We arrived in Phetchaburi after a 2 hour shared minibus taxi ride. They dropped us on a busy street and we had no idea where we were. A young man at the taxi rank took pity on us and ordered a taxi on his Grab app to take us to the hostel, APlus Hometel. We really need to work out how to use these things but the muppet impersonation worked and we were waved on our way.

I booked the hostel because of the cute Thainglish name and because all the pictures showed a bunch of cartoon street art on the walls. What is not to like? Also they offered breakfast.

We arrived around 1.00 pm and were greeted by the owner and shown around. June, the daughter, had better English and she came and explained everything later.

Here at APlus there was a family of 3, mom, dad and their youngest daughter, June, who helped run the hostel. They were of Chinese heritage. Dad was an engineer and mum a business manager, but they had left the big city to run the family home. They were so friendly, they fully embraced the idea that helping their guests experience the best of Phetchaburi was a privilege. They loved their town and were particularly proud of the cuisine.

We had a double room which would have been spacious if it were not for 2 king sized beds squashed in side by side.

Generational eclectic family furniture completed the homey atmosphere.

Bikes were again on offer free of charge but I remained nervous of my skills and the traffic. It did not matter, we were able to walk almost everywhere. We had a beautiful cool coffee shop 2 doors down called Pagoda and an old restaurant on the river bank in a restored Thai house called Rabieng Rimnum in the opposite direction. Local delicacies included palm fruit curry and sticky rice with banana. Coffee costs about as much as supper, but I think you are paying for the aircon. All the coffee shops have icy aircon, the best place to get out of the heat in the day.

They did our laundry for us and they called taxis when we needed them.

Our first evening we set off to walk to the local night market for our supper. It was about 2 km away and was under canvas at a road intersection. Music played and everyone was there getting food but there were few foreigners and no one seemed to speak English.

Next day we planned to get up for the early morning market on the other side of the river.

We found so many stalls lining the streets selling coffee and every type of fresh and cooked food. Many mysterious potions and soups and meatballs which we were not adventurous enough to try.

The stalls are in front of the shopfronts which, in the small winding streets, were quite dark and dingy. It looked like the families lived in some of the shops. Many of the goods looked very uninviting, old and dusty, but there were also normal stores with hardware and cosmetics and temple offerings.

A lot of places had one or 2 tables outside suggesting they may also sell food sometimes. I think they may cook for a few people at mealtimes. Everyone seems to contribute to the economy and make enough to feed the family every day.

On the Saturday we were told us we must go to the Cultural Market. They had an open air cinema showing some Thai classic opposite the temple, with face painting and kids doing mosaics and other crafts. There was food, drink and a lot of temple offerings for sale. Not a lot of alcohol though. I think the drinkers are mainly tourists.

We walked over the river and headed east. After about 2 km we found the barriers across the street and the street was lined with stalls. Children in traditional Thai costume were dancing and singing. Some were playing traditional instruments. Lots of karaoke singers.

Dudley says it is child exploitation but they all seem to enjoy themselves. I gave them all coins even though some were really terrible.

The reason we came to Phetchaburi was to see the temple in the Tham Khao Luang Cave system and so on our first full day in Phetchaburi we set off. This is perhaps the most famous of the sights of Phetchaburi, a temple in a cave just on the outskirts of town which features a huge gold reclining buddha.

We took a taxi to the cave entrance. I was still in Sam Roi Yot mode and anticipated some hectic climbing but the entrance to the cave is up a tarred road and there is a car park with a small cafe and a place to buy tickets. Much cheaper this time, a mere 10 Bht got us in.

Buddhas line the walls and are tucked in every little rock recess and hole.

In the main cavern a large sitting buddha is surrounded by smaller statues and further back a huge reclining buddha can be found. There are also some statues of other Hindu gods like Vishnu and Ganesh and snakes and monkeys and elephants. Candles and joss sticks burned. A few monks in their orange robes sat or walked among the statues.

The temple was proclaimed by Rama V in honour of his father.

Unknown to us before we arrived, Phetchaburi is also the home of one of the Royal Palaces, Phra Nakhon Khiri, built by Rama IV, King Mongkut, one of the 'Great' kings of Thailand (They only gave the title 'Great' to 3 of the royal line) It is now a type of living museum. It is in a park on a series of 3 hills overlooking the town. You can climb up to the palace or take a cable car. We worked out it was about 3 km from our base to the cable car, and set off to walk there.

We again enjoyed strolling the streets. We stopped for coffee and dodged the pavement chaos until we arrived at the cable car set in a line of shops selling souvenirs and clothing, drinks and temple offerings.

To add context to this story King Mongkut was the king on whom the famous musical The King and I was based with Yul Bryner. It was banned in Thailand because it was felt to be disrespectful. He was, and is, a highly venerated king. At the time he ascended to the throne he had been a monk for many years. He is viewed as a very wise and pious man.

The musical is based on the memoirs of Anne Leonowens who was indeed governess to King Mongkuts children, but even Hollywood admits to taking some liberties with the truth in the adaptation.

Phetchaburi is an ancient city. It has been continuously inhabited since the 8th century. The backbone of the old city is the Phetchaburi river which flows out to the Bay of Bangkok.

We were lucky to be sleeping right on the river. APlus had a little gate at the end of the garden which led down to the river edge. Everyday fishermen crouched on the banks of the river fishing and children played and swam.

We loved the old city and spent happy hours just walking the small and winding streets and admiring the old buildings and bridges.

Back to the ancient history and we walk across town to another Khmer era temple, Wat Kamphaeng Laeng. It is the oldest temple, possibly the oldest building, in Phetchaburi dating back to the 12 th century with 5 very old and partly ruined prangs, each containing a buddha image and altar.

The design of the prangs are distinctive of the period with corncob shaped roofs. This is thought to be the most southern temple of the Khmer empire which was centered at Angor Wat.

The towers are made of laterite stone. Apart from the historical significance the temple is an active temple and is known for meditation.

So it is now our last day in Phetchaburi and we were sad to go. Because the overnight trains were unavailable to us we had booked a plane from Hua Hin to Chiang Mai, a 90 minute flight.

Our hosts were taking us to the airport in their old car, they were so excited it was like we had invited them on a day out.

We packed everything and came to load the luggage. They were very insistent that first we must have a family photo op so we went outside to use their street art as the back drop. I put everything I had been carrying down and joined them outside.