We were greeted warmly by the owner. This is her family house and she and her 3 sisters run the business. She lives there with her youngest sister. Many of the things in the house are from previous generations, like her grandmothers bicycle propped up in the dining room and the old, beautifully carved, teak furniture.

We had a spacious and comfortable room on the first floor and downstairs was a little kitchen with fridge and microwave. Everything you needed really. There was fruit on the table and snacks in the fridge for us to eat and we appeared to be the only guests.

This was laid out on the table and decorated with edible flowers and greenery from the garden. Take that Megan Markle! The rice and fruits were home grown in their little small holding out of town, red and black jasmine rice. Vacuum packs were stored in the side board and on every shelf and in every cupboard, the years supply. Sitting side by side with Buddha statues and family heirlooms.

On our first morning her youngest sister played a sort of traditional zither for us as a musical accompaniment to breakfast.

Sadly the most recent flareup had closed the borders into Cambodia for the time being so any plans to nip over to Angkor Wat had to be shelved.

They had a pet cat which was not allowed out, quite a SE Asia tradition I think. Every morning her sister would load the cat in a ventilated back pack and drive off on her scooter. The cat seemed ok with the constraints, but it looked like a strange life for a cat.

They could not fight each other because of their royal status but they took to cock fighting as a sort of surrogate. Anyway Naresuan won and since then the rooster became one of his special symbols.

Everywhere you go there are rooster statues, on top of lamp posts and in the special temple built at the site of the ruins of the royal palace, hundreds of them in fact.

The rooster became a favoured royal animal and much revered. The rooster in Thailand is a symbol with multiple layers of meaning, extending beyond its literal role as a farm animal. It is associated with new beginnings, resilience, courage, protection, and even luck. The Phitsanulok rooster can be recognised by his special white tail.

Anyway the Burmese prince was killed and Naresuan won the day. This heralded a Golden Era of 174 years without Burmese interference during which the kingdom of Ayutthaya flourished.

War elephants were a major resource throughout SE Asia. Heavily armoured elephants charging into battle were a formidable force . Especially against infantry troops. Happily for the eles, they were phased out when heavy artillery made an appearance. Previously relatively impregnable they could now be injured and killed. They tended to panic to the sounds of gunfire, causing deadly damage to the troops when they stampeded.

Phitsanulok remained a military base from where Siam was defended from Burma and Lanna, Even now it retains strong military strategic importance.

Essentially the whole community comes out in the mornings to run and gym. Childcare sorted. No excuses. It was humbling and inspiring to witness, punctuated by Tai Chi classes

We were in awe. What a community! Something for future town planners to think about. Would it work in SA? I don't know. All I know is it is another example of how holistic Buddhism is in pastoral care.

The temple is also known as Wat Yai to the locals which means Big Temple which is less of a mouthful and much easier to remember.

We wandered past the University and the court house and came up to the Wat overlooking the river. To be honest you could not miss it, It was huge with a large golden chedi, and it was buzzing with people. Street vendors crowded the pavement outside.

It is also one of the most sacred buddha images of Thailand, second only to The Emerald Buddha. So sacred is it that it is said to have wept tears of blood when the city was captured by the Ayutthayan army in the 14th century.

Made of bronze, the gold was added in 1631 when the king offered some of his gold regalia to be beaten into gold sheets to be used to plate the Buddha.

Anyway it was a festive , happy, non judgemental atmosphere, people were sitting on the carpet taking selfies with the Buddha, but they were seated respectfully, feet folded under them.

Lots of collection boxes were attracting handsome donations. Buddhism works partly because there is an underlying generosity programmed in the whole community to give to the temple, the monks and a plethora of good causes.

Guan Yin is another popular buddha image. Depicted as a buddha but she is actually female and a bodhisattva, which means she is enlightened but has stayed behind to help others reach enlightenment. It is said she did become a buddha but then came back to serve as a bodhisattva.

The thin buddha is Gautama Buddha during his ascetic phase when he denied himself to try and find enlightenment. For years he lived on 1 grain of rice a day and the statues of him in this phase of life show a gaunt figure, all angles and ribs.

