Back again with "Fluffy, the Traveling Toddler"

Do you remember from the last post? We took everyone to visit Wat Phra Phuttha Chai
This time, we're taking you into the forest, but it's still the same kind of temple. Actually, this time I was going to go to a waterfall like last time, but I missed it again as usual.
Huh, me and waterfalls are like a Korean drama, what's going on? I won't miss it next time, for sure.

Let's start with this picture. We will take you all to the land of forests and mountains. Let's go!

On Saturday, I received a message from my best friend, a gay man, saying that he would bring his boyfriend from England to visit me on Monday. He asked me to plan a trip.
She planned to go to Ayutthaya first and then come to see us in Saraburi. She would pick up another friend near Muang Ek at 9 am.
But... my best friend woke up at 9 am! Oh... the Ayutthaya trip was cancelled. We couldn't go.
In the end, she picked up her friend and drove straight to us in Saraburi.

We arrived in Saraburi at 12:30 pm. We were very hungry. We intended to take her to eat crispy wonton noodles at Je แดง. The wontons were sold out, so we ate noodle dishes instead.
After eating, we intended to take her to eat ice cream at Je หมวย in the market. Je หมวย was closed, so we only got to eat at another restaurant that served salted fish and stir-fried basil next door. Plus, the water tasted like tap water.

The end. Why am I telling you this? I just want to say that everything went wrong. After eating, we started our journey. We intended to go to the Phra Phothisat Cave first. We started our journey from the market at 2 pm, which was very late.

We've arrived! It feels like we teleported here, but it's actually quite far from the city center.

You can't miss this one. I told you, every trip will have a little girl to take you around. Even small children can travel, don't be afraid.

Let's walk past the sign for a bit. There are monkeys here too (again, the last trip had monkeys too). When we drove into the temple grounds, the first second my husband saw the monkeys, he said, "Monkeys again? I hate monkeys." There's not much phone signal here. My husband and I use AIS and there's not a single bar, but I saw a sign that says True4G is accessible. I don't know if it's true or not.

As soon as you drive in, look for the group of four-legged friends. Wherever there are dogs, it's safe from monkeys. Of course, they'll keep watch for you.
P.S. Please censor the car's license plate, hehe.

Here are the faces of our fellow travelers on this trip. We're missing the person who took the picture, but you can see them at the end of the post (anyone curious to see their face? Hehe).

The atmosphere around the temple is serene, with a large (but not overly large) statue of Guan Yin and a pond teeming with fish and turtles (including several large ones).
As I walked over to take a picture, two turtles that were sunning themselves by the edge of the pond were startled by my approach and jumped into the water. I was so surprised by the sound of the turtles splashing that I almost dropped my camera.

The atmosphere was really shady, or maybe it was because it was drizzling that day. It wasn't hot, but rather humid.

Ready to go! Glad to be able to walk. Get ready to walk up the mountain. Look, the camera can't focus in time.

Alright, ready, let's go!

The little girl was excited thinking she would be able to walk, but no. The path was too steep and slippery. In the end, her dad carried her up.

The entire path is a stone staircase with handrails, so you don't have to worry about falling. However, it was raining when I went, so it was a bit slippery in some places. Some sections were also quite steep. But the views on both sides of the path are of a lush, untouched forest.

We're finally at the top! I'm exhausted, but the little one is having a blast.

The entrance to the cave is a narrow, small path.

Upon entering, you will encounter this. It is a stupa on a plastered base, covered with tiles.
It is uncertain whether it contains relics.

Looking up, you will see a carving on the wall. It is a pattern of Dvaravati art, which is believed to be an image of the gods praying for the Buddha to preach to all beings. The Fine Arts Department has registered it as an ancient site worthy of study and sightseeing. It is estimated that this carved image is more than 1,600 years old and that a group of hermits once lived here.

The inscription on the stone is a Buddhist message of mindfulness. It is very deserted and not many people come here. Judging from the scattered water bottles and incense sticks,
I don't know if it's because bats have flown into them or not.

At the end of the path, you will find the Buddha statue on the other side of the cave.
The inside of the cave is quite dark and there are bats, but not as many as before.

