Check out photos of the Thai Cookery course I did in Chiang Mai!
http://www.cookinthai.com/photo/browse.php?folder=20071120
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Back to Kanchanaburi..and onwards.
A safe train ride back to Bangkok although very tiring but we plod on with our travelling, travel by bus back to Kanchanaburi on Sunday 25th morning and visit the allied war cemetery and the very good Thailand Burma Railway Centre, some moving stuff but really informative. Then we finally got to see the River Kwae bridge in the daylight and it was packed with tourists but I walked over it a little before deciding to take the special tourist train over it instead (I wasn't very keen on the gaps!). We could certainly notice the difference in temperature after the cooler north and we were keen to move on to a hostel and de-smell! In order to get everything done in central Thailand before moving South we went straight to Damnoen Saduak about 2 hrs from Kanchanaburi, on a crowded local bus sat next to a man, his granddaughter and what looked to be some sort of rodent in a bag (alive!). The only reason you go to Damnoen Saduak is for the floating market, its best to go the night before stay in a hostel and get up early in the morning to go round it! Other than the floating market the place is a 'hick' town for want of a better word and not the best place to stay, but we survived the 'hotel' and got up for our 7am boat. We spent an hour and a half boating around the market the main area was really good with buyers and sellers on boats trading their wares and a really good atmosphere. However our boat driver thought we might like to purchase yet more souvenirs from the other parts of the market, stalls on the land set up purely to reel in tourist cash and not the real floating market, I was a bit peeved but it was still good to go and see the main market.
We quickly left Damnoen Saduak after that and returned once again to Bangkok this time to get a VIP direct to Phuket, unfortunately we ended up having to wait 6 hours to get this bus, although the brand new Southern Bus Terminal kept us comfortable with seating, air con, food and internet! So late on Monday afternoon we headed down south with big reclining seats, a Thai film and free refreshments! Tried to sleep for most of the journey but was not the most comfortable experience so got to see some of the Thai scenery by moonlight which was actually quite spectacular.
So we arrived in Phuket at 6am this morning so be greeted by an already hot day and found ourselves some accommodation in Phuket Town before hitting the Beach at Karon (one of the ones hit by the Tsunami and saw the signs for the new early warning system and evacuation procedure) , this was very much a holiday resort but the beach was still really good, the sun shone the water was clear and we relaxed. Scary bit is the waves they are really quite strong but I conquered that fear and enjoyed the chance to swim, finally! A good day but ended a bit abruptly when a passing dog tried to steal my towel, I was not impressed and felt it was time to go..
Phuket Town is definitely the better place to stay in, less touristy and more attractive looking, but still only a 25B trip from the beaches. It is even home to the On On Hotel which was used as the scummy hostel in the filming of The Beach - decided against staying there though!
Hopefully off to the night market tonight, just down the road from our hostel, to get some cheap food and then back to the beach tomorrow I expect!
We quickly left Damnoen Saduak after that and returned once again to Bangkok this time to get a VIP direct to Phuket, unfortunately we ended up having to wait 6 hours to get this bus, although the brand new Southern Bus Terminal kept us comfortable with seating, air con, food and internet! So late on Monday afternoon we headed down south with big reclining seats, a Thai film and free refreshments! Tried to sleep for most of the journey but was not the most comfortable experience so got to see some of the Thai scenery by moonlight which was actually quite spectacular.
So we arrived in Phuket at 6am this morning so be greeted by an already hot day and found ourselves some accommodation in Phuket Town before hitting the Beach at Karon (one of the ones hit by the Tsunami and saw the signs for the new early warning system and evacuation procedure) , this was very much a holiday resort but the beach was still really good, the sun shone the water was clear and we relaxed. Scary bit is the waves they are really quite strong but I conquered that fear and enjoyed the chance to swim, finally! A good day but ended a bit abruptly when a passing dog tried to steal my towel, I was not impressed and felt it was time to go..
Phuket Town is definitely the better place to stay in, less touristy and more attractive looking, but still only a 25B trip from the beaches. It is even home to the On On Hotel which was used as the scummy hostel in the filming of The Beach - decided against staying there though!
