We have returned to the family home, now posting about Thailand again from inside Thailand. It took ten hours for us to drive up from The Pool Resort in Bangkok to the suburbs of Lampang. We have made that drive many times, but for some reason the mountain road of AH1 then AH2 from Kamphaeng Phet Province through Tak Province and Lampang Province really struck me with its beauty this time. The city of Kamphaeng Phet is the approximate midpoint of the drive from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, with a complete change in the character of the drive starting there. South of that midpoint you are driving through Central Thailand with rice fields the whole way and the highway lined with villages and commerce all along the whole way. As you go north, the elevation increases, the rice fields are not as evident, villages and commerce along the road begin to disappear, and eventually you are driving on a well-maintained highway lined with the teak trees with their large elephant ear leaves and the jamjuree trees, which are gorgeous wide-canopied trees with large symmetrical crowns. These are my two favorite varieties of trees in Thailand. Driving through them for much of the length of Tak Province and then well into Lampang Province is really delightful. In fact, this time I decided this is my favorite drive in Thailand. As you approach the City of Lampang, the road begins to descend in elevation and the mountainsides come into better view in places. This descent reminded me of the similar descent on the Grapevine as one drives north into the Los Angeles area on I-5.

The image of the drive past blooming trees was taken by Ron Chester on 23 Oct 2019 on AH2 as we were beginning the descent to Lampang.