Standing or walking means he is teaching or starting a journey. Lying poses are found in some temples indicating his position before he died, entering Nirvana.

We wandered around the some small viharns showcasing pottery and an old ship. It was good to move with the local crowds, and to witness them worshipping, always laughing and smiling and taking photographs, but also attentive to offerings and taking time out to make short prayers and salutations. We never witnessed anything disrespectful in any Thai temple.

From making wax moulds to the final finishing of the statues you can observe each station of the production process.

Buddhas of all sizes are made but most commonly it is the Golden Buddha representation. If the king wants another Buddha statue, it is to Phitsanulok he will look.

Phitsanulok reflects the rich Buddhist traditions of Thailand.

He entered the army as a cartographer. When the army wanted to craft a monument to King Naresuan he was drafted into sculpture and casting training. This led to him developing an excellence in casting and sculpture and when he left the army in 1978, he started the foundry. He trained many local, and rural people to this trade, uplifting the community of his home village,

In the garden are all manner of traditional boats and canoes.

He has been well recognised for this contribution to the culture of Thailand. He did a lot of good works in education and founded scholarships for underprivileged and rural children. This all went hand in hand with his development of the foundry and Buddhist art. Clearly he was a larger than life character. He has received numerous honorary doctorates and royal recognition and visits. He is known as "Thawee Beyond Time".

His museum is recognised as the best Folk museum in Thailand. We spent a fascinating couple of hours here before enjoying a coffee in the garden.

This was clearly a lotus farm, lotus plants were lined up in rows in black plastic bags. We were free to wander around the area to marvel at the beautiful plants.

There were lotuses of different types but the most impressive were Victoria lotuses, named after Queen Vicky and native to South America. These enormous lotus pads are up to 3 m across and apparently can support a weight up to 100kg. We did not test it though. I had seen a few in temple ponds before and assumed they were artificial, so robust is the structure and so perfect is the symmetry.

Lotuses are distinct from our more familiar water lily and belong to separate families. They bloom from out of the water whereas the lily floats on the top. There are big lotus farms, well known in Thailand, which also support Agro Tourism but we were taken to a smallholding where family based cultivation was practiced. No high tech here.

A couple of hopeful fishermen sat on the banks, I assume hoping for some giant catfish to compliment their lotus stem soup.

It is definitely an ambitious project and you would be forgiven for thinking the Kardashians were behind it. The gold walls are inset with diamanté. They had a group of workers putting in the diamanté inside the main hall. You could sponsor a bit if you wanted. You can sponsor anything you like, a tile, a brick, a piece of marble.

This is really a community project, which also means that the whole community must feel invested in it. Imagine if we all bought a brick to build a school. A powerful force for good.

Outside is a huge walking Buddha.

It is quieter and much less gilded than Wat Yai or Wat Chan Tawan Tok, and sometimes that makes for a more thoughtful and introspective visit. It still boasted a happy healthy congregation milling around.

The ubosot is decorated by a fine mural but it is faded and dirty now.

Buddhism centres around the concept of karma. It teaches that mindful actions lead to positive outcomes, while negative actions perpetuate suffering.

Yin and Yang, Tai Chi and Feng Shui are all Taoist concepts that we all have some familiarity with. Mind you the colourful chaos of the decorations in these temples does not shout Feng Shui to me!

According to legend he was a butcher who killed many animals. Over time he felt remorse for this and he gave up butchery and went to a remote mountain to cultivate Tau and purge himself of his impurities. Because he still ate earthly food sin remained in his stomach and intestine which he then cut out and washed in the river to purify them. His stomach and intestines turned into a demon tortoise and a demon snake. I know whoever heard of a demon tortoise but that's how it goes. He subdued the demons who then became his subordinates which is why he is always depicted with them. Because of his determination to purge himself of sin he was granted immortality.

We had booked another journey by train, shorter this time, but no less organised, clean and comfortable. Travelling in Thailand is a real pleasure once you get the hang of it. It just works.

We said goodbye to our hosts. They had packed us a doggy bag from breakfast with all sorts of goodies, decorated with flowers and love. A final gesture of generosity.