Hopefully off to the night market tonight, just down the road from our hostel, to get some cheap food and then back to the beach tomorrow I expect!
Thursday, 22 November 2007
Up North Part 2....
Just a quick update on the end of our visit to Chiang Mai and the North as not sure when I will next get a chance to blog due to lots of travelling in the next few days. Wednesday this week was pretty low key, mainly catching up on boring chores so I have clean clothes to wear! Although we ventured back to the market after Tuesday's instruction to purchase breakfast, 30B got us some sweet rice cakes, melon and yoghurt - bargain! In the evening we travelled to the outskirts of the city to visit a big Wat with a monastic University attached to it, here there have 'monk chats' three times a week for a couple of hours, so we had a bizarre but interesting talk to a young monk about his life and beliefs. I have to admit that our lack of Buddhist knowledge (had to rely on some shaky GCSE RE and what we'd noticed on previous Wat visits!) somewhat stalled the conversation in parts but we still managed to chat for well over an hour! That evening we gave into English cravings and found a fish and chip shop near our hostel, it was OK (potato based food hits a spot rice cannot touch!) but not the same as the real thing, we'll probably stick to trying Thai from now on.
Thursday was excursion day, my foot was hurting a lot less so we and 10 other tourists headed out of Chiang Mai to the surrounding countryside in a a/c minibus with our guide Ned. First stop was elephant trekking, this was something I'd been looking forward too and it was fun, the elephants were magnificent and really friendly however the 'trainers' were a little rough with them and one of them thought it was hilarious to try and ride one of the baby elephants who reacted by crouching down and trying to thrash him off whilst making a lot of noise. But it was cool to be up close to them even if the ride was a little bumpy, and in general the elephants seemed in good health and not in distress. Next stop was a visit to one of the many hill tribe villages in Thailand, the first village, of the Meo tribe was very basic and almost deserted apart from a couple of handicraft sellers. The second, the Karen Tribe, was far more set up for tourists, whilst still basic it was also very friendly and was offering some beautiful handicrafts. Neither really gave much of a view of traditional hill tribes but at least we got a glimpse without too much disruption to the locals.
After lunch at a local eatery, good hearty food and fresh fruits, we went bamboo rafting, a somewhat wet experience as the raft was basically submerged and you sat in water! But we got even more wet due to the rapids and our 'crazy' rower, but good fun and nice to travel along a river with greenery on both sides..
Friday was a another low key day, spent wandering the streets of Chiang Mai, as it was the start of Loi Krathong we witnessed a lot of firecrackers being set off some were very close and very loud! In the evening we watched the parade which was huge and put Verwood carnival to shame! It started about a 15 minute walk from the river but we managed to see most of it then walk, via the hostel and somewhere for dinner and still beat it to the river! Then we watched the Krathongs (floating flowers with candles and incense sticks) being set off down the river, Dan floated one out for luck but I decided that it couldn't be that lucky when they were just collecting in a mess under the bridge! Instead I set off a paper hot air balloon, much more aesthetically pleasing activity and you still got to make a wish for luck! I finished the day with some final bartering in the night market before going back to start packing...
So to today, we have packed and checked out and are currently taking in the Loi Krathong displays in the daylight before catching a early sleeper train to Bangkok later this afternoon, from there we are still finalising plans but it we culminate in another train further south midweek.
A quick aside, even the Thai papers have articles on English football's demise and the downfall of Steve McClaren!
Thursday was excursion day, my foot was hurting a lot less so we and 10 other tourists headed out of Chiang Mai to the surrounding countryside in a a/c minibus with our guide Ned. First stop was elephant trekking, this was something I'd been looking forward too and it was fun, the elephants were magnificent and really friendly however the 'trainers' were a little rough with them and one of them thought it was hilarious to try and ride one of the baby elephants who reacted by crouching down and trying to thrash him off whilst making a lot of noise. But it was cool to be up close to them even if the ride was a little bumpy, and in general the elephants seemed in good health and not in distress. Next stop was a visit to one of the many hill tribe villages in Thailand, the first village, of the Meo tribe was very basic and almost deserted apart from a couple of handicraft sellers. The second, the Karen Tribe, was far more set up for tourists, whilst still basic it was also very friendly and was offering some beautiful handicrafts. Neither really gave much of a view of traditional hill tribes but at least we got a glimpse without too much disruption to the locals.
