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  He had borrowed a big car for us so we will have a comfortable ride. He has been promoted to a manager now so he does not have to go to the gas fields any more, only when they run in to trouble on the fields in Gulf of Thailand. But he will buy a new car now, but we were very happy with his loaner. My friend had brought a souvenir from Bangkok and we took off when he had handed our friend the souvenir.  My friend bring a souvenir from Bangkok
 On the way to Wat Chang Hai / วัดช้างให้
We enjoy the ride down south talking about the good old times on the gas field in Gulf of Thailand. Now they have started to save money so they do the changes with a supply ship, 12 hours to reach the gas field. But our friend is still going by helicopter so he is lucky, one hour only. My friend had his own helicopter when he was based here in the south covering the Bongkot field and the Erewan field. But the last 20 years he had been on the ship. He is retired now, more or less. He still joins the ships in Sriracha. And I can sense that he is really missing the ships. And he is enjoying to visit the ships a couple of times per month.  Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
 Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
 Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
 Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
 Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
We park the car at Wat Chang Hai / วัดช้างให้ and my friend disappears to pray and I run in to an Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้. The temple area is full of them and I try to get pictures. I have brought my Canon EOS R3 and my Canon RF 100-500mm IS USM lens as I will try to get bird pictures on this trip as well. My friends are calling me, they are closing the shops and they had closed by the time we reached the shop where I had bought my big Luang Pu Tuad / ลวงปู่ทวด religious Statue/ รูปปั้นทางศาสนา last time we were here. They brought the last sized they had available, one very small and one that looked to fit my scooter. We bought three of each and we were very happy that we had made it in time.  Wat Chang Hai / วัดช้างให้
 Wat Chang Hai / วัดช้างให้
 Wat Chang Hai / วัดช้างให้
 Our hero busy looking for birds
 Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา
 Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา
 Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา
I tried to find some more birds before we left and I could get a Zebra Dove / นกเขาชวา. I heard a bird when we walked to the car and I went to investigate and I found a parrot in one of the shops. Disappointed, a prisoner is not what I wanted to find. We drive back north towards Hat Yai and I get a LINE message from my Yoga Teacher. She is in Chiang Mai and she would be back on Sunday. So, I had expected a yoga session at Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym on Monday when I have my 10 rounds with The Red Devil (ปีศาจแดง ก.กุมานนท์) Now she is delayed so no yoga until Wednesday. We check-in to the hotel when we are back in Hat Yai and then we take off to the Japanese restaurant we had visited last time in Hat Yai.  Hotel W3
 Checking in to the hotel
We got our rooms and we were very happy, nice rooms. We left our bags and we went down to our  waiting friend. We took off to the Japanese restaurant we had been at the last time in Hat Yai.
And last time we were here my friend had been drinking sake for the first time in his life, and he liked it. We celebrated New Year in Chang Rai, 5-star hotel and their New Year dinner party. They had Japanese food and my friend had asked for sake. They did not have sake and it went from 5 star to 3 star in my book. Japanese food but no sake, what a disappointment. So, anyway, he had been looking forward to the dinner so he could get some sake, or karaokee as he calls it. We ordered food and a bottle of hot sake. My friend has to drink it by himself as neither me nor our friend is drinking. And again, I forget, never order food when you are hungry. I ordered a lot of food and of course, I cannot finish all the food. But for sure, I will have to visit Chaiyasit Muay Thai Gym first thing coming back home to Samut Prakan for 10 rounds with The Red Devil (ปีศาจแดง ก.กุมานนท์)  Arriving to the restaurant
 Hot sake
 Hot sake
 The food is very good
Back at the hotel and we went to bed as we will leave early tomorrow morning. They start with the breakfast at 07:00 and we invited our friend to join us. And we will leave for Wat Chedi (Ai Kai)/ วัดเจดีย์ (ไอ้ไข่) directly after breakfast. +++++++++++++++
Saturday 27th of April 2024 and my friend knocked on my door 10 minutes before 7 o'clock and we went down to the reception. Our friend was waiting and we went to the restaurant.