Inside the cave, there are stalactites and stalagmites in various natural shapes. I was surprised by the word "do not write" here.
So I took a picture of it. "Do not write," but the word "do not write" is written, isn't it? Oh, what's going on?

We will find a lot of this kind of insect here. Along the way, I saw my friend say that it bites and hurts. What is it?
Who knows, tell me. At that time, I was afraid that my daughter would be interested in touching it and it would bite a lot.

We're going down now. This time we'll take turns carrying the baby. Dad is very tired from carrying the ten-kilo baby up the hill, so Mom volunteered to do it herself. Let Dad rest, okay?

On the way down, we decided to stop by the Liang Pha Cave. It's a separate path to the right (if you're facing down the stairs, it's on the right).
But what we found was, where's the cave? Where is it? This is just a cliff face, a rocky outcrop, that's all. Boo hoo. Plus, it was super deserted, the smell of bat droppings was strong, and the shrine was super dilapidated. We just walked in and stood there for 2 minutes (or maybe less) and then we walked back down.

The view on the way down the stairs. When I went up, I was too busy looking down at my feet to notice the view.
When I went down, I saw a gap and looked out at the mountains. Oh, it's so beautiful. I had to take a picture.

Mom can't carry you anymore, she gives up. Let Dad carry you instead.

This is a tree at the foot of the stairs. It's over 300 years old and very big.

In addition to the Phra Phothisat Cave, the temple also houses the Phra Thammathat Cave, the Lumbini Stone Garden Cave, and the Songkat Chedi Cave, where visitors can admire the stalactites and stalagmites.

Trees and mountains around the temple

This white-colored Lanna-style pagoda stands out against the lush green forest, with gold accents that enhance its elegance. The staircase leading up to the pagoda is decorated with naga statues, which have the upper body of an angel and the lower body of a serpent, running along the path to the inside of the pagoda. However, on the day of the visit, the photographer did not take any pictures inside, as it seemed to be closed already. We arrived in the afternoon, but a friend who went inside said there wasn't much to see. It's a large, empty hall with a small altar for worship. I remember that the last time I visited, it was also an empty hall as my friend mentioned, so I didn't go in.

A very large banyan tree, a magnificent work of art.

This is to admire the magnificence of the banyan tree. As for the two people in the picture, just let them be. Haha!

For those who enjoy Vipassana meditation, this is another recommended place. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and lush, peaceful trees. (Except for the wild macaques that can be aggressive at times) When we visited, we saw people wearing white robes here.

Dad took a picture while everyone was in the bathroom. The temple's bathroom was clean, but they went to wash their shoes that had been trampled on the ground during the drizzly rain.
From clean to dirty, the floor of the bathroom was full of mud. So I had to bring the English people to clean the temple's bathroom in Thailand.
After finishing personal tasks, hunger struck again. I was exhausted from walking up to see the cave.
So we decided to continue to Dairy Home, Muak Lek.

Let's take you all to Dairy Home in the evening.

We usually come here during the day or in the afternoon, never as late as 5 pm. It just so happened that it was raining today and the sky was dark and gloomy.
We arrived just in time to see the lights on here, which was a different sight. Many people may have been here or know it already, but our friend didn't know this place.

Dairy Home is a shop that has its own dairy farm. The main products here are ice cream in various flavors and dairy products such as fresh milk or what is known as Bed Time Milk, which helps with sleep. This is selling products to my own province, but I don't get any commission, haha. In addition, there is yogurt from Dairy Home that is sold in Tops nationwide for 25 baht per cup.
I can't remember if the price has gone up or not. I haven't eaten it in a long time.

This is the atmosphere around the shop. There are many corners for taking pictures.

The photos around the shop were taken by my husband, with me as the model and our little one, whose battery had died, in the stroller.

There are quite a few beautiful angles to pose in, but we only have time to choose a few.

Anyone who wants to take a small portrait photo, the kind where you just sit down and they take the picture, this place has a lot of props for you to use. Feel free to come and take a look.

While everyone was having fun taking pictures, cut to our little girl....Zzzz

As soon as the stroller was pushed into the ice cream shop area, the little girl woke up. She must be craving something sweet.
Come on, let's see what kind of ice cream they have to offer.