After lunch at a local eatery, good hearty food and fresh fruits, we went bamboo rafting, a somewhat wet experience as the raft was basically submerged and you sat in water! But we got even more wet due to the rapids and our 'crazy' rower, but good fun and nice to travel along a river with greenery on both sides..
Friday was a another low key day, spent wandering the streets of Chiang Mai, as it was the start of Loi Krathong we witnessed a lot of firecrackers being set off some were very close and very loud! In the evening we watched the parade which was huge and put Verwood carnival to shame! It started about a 15 minute walk from the river but we managed to see most of it then walk, via the hostel and somewhere for dinner and still beat it to the river! Then we watched the Krathongs (floating flowers with candles and incense sticks) being set off down the river, Dan floated one out for luck but I decided that it couldn't be that lucky when they were just collecting in a mess under the bridge! Instead I set off a paper hot air balloon, much more aesthetically pleasing activity and you still got to make a wish for luck! I finished the day with some final bartering in the night market before going back to start packing...
So to today, we have packed and checked out and are currently taking in the Loi Krathong displays in the daylight before catching a early sleeper train to Bangkok later this afternoon, from there we are still finalising plans but it we culminate in another train further south midweek.
A quick aside, even the Thai papers have articles on English football's demise and the downfall of Steve McClaren!
Tuesday, 20 November 2007
Up North part 1...
Well since I last blogged we have visited Ayuthaya which was a nice place to stay. We stayed in a nice hostel right by the river and had most of our meals say next to the river. But Ayuthaya itself is a bit dull, lots of Wats to see but apart from that it was a bit crap. We had a bit of hanging around to do in the evening before the night train (which I wasn't looking forward to!) which was a bit dull. We decided to go across the river earlyish on the rickety ferry, before it finished for the day, to avoid having to get a blasted tuk-tuk so we spent a hour waiting at the station, but luckily we weren't alone nearly everyone else at the station was a Western Tourist waiting for the same train.
The train journey was an experience, we got on just after 9pm as the Steward was making up the beds which meant flipping down a upper bunk and folding down the two seats to make the bottom bunk. The bottom bunk was slightly longer which meant I got the top bunk right next to the a/c unit which meant that I was actually a bit cold during the night but apart from that the trip was good. We arrived in Chiang Mai, having travelling through some really lush green scenery and hills in the early morning, slightly ahead of schedule at 9.30am a little tired and pretty scummy! Had some breakfast and found somewhere to stay, it pretty basic but cheap and central. Spent the rest of the day explaining to centre and then went to the Sunday Night Market which was actually a lot bigger than normal this week due to a Thai-Japanese cultural exchange, which also meant we were treated to a display of Thai boxing and traditional dancing in the main square!
So we've now made it to Monday 19th and week 3 of the trip. Monday was a bit of a scaled down day due to a slight accident for me on the Chiang Mai pavements the night before which resulted in a painful foot sprain (yes I know its not the first time and it probably won't be the last time) , so we had to give in and get a tuk-tuk to the tribal museum which had an interesting collection all about the Hill tribes of Thailand including the Hmongs and the Karens (one branch of which has those women you see in things like National Geographic with the long necks with the rings on). The rest of the day was some hobbling about another part of the city before giving in and getting some ice to apply the RICE treatment to my foot (Matt I remembered that from our little trip to Bournemouth casualty!). In the evening we crossed the river to go to a restaurant by the river however it seems that everyone had read lonely planet, where it was recommended, so we had a bit of a wait for a table. Was worth it as from where our table eventually was we could see the fireworks and lanterns being set off from the edge of the river in aid of the upcoming full moon festival and because its a big thing up here in Chiang Mai we've decided to stay here till Sat, before heading back down south, so we can see the celebrations and parade on Friday night.