We were very happy with the rooms, OK, the pressure in the shower and sink left a wee bit to wish for. But otherwise, it was very nice rooms, and the hotel is also very nice. So, I was drooling by anticipation when we went for the restaurant. Instant disappointment, the food was, well, 7 Eleven bread, cooked ham and, well, we turned around. We will find a proper restaurant driving north to Wat Chedi (Ai Kai)/ วัดเจดีย์ (ไอ้ไข่)  Yellow-vented Bulbul/ นกปรอดหน้านวล
 Yellow-vented Bulbul/ นกปรอดหน้านวล
 Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
 Asian Glossy Starling / นกเอี้ยงดำปักษ์ใต้
 Coming out on the parking lot and I spot a few birds and I start my eBird app. And I get a few pictures before we leave the hotel. We find a restaurant that is serving breakfast and we take our seats at a table. I am pleasantly surprised, they have proper breakfast and I order a club sandwich and a toast with melted cheese. Our friend had ordered bratwurst, bacon and omelette. DARN! I had not got that long in the menu or I would have ordered the same. But I will order this tomorrow morning.  Breakfast
 Breakfast
We finish our breakfast and we are in a good mood when we leave the restaurant starting to drive north towards Wat Chedi (Ai Kai)/ วัดเจดีย์ (ไอ้ไข่). I expect 3 hours or so, but we have been on the way for 4 hours by the time we approach Wat Chedi (Ai Kai)/ วัดเจดีย์ (ไอ้ไข่) You can see a statue of a rooster all over Thailand. They come in all sizes, from very small to giant concrete statues several meters in height. People ask Ai Kai / ไอ้ไข่ for, well, to win the lottery for example. They win the lottery and they buy a rooster to give to Ai Kai / ไอ้ไข่. So, I guess you buy a huge rooster if you win the jackpot. Approaching Wat Chedi / วัดเจดีย์ and we could see stalls selling rooster statues along the road. It started several kilometres from the temple. There were a few shops already on the high way. The closer to the temple we came the more shops there was.  Roosters for sale
 Roosters for sale
 Roosters for sale
 Selling gifts for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Selling gifts for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Roosters for sale
 Selling gifts for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Selling gifts for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Selling gifts for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Selling gifts for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
We reached the temple and it was a huge area and there was a lot of visitors. We parked the car, DARN! It is hot coming out from the AC in the car. We walk towards the temple, my friends are excited, but I am not only visiting the temple, I am also looking for birds. I spot one Common Myna / นกเอี้ยงสาริกา in the trees.  Common Myna / นกเอี้ยงสาริกา
   There is a lot of visitors when we reach the temple. There is a tent at the entrance, a huge tent to cover the area from the sun. The visitors buy flower, incense, leaf gold and some other offerings for Ai Kai. Minimum price is 20 baht that you put in a box. We take our offerings and we went to the first stop. A small fire in a lantern to put fire to our incense. Then a prayer and we put the incense in a huge pot filled with sand.  Buing things for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Buying things for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Buying things for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Buying things for Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Going to give gifts to Ai Kai/ ไอ้ไข่
 Lighting the incense
 Lighting the incense
 Lighting the incense
 Lighting the incense
 Prayer for good luck
 Prayer for good luck
 Putting incense in the pot
The sand filled pot is getting full of incense very quick and they come to remove the sticks every now and then. We put our incense in the sand and we move on to a table with the trays. A girl come every minute, carrying a big basket, to collect the flowers from the trays. They are brought back to the stalls and they will be sold again. The incense, as you understand, cannot be sold again. We put our flowers in the tray with wishes to win the lottery. There are statues of Ai Kai behind the tables with the trays and this is where they put the leaf gold. I never bothered to take any leaf gold so I just watched the visitors putting the gold on the statues.     My friend went to have a look at the statues and we went to look for the shop to buy Thai Buddha amulet /พระเครื่อง. We came in to one hall with statues. There were row of tables in front of the statues and the visitors put their gifts on the table and they went to pray to Ai Kai. There was a little bit of everything on the gift tables. Many eggs, they will be eaten by the monks, most likely. Drinks and gift boxes.  Thank you gifts for Air Kai
 Thank you gifts for Air Kai
 Thank you gifts for Air Kai
    We buy lottery tickets
My friend was praying and as soon as he was ready, we were in a hurry to go to look for someone  selling lottery tickets. And luckily enough, there were plenty stalls selling tickets just next to the statues.
