Tham Phraya Nakhon, a cave high up in the mountains of Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in the coastal province of Prachuap Khiri Khan is a major attraction for those visiting the park, but the climb uphill is very testing, not meant for the faint-hearted. I was determined to go the distance. Instead of trekking, many visitors opt for a 20-minute boat trip from Baan Bang Pu beach to the cave. Most young travellers prefer climbing instead of taking the 200-baht boat trip. Those who made it to the cave found the pavilion glittering under a column of sunlight filtering in through cracks on top of the cave. Inside, it was hot and humid the thin air almost suffocating.

The lake was calm. At one o'clock in the afternoon we set out in the direction of a small hill. The kayaks took off one after the other. The colourful sleek crafts and life vests brightened the bland grey waterline. For almost an hour I paddled, past the point (a hill) I had initially, and wrongly, assumed to be the "other side" of the lake. The hill rose in the middle of the lake. There was still a long way to go. The rain and mist-covered hills on the distant bank made a perfect picture of what a rainforest should be. to Khao Dok Mai, where the Forestry Protection Unit is based, but to get there we had to row past a stretch of water that disappeared into a maze of hills

Among the ruins in Sri Satchanalai Historical Park, which dates back to 1238, are glorious monasteries and pagodas which flourished in the original capital of the first Thai kingdom. Sri Satchanalai has long been famous for its unique "Sangkhaloke glazed pottery", a major export item during the Sukhothai period. Sri Satchanalai has a sister-city, Sukhothai, part of the same kingdom ruled by King Ramkhamhaeng the Great who presided over his subjects like a father looks after his sons. To the Thai people, Sri Satchanalai, by the Yom River, is the most important archeological site where Buddhism first took roots in this country. Today it attracts visitors from all over the world.