A big draw in Chiang Mai is learning various Thai skills such as Thai massage, boxing or cookery so we decided, in order to bring some of the experience of being in Thailand home with us, to go on a day's cookery course. We booked in for the Tuesday course as it would teach us a couple of dishes we've already had in Thailand. So today we have been trying to get to grips with Thai cookery, the course was an all day course and started with an introduction to rice (the staple part of the Thai diet) which included both Jasmine and sticky rice. Then we had a trip to the market to learn about more ingredients and to get the things to make the dishes. We have made Chicken and cashews, a chicken and coconut soup, a noodle salad, red curry paste, Thai red curry and fishcakes. We also tried some Thai desserts and fruits which means we can now buy them at the market whereas before they just looked really quite scary! It was a really brilliant day the people running it were really friendly and professional and knew their stuff, and we met some other travellers and swapped stories and tips.
So that is the story so far, more news from Chiang Mai later in the week, I'm off to get some more ice and put my feet up!!
The train journey was an experience, we got on just after 9pm as the Steward was making up the beds which meant flipping down a upper bunk and folding down the two seats to make the bottom bunk. The bottom bunk was slightly longer which meant I got the top bunk right next to the a/c unit which meant that I was actually a bit cold during the night but apart from that the trip was good. We arrived in Chiang Mai, having travelling through some really lush green scenery and hills in the early morning, slightly ahead of schedule at 9.30am a little tired and pretty scummy! Had some breakfast and found somewhere to stay, it pretty basic but cheap and central. Spent the rest of the day explaining to centre and then went to the Sunday Night Market which was actually a lot bigger than normal this week due to a Thai-Japanese cultural exchange, which also meant we were treated to a display of Thai boxing and traditional dancing in the main square!
So we've now made it to Monday 19th and week 3 of the trip. Monday was a bit of a scaled down day due to a slight accident for me on the Chiang Mai pavements the night before which resulted in a painful foot sprain (yes I know its not the first time and it probably won't be the last time) , so we had to give in and get a tuk-tuk to the tribal museum which had an interesting collection all about the Hill tribes of Thailand including the Hmongs and the Karens (one branch of which has those women you see in things like National Geographic with the long necks with the rings on). The rest of the day was some hobbling about another part of the city before giving in and getting some ice to apply the RICE treatment to my foot (Matt I remembered that from our little trip to Bournemouth casualty!). In the evening we crossed the river to go to a restaurant by the river however it seems that everyone had read lonely planet, where it was recommended, so we had a bit of a wait for a table. Was worth it as from where our table eventually was we could see the fireworks and lanterns being set off from the edge of the river in aid of the upcoming full moon festival and because its a big thing up here in Chiang Mai we've decided to stay here till Sat, before heading back down south, so we can see the celebrations and parade on Friday night.
A big draw in Chiang Mai is learning various Thai skills such as Thai massage, boxing or cookery so we decided, in order to bring some of the experience of being in Thailand home with us, to go on a day's cookery course. We booked in for the Tuesday course as it would teach us a couple of dishes we've already had in Thailand. So today we have been trying to get to grips with Thai cookery, the course was an all day course and started with an introduction to rice (the staple part of the Thai diet) which included both Jasmine and sticky rice. Then we had a trip to the market to learn about more ingredients and to get the things to make the dishes. We have made Chicken and cashews, a chicken and coconut soup, a noodle salad, red curry paste, Thai red curry and fishcakes. We also tried some Thai desserts and fruits which means we can now buy them at the market whereas before they just looked really quite scary! It was a really brilliant day the people running it were really friendly and professional and knew their stuff, and we met some other travellers and swapped stories and tips.
So that is the story so far, more news from Chiang Mai later in the week, I'm off to get some more ice and put my feet up!!
Thursday, 15 November 2007
End of Bangkok..
Hello everyone!
This is just a quick update of things here in hot Thailand and yes I have the start of a very nice tan! Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (13th, 14th & 15th in case you're losing track) were spent in further sight seeing in Bangkok and the surrounding area. Tuesday started a bit later than planned due to my feeling a little homesick but I sorted myself out and we went to visit Jim Thompson's house in Central Bangkok. Quick history lesson Jim Thompson was an American who came to Thailand towards the end of the war, loved it so much that he stayed and was pivotal in reviving the silk industry in Bangkok, he built an amazing house from 5 old Thai houses before disappearing on a holiday in Malaysia.... Anyway we visited his house, and it was beautiful, made of old teak and surrounded by gardens it really perked me up.
