If you've done as instructed and seen the floating market in the early morning, you've got the problem of what to do with the rest of your day. There are really two options, keep going west to Kanchanaburi, home of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai, or south to Nakhon Pathom. I've been to Kanchanaburi a couple of times, pleasant though not that interesting so on balance I don't think it's worth the extra drive. Nakhon Pathom has the advantage of being on the way back to Bangkok, so it's not out of the way. It's the largest temple in Thailand, and supposedly the tallest stupa (the big gold thing in the photo) in the world. It was built where Buddha, after he had walked all over Thailand, came to rest. Of course since Buddha never actually came to Thailand it doesn't quite square with reality, but I've given up long ago trying to square religion with facts. A temple has been here for about a thousand years, during which time it's been abandoned to the jungle several times, then re-discovered and enlarged. Its most recent rediscovery was by King Rama IV, when he came upon the ruin while he was training as a monk around 1850. He had it repaired and enlarged, and the current version includes the previous versions inside its massive gold stupa. Apart from its religious significance, its main claim to tourist attention is its size. So you can drive there, admire its bigness, and move on.

Oops! Just as I finished this post, I saw Dad and possibly Pomme in the corner of the last photo, so I guess Somchai was right and these photos did come from their visit. So they shouldn't be in the blog, and please strike the last few posts from your memories, thanks.