On Friday, January 14th, I took a day trip out to Ayutthaya and Aranyik with Mike and Ana. They had never been, and were leaving for the south the next day, so it was a good opportunity for a day off. We took the train from Rangsit for a whole 9 Baht (45 min ride) and spent part of the day wandering around Ayutthaya, visiting the elephants, seeing some of the ruins. Having spent almost a week in Ayutthaya last year, I was simply along for the ride so to speak. 
My main interest in going to Ayutthaya was to meet up with my friend Serge, my local daab dealer! Although this year, I didn't want daab - I wanted to buy a set of hand-forged cutlery from Aranyik, the same craft village where the daab are made. Serge took us there and I selected an amazing set of 6 steak knives, 6 forks, 6 spoons, 2 large serving spoons and one serving fork for a grand total of 2600 Baht - about $90. All hand-made, bought directly from the metalsmith/artist. I'm very happy with them and although they are a bit heavy to be carrying home, they are definitely a worthwhile 'souvenir. And it means I can throw out all the cheap Ikea cutlery at home that I have had since I was a grad student!
After our shopping spree, Serge drove us back into the city and we decided to have a non-Thai meal. After weeks upon weeks of rice, noodles, chicken and seafood, I was dying for something a bit different. Cheeseburgers!!! So we went to Sticky Burger and had cheeseburgers and french fries. And Chang of course! And it was awesome. :) The farang were happy!
After supper, we went back to the Seven Seas Guesthouse where Ana and Mike were staying and decided to have another beer. I ran across to the train station to check on getting a ticket back to Rangsit. The train was delayed for 2 hours, so back across the street to the pub - yeah! By this time, it was around 7:30pm. This back-and-forth trip to the train station and the pub for more beer continued until 10:30pm. By the time I got on the train, I was slightly intoxicated, a bit sunstroked and ready for sleep! Thankfully, Rangsit was the next large station and I was able to hop off the train at the correct stop. The next morning, I discovered that drinking Chang in the hot sun without drinking equivalent quantities of water is a very, very bad thing!!
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