You win 6 million if you have all numbers correct. And you can buy 5 tickets with the same number and thus win 30 million, maximum prize. A set of 5 tickets is 600 Baht in Bangkok, here it was 700 Baht. So, they are really cashing in on Ai Kai. Me and my friend bought two sets and we will split the prize. I have one Ai Kai statue that I got from a temple in Kanchanaburi and my friend will “boost” our chances to win by giving the tickets to my Ai Kai.  We go to look for Thai Buddha amulets
 Looking at Thai Buddha amulets
 Eurasian Tree Sparrow / นกกระจอกบ้าน
    We find a stall selling Thai Buddha amulets but there is nothing we are interested in. My friend buys something to wear around the wrist for his wife. She had asked for this as they give very good luck, especially the wrist bands from Wat Chedi (Ai Kai)/ วัดเจดีย์ (ไอ้ไข่). So he was happy that we found the rings for his wife. We started to walk back to the car and I could hear some birds giving loud sounds from the trees around the toilet. Egg times so I thought begging babies. But this was a very high noise and it did not sound like babies. It was something else and I went in to the trees to have a look. I spotted two Streak/eared Bulbuls on a branch. I was thinking barking dogs when I spotted the birds. They looked like two dogs barking at something. And I discovered an owl. The birds were mobbing the owl. A few seconds later my friend discovered two more owls on another branch. Listen to the Streak-eared Bulbul
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
  Collared Scops Owl/ นกฮูก, นกเค้ากู่
 Collared Scops Owl/ นกฮูก, นกเค้ากู่
 Olive-backed Sunbird / นกกินปลีอกเหลือง
 Olive-backed Sunbird / นกกินปลีอกเหลือง
 Olive-backed Sunbird / นกกินปลีอกเหลือง
 I was also discovering Olive-backed Sunbirds / นกกินปลีอกเหลือง mobbing the Collared Scops Owl / นกฮูก, นกเค้ากู่. And it looked to be three baby owls resting in the tree. They will be active starting to hunt after dark. By then I hope to be back in Hat Yai. Nice to get back in to the AC in the car. We will have lunch at Central Nakhon Si Thammarat and we found a Fuji Restaurant to have a Japanese lunch. We returned to the car and we still have another two hours to go to Hat Yai. We will pick up our friend's wife and we will go for dinner. We had planned to go have dinner on Ko Yo / เกาะยอ at a sea side restaurant.
We reach Hat Yai around 6 o'clock and we make a visit to Hat Yai Municipality Park before we go to pick up our friend's wife. Hat Yai Municipality Park have a huge statue on top of the mountain and it is a popular place for people to come exercise. People walk up to the top and back down again. It is about to get dark when we arrive, but I turn on my eBird app when I spot two Yellow-vented bulbuls. We drive up on the top and we park the car, but it took some time to find a spot to park at. We take the stairs up to the statue and there is plenty people watching the sun set over Hat Yai.  Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
 Hat Yai Municipality Park
We leave the park to go to pick up our friend's wife and we are soon on the way to Ko Yo. We missed the exit the first time and we had to cross the bridge to make a U-turn to go back south again to look for the exit to the restaurant. Back on Ko Yo and we make a U-turn and we find the way to the restaurant. We drive along a small road on the north side and there are restaurants and home stays along the sea. We park the car and I was pleasantly surprised, the restaurant looked very nice. We got a table on the second floor.  Waiting for our food
 Dinner by the sea
 Dinner by the sea
 Dinner by the sea
We drive back to Hat Yai and our friend drop us at W3 Hotel. He will be back to pick us up tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock. We will have breakfast before going to the airport. Our flight leaves at 9 o'clock, click HERE to find out if we make it back home again.  
    
  You are visitor no.
To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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