Wednesday is English tour day at the National Museum so we took advantage of a free English speaking guide and explored Thai history; the guide made what could have just been looking at boring artefact's into an interesting morning. (did you know that when a Thai monarch or another high royal dies it takes a year before they are cremated due to all the rites that must be performed??!) We also fitted in some more culture at the National gallery before enjoying the sun in a city park!
On Thursday we decided to venture a bit farther a field and made it slightly out of the city to Samut Prakan where they have a huge site called the Ancient City where they have built scale replicas of major Thai sites, including ones that no longer exist for real today. It was really interesting and brilliant fun as the entry fee includes bike hire! However the journey there and the journey back were a little scary as we used the local non a/c bus for the first time and had no idea where to get on or off but somehow we muddled through.
So that brings us quickly to today where we have packed up our possessions and are just waiting before we get a taxi to catch our train to leave Bangkok for central Thailand, first stop Ayuthaya which used to be the capital before it was destroyed by the Burmese and moved to what is now Bangkok. It will be our first train experience and should hopefully prepare us for the mammoth 12 hour journey to Chang Mai tomorrow!
Hope everyone is well and I will report again soon.
Emily x
This is just a quick update of things here in hot Thailand and yes I have the start of a very nice tan! Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (13th, 14th & 15th in case you're losing track) were spent in further sight seeing in Bangkok and the surrounding area. Tuesday started a bit later than planned due to my feeling a little homesick but I sorted myself out and we went to visit Jim Thompson's house in Central Bangkok. Quick history lesson Jim Thompson was an American who came to Thailand towards the end of the war, loved it so much that he stayed and was pivotal in reviving the silk industry in Bangkok, he built an amazing house from 5 old Thai houses before disappearing on a holiday in Malaysia.... Anyway we visited his house, and it was beautiful, made of old teak and surrounded by gardens it really perked me up.
Wednesday is English tour day at the National Museum so we took advantage of a free English speaking guide and explored Thai history; the guide made what could have just been looking at boring artefact's into an interesting morning. (did you know that when a Thai monarch or another high royal dies it takes a year before they are cremated due to all the rites that must be performed??!) We also fitted in some more culture at the National gallery before enjoying the sun in a city park!
On Thursday we decided to venture a bit farther a field and made it slightly out of the city to Samut Prakan where they have a huge site called the Ancient City where they have built scale replicas of major Thai sites, including ones that no longer exist for real today. It was really interesting and brilliant fun as the entry fee includes bike hire! However the journey there and the journey back were a little scary as we used the local non a/c bus for the first time and had no idea where to get on or off but somehow we muddled through.
So that brings us quickly to today where we have packed up our possessions and are just waiting before we get a taxi to catch our train to leave Bangkok for central Thailand, first stop Ayuthaya which used to be the capital before it was destroyed by the Burmese and moved to what is now Bangkok. It will be our first train experience and should hopefully prepare us for the mammoth 12 hour journey to Chang Mai tomorrow!
Hope everyone is well and I will report again soon.
Emily x
Monday, 12 November 2007
Sightseeing in Bangkok....
After our nice break in Kanchanaburi we have spent Sat, Sun and today joining in with the hoards of other Western tourists sightseeing in Bangkok. The fastest way to see a lot of the main sights is via riverboats, so we duitifully got an all day pass on Saturday and travelled up the river to the Wat (temple) Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, which whilst being quite spectacular to look at were actually a bit overrated and combine that with the heat, having to cover up and the infuriating hawkers on every street corner meant that it was a very stressful day! So we stopped by a huge shopping mall on the way back and wander around to feel a bit more normal and had a cooling smoothie! Also managed to do my first load of washing, with the heat and pollution it was a necessary chore but the water coming off was not a pretty sight!
