.   We saw graffiti, too.  

Further deeper we looked up and saw bats hanging upside down way up from where we stood.   Some of them moved!   Though far from us, we were afraid that they might wake up and fly pass us so we left.

We saw orbs in some pics taken inside the caves.   I wonder what made orbs appear in the pics!!!!

Photos: Inside Wat Tham Pha Pu.
It was so dark!

Note: :
In Sep 2019 I edited some pics by adding light so that we can see what was in the dark.
For comparison I displayed some of the photos both before-after editing (that is, adding light).

Bottom row above:
Same place but the left has orbs while the right does not have any.

* Remarks added in 2019:   Things to do:
To google for a scientific explanation of why orbs appear in pics.

Left: Stalactite and ORBS

Once outside, we started to climb up the rocky cliff.   There were more than 100 steps of cemented solid stairs.   There was a huge "Buddha's footprint" up there.   Some visitors left coins inside the "footprint".

Further up there were rusty steel stairs.   Beyond that, there were only a narrow somewhat rickety wooden stairs.   There were traces of termites on some of the wood, too, no kidding!!!   But the view from up there was great.

We came down the cliff and saw some langurs on the trees.   These were Presbytis Phayrei Blyth or Phayrei's Langur.   (in Thai, "khaang waen". "khaang" = monkey-like animal;
"waen" = spectacles).

See more info of this kind of langurs here:
http://home.kku.ac.th/bookon/3primate/10p_phayrei.html (This link does not work in 2019.)

*Note: In Sep 2019:
I zoomed in some pics and added them here.

According to Thailand Travel Information,
(Remarks: In 2019 the original page "www.allresortthailand.com/loei/loei_attractions.html" does not exist.)

"With a capacity of 26 million cubic meters, the earth-filled reservoir covers an area of 1,500 rai of land.   Offering breathtaking views which are accented by a bamboo forest and evergreen mountains, the reservoir offers dining opportunities in bamboo rafts and other recreational activities."

We chose one of the rafts.
Mats were spread for us.
We ordered food: charcoal-grilled and sliced pork neck-meat, chicken wings with herbs, sticky rice, green papaya salad ("som-tam"), a few bottles of drinking water and a bucket of ice cubes.
We brought our bags of tangerines, peeled jack-fruits, and sweetened tamarinds.
After all the food was delivered, our raft was towed to the center of the reservoir by a "motor boat".

Inside the roofed raft there showed a phone number for us to call if we wanted to order more food.   And if we wanted to return to the shore we simply raised the red flag of our raft and the "motor boat" would come and get the raft back.

When our raft was finally left in the middle of the reservoir we spotted a lizard and took a picture of it.   We also spotted a snake skin on the roof.

Far away on the shore we saw cows.   No wonder the place was called Huay Kra-ting in Thai.   "Huay" = lake, creek; "Kra-ting" = bull.  

Most people ate while on the rafts, but some were enjoying Thai massage.

Ken took a video while our raft was towed back to the shore.   In the video he said we could not see anything this beautiful in Bangkok.   I will post the video in Part 2.

 

Albums:

Phu Rua Revisited (Dec 29, 2007)
Loei Garden View Resort (Dec 29, 2007 - Jan 1, 2008)
Inside Pha Pu Cave (Dec 30, 2007)
Outside Pha Pu Cave (Dec 30, 2007)
Nam Maan Reservoir (Dec 30, 2007)

 

End of Part 1

 

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