Everyone is amazed by the variety and strange flavors of ice cream. It's hard to choose just one!

Here, ice cream is sold in the form of coupons. Each cup costs 70 baht and comes with 2 scoops. You can also take the cup home. You can choose the design of the cup.
The ordering process is as follows: Let's say you want to eat 1 cup, exchange 1 coupon for 70 baht, walk over and choose 2 scoops of ice cream.
Then choose a cup, hand over the coupon, receive the ice cream and you can go to the table.

There are many flavors to choose from, including rose, mango, butterfly pea, chocolate, brownie almond, Thai tea, strawberry, black sesame, etc.
I can't remember them all. Let's just say that if you can't decide, I've been here many times and I haven't tried all the flavors yet.

Here's the ice cream we chose, let's dig in!
(One cup is missing, we already had a taste before we thought of taking a picture of them all together.)

This is a showcase of the ice cream cup designs. On this trip, we tried many cups from different people, and the butter banana was the most delicious.

Here are some pictures of the peacock flower in front of the shop. The flowers are a beautiful, bright red.

There are actually a variety of souvenirs here, not just Dairy Home products.
There's also a main dish restaurant inside, not just ice cream.
P.S. I came here once before with another group of friends and found pancakes here. I saw them walk into the main dish restaurant area while we were sitting outside eating ice cream. That's when I realized, oh, they sell main dishes too? Because of the pancakes, really (is that related?).

The following will be a summary of this trip.

Phra Phothisat Cave

Getting There

- From Saraburi city, take Mittraphap Road towards Nakhon Ratchasima. When you reach the Siam City Cement Public Company Limited, stay on the left lane and take the U-turn bridge. Then drive straight for about 2.5 kilometers. You will see a sign for Wat Tham Dao Khao Kaeo. Turn left and pass Wat Tham Dao Khao Kaeo until you reach a fork in the road. There will be a sign telling you to turn left to Wat Tham Phra Phothisat. Then drive for about 6.5 kilometers. You will see the entrance to Wat Tham Phra Phothisat at the end of the road.

Note: GPS 14.575518, 101.145059 (You can search Google Maps on your phone. Even though it's a remote area, you'll definitely get there.)

Precautions

• The stairs leading up to the cave are quite steep. Elderly people may slip and fall.
• The monkeys here are macaques, and they are aggressive. When we came down from the cave to get orange juice from the car, the monkeys saw us holding the bottle of water before we even opened it to drink. They came and tried to snatch it. When we tried to chase them away, they bared their teeth and threatened us. It was very scary. The temple has a sign warning visitors to be aware of monkeys and not to feed them. They are getting more and more aggressive.
• If you come during the rainy season, it is recommended to wear sneakers and bring a hat, umbrella, or mosquito repellent.
• There are not many signs or information at the temple. When I visited 7 years ago, there was a deaf guide who led the way. He is a deaf man. I didn't see him this time. I don't know if he is still there. I remember that he took us to see the Chor Chor waterfall, where King Rama V carved his name (again, there is also one at Phra Buddhabat). But we had to cross the rocks to see it. This time, we didn't stop by the waterfall area. The waterfall was also very dry, very little water this year.

Dairy Home

Getting There

- It's not difficult to get there. Take Mittraphap Road from Muak Lek, Saraburi, towards Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat). Look across the road and you will see Dairy Home, a large factory. It's big and prominent from afar. We made a U-turn, but after the U-turn, don't turn into the factory. The factory is before us. Drive a little further and you will see the Dairy Home restaurant. Turn left into the alley for a short distance. You're there. It's on the same road that leads to Khao Yai another way. If you continue straight, there are many more attractions along this road, such as The Bloom, Wang Nam Khieo, A cup of love, P.B.Valley and many more. If you don't know how to get there, open Google Maps on your phone (as usual). It's definitely there.

Precautions

• Be careful not to get lost in taking pictures and forget the time.
• Be careful not to choose the wrong ice cream flavor. There are so many flavors.
• Be careful not to shop for souvenirs until you're light. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This trip ends with a panoramic picture in front of the shop. See you on the next trip, where will we go in Saraburi? Stay tuned!