On Sunday it was time to brave the Chatuchak weekend market, I have to admit I was a little daunted by this plan but it was actually quite fun and very interesting, though I think it helped that it was a cooler day. It was also nice that it was a mix of Thai's and foreigners just wandering, browsing and buying, no hassling and no touts.. We had learnt should key phrases in Thai, 'how much is it? and 'can you make it cheaper' along with 'hello' and 'thankyou'. However our understanding on Thai is not great and although we had learnt the numbers I couldn't understand when we were told prices, but a lot of traders could say prices in English or had a calculator to show us the price! Those you know me well will not be surprised to learn that the first thing I bought was a bag! (well it is nice to carry round a bag that is not a blooming rucksack!) We spent the rest of the day chilling in the parks before heading back via Tescos for some provisions! That evening all four of us went out for a meal at a really nice restaurant on the river, good food and quite cheap too and it was nice to see the river at night, doesn't look as grim!
Today was the day for serious sight seeing we even got up nice and early for it; we were on the sky train by 9am! We decided to make use of the riverboat again since we didn't see much on Saturday, we rode the boat all the way to the end of the route and got off to pay a visit to the famous Khao San road, probably the most Westerny bit of Thailand!! Full of hostels, cheap shops and backpackers, not all that much to see but something that had to be done. We then got back on the boat to go to the next stop which was another temple, this time Wat Arun on the other side of the river, this was quite a sight from the river but not much to see when you got there, so Dan paid and climbed up the Wat and I cooled down next to the river. Next we decided it would be a good idea to find some v late lunch in Chinatown, this was not as easy as we thought, Chinatown is very busy! We wandered round in circles for a bit before giving in and consulting the lonely planet for somewhere cheap and good to eat, this led us further inland to Hua Lamphong a major road intersection and a nice cheap noodle restaurant which was handily near the metro line which could take us back to the flat again via Tescos this time for some drink to take to a housewarming party we have been invited to by one of Danielle's colleagues this evening.
We met a lot of Danielle's fellow English teachers and it turned out to be both a nice evening with food and drink and also a good way to pick up some tips for our onward travels, as most of the people there had done some travelling, particularly in south east Asia!
On Sunday it was time to brave the Chatuchak weekend market, I have to admit I was a little daunted by this plan but it was actually quite fun and very interesting, though I think it helped that it was a cooler day. It was also nice that it was a mix of Thai's and foreigners just wandering, browsing and buying, no hassling and no touts.. We had learnt should key phrases in Thai, 'how much is it? and 'can you make it cheaper' along with 'hello' and 'thankyou'. However our understanding on Thai is not great and although we had learnt the numbers I couldn't understand when we were told prices, but a lot of traders could say prices in English or had a calculator to show us the price! Those you know me well will not be surprised to learn that the first thing I bought was a bag! (well it is nice to carry round a bag that is not a blooming rucksack!) We spent the rest of the day chilling in the parks before heading back via Tescos for some provisions! That evening all four of us went out for a meal at a really nice restaurant on the river, good food and quite cheap too and it was nice to see the river at night, doesn't look as grim!
Today was the day for serious sight seeing we even got up nice and early for it; we were on the sky train by 9am! We decided to make use of the riverboat again since we didn't see much on Saturday, we rode the boat all the way to the end of the route and got off to pay a visit to the famous Khao San road, probably the most Westerny bit of Thailand!! Full of hostels, cheap shops and backpackers, not all that much to see but something that had to be done. We then got back on the boat to go to the next stop which was another temple, this time Wat Arun on the other side of the river, this was quite a sight from the river but not much to see when you got there, so Dan paid and climbed up the Wat and I cooled down next to the river. Next we decided it would be a good idea to find some v late lunch in Chinatown, this was not as easy as we thought, Chinatown is very busy! We wandered round in circles for a bit before giving in and consulting the lonely planet for somewhere cheap and good to eat, this led us further inland to Hua Lamphong a major road intersection and a nice cheap noodle restaurant which was handily near the metro line which could take us back to the flat again via Tescos this time for some drink to take to a housewarming party we have been invited to by one of Danielle's colleagues this evening.
We met a lot of Danielle's fellow English teachers and it turned out to be both a nice evening with food and drink and also a good way to pick up some tips for our onward travels, as most of the people there had done some travelling, particularly in south east Asia!
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Kanchanaburi....Part 2...
We've now made it to Friday 9th November, the first day where we managed to wake up fairly early, around 7.15 actually. Using the outdoor shower was quite an experience particularly forgetting to turn the water heater on, oops. After breakfast we headed back into town to rent a car for the day, a Toyota truck type thing and we started out to Erawan National Park about an hour north of kanchanaburi, a fairly uneventful journey as the roads were quite quiet. In the National Park there is a huge waterfall that has 7 official steps to it and I'm sure several more unofficial ones, it had some quite spectacular falls and views to match and some less spectacular trails to follow, the tarmac path soon turned to just a worn track over rocks and tree branches with some rickety bridges and ladders (European Health & Safety would have a field day!!). We eventually made it to the uppermost step and we were rewarded with a quick dip which was refreshing but it is a little uncomfortable having your feet nibbled by fairly large fish, something couldn't get used to. Every time one went for my foot, although they are harmless and are just after dead skin, it made me jump which meant i was slipping around like some sort of idiot! After that they was the small matter of walking back down; I did keep hoping for a nice cable car back down, but no such luck!
The next stop on our day of sightseeing was the infamous Hellfire Pass, part of the Thailand-Burma railway built by Second world war POWs, and also a lot of locals from Thailand and the surrounding countries. We had a look at the museum which explained a lot more about the Japanese plan for the railway and also the treatment and conditions endured by those that were forced to build it. It made quite harrowing reading particularly when we thought of all the heat and humidity and looked out at what was effectively jungle that they had to clear and build through. The hellfire pass itself was blasted through many feet of solid rock and this and another 3km of the track are still walkable through the jungle, although no longer in rail use. Danielle and I walked part of the way before heading back to collect the car and meet the others part way along the route, where it meets the main road. This was a fairly eventful journey where we got, predictably lost, and eventually caught up with them over an hour late, just before it got dark, understandably we were all a little stressed, particularly as we were fairly close to the Burmese border!
Our mini adventure in the Thai jungle meant we couldn't fit in a trip to the bridge in the daylight (we may get a chance to go back on our way down through Thailand to Malaysia), but we did luckily make it back to town in time to return the car and get the last bus back to Bangkok, phew!
The next stop on our day of sightseeing was the infamous Hellfire Pass, part of the Thailand-Burma railway built by Second world war POWs, and also a lot of locals from Thailand and the surrounding countries. We had a look at the museum which explained a lot more about the Japanese plan for the railway and also the treatment and conditions endured by those that were forced to build it. It made quite harrowing reading particularly when we thought of all the heat and humidity and looked out at what was effectively jungle that they had to clear and build through. The hellfire pass itself was blasted through many feet of solid rock and this and another 3km of the track are still walkable through the jungle, although no longer in rail use. Danielle and I walked part of the way before heading back to collect the car and meet the others part way along the route, where it meets the main road. This was a fairly eventful journey where we got, predictably lost, and eventually caught up with them over an hour late, just before it got dark, understandably we were all a little stressed, particularly as we were fairly close to the Burmese border!
Our mini adventure in the Thai jungle meant we couldn't fit in a trip to the bridge in the daylight (we may get a chance to go back on our way down through Thailand to Malaysia), but we did luckily make it back to town in time to return the car and get the last bus back to Bangkok, phew!
Saturday, 10 November 2007
Kanchanaburi....Part 1...
On Wednesday evening we decided to take a short trip west of Bangkok to Kanchanaburi on Thursday and Friday, as there was quite a lot we could see in a relatively small area, as it was effectively Danielle & Ian's weekend they came with us, this would also help with language problems. We caught a nice air conditioned bus from Bangkok and were provided with complimentary water and an 'in flight' movie - in the form of several Mr Bean episodes! When we reached the town we were again met with lots of locals keen to tell us where we should go or get us to take a ride in their transport, it got a bit more annoying as it turned out whilst they were nice to us when speaking some English they were actually being quite rude about us in Thai. We moved away from the bus station to decide what to do. We had some leaflets of a place to stay outside the town which we could get to on their free taxi service ( basically sitting in the back of a Toyota truck!).
The Little Creek resort was actually a nice change from the cities and towns and was a bit like a African Game camp with mud or wooden huts, we opted for a mud hut with a fan and hot water. It was basic but sufficient with a bed some shelves and a toilet and shower with no roof! Mosquito nets on the bed and windows so we would hopefully be bug free! The resort had a small pool so we checked that out but it was fairly murky so we gave that a miss and just watched the sun go down before having some dinner in the Lake Restaurant, where we tried some more Thai dishes - not so hot this time - along with some less traditional BBQ ribs.. Afterwards we took advantage of the free taxi to go back into town and have a cocktail in the aptly named no-name bar where apparently you could get 'shitfaced on a shoestring'. A reference I think to the book that we had and you see a lot of tourists with, the Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring.. That evening we also took the opportunity to visit the famous Bridge over the River Kwai just up the road, it is on part of the railway built by the POWs that is still in operation but you can still walk along it and we did, though the darkness and the fact it had gaps in it made be feel a bit queasy. Still it was good to see it and what we would learn the next day at another part of the railway would make us think about exactly what when into building such a bridge.
So we headed back to our mud huts and lighted some mosquito coils to burn outside to ward off the bugs and went to sleep to the noise of the Thai countryside instead of the noise of air conditioning units and traffic!
The Little Creek resort was actually a nice change from the cities and towns and was a bit like a African Game camp with mud or wooden huts, we opted for a mud hut with a fan and hot water. It was basic but sufficient with a bed some shelves and a toilet and shower with no roof! Mosquito nets on the bed and windows so we would hopefully be bug free! The resort had a small pool so we checked that out but it was fairly murky so we gave that a miss and just watched the sun go down before having some dinner in the Lake Restaurant, where we tried some more Thai dishes - not so hot this time - along with some less traditional BBQ ribs.. Afterwards we took advantage of the free taxi to go back into town and have a cocktail in the aptly named no-name bar where apparently you could get 'shitfaced on a shoestring'. A reference I think to the book that we had and you see a lot of tourists with, the Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring.. That evening we also took the opportunity to visit the famous Bridge over the River Kwai just up the road, it is on part of the railway built by the POWs that is still in operation but you can still walk along it and we did, though the darkness and the fact it had gaps in it made be feel a bit queasy. Still it was good to see it and what we would learn the next day at another part of the railway would make us think about exactly what when into building such a bridge.
So we headed back to our mud huts and lighted some mosquito coils to burn outside to ward off the bugs and went to sleep to the noise of the Thai countryside instead of the noise of air conditioning units and traffic!
Friday, 9 November 2007
Markets and Massages..
Well I've survived another few days on the other side of the world so, so far so good! I have now just about adapted to the time change and will try and remember all that we have done since I last wrote. On Wednesday we had to be woken to stop us from sleeping all day, it was fairly late which meant we managed to venture outside in the highest heat of the day. We checked out the big Chatuchak market, which we a little daunting but luckily not very crowded as it was a week day, so we have to go again at the weekend apparently! We also managed to find a Driving Range in the one of the parks near the market so we gave that a go (very traditional!), the golfers out there reading this will be interested to know that there was no machine to pick up the balls only a man with a cart wearing wellies and a board strapped to his back to deflect balls!
That evening we went to explore the main tourists streets in central Bangkok for the first time, this was an experience.......! It first involved out first trip on the Bangkok Skytrain, which was brilliant, quick, quiet and not smelly! We went and had a traditional Thai massage which isn't the most pleasant experience I have ever had and was somewhat painful. We ended the evening by having cocktails on Silomsui4, which for those not up with their Thai culture, is a major gay area of Bangkok; it was actually very friendly and relaxed and less stressful than being offered every item under the sun as you walked through the markets!
I have to admit I've found Bangkok a bit too chaotic and polluted since I've been here, but not all of Thailand is like this as you will read in the next gripping installment.......
That evening we went to explore the main tourists streets in central Bangkok for the first time, this was an experience.......! It first involved out first trip on the Bangkok Skytrain, which was brilliant, quick, quiet and not smelly! We went and had a traditional Thai massage which isn't the most pleasant experience I have ever had and was somewhat painful. We ended the evening by having cocktails on Silomsui4, which for those not up with their Thai culture, is a major gay area of Bangkok; it was actually very friendly and relaxed and less stressful than being offered every item under the sun as you walked through the markets!
I have to admit I've found Bangkok a bit too chaotic and polluted since I've been here, but not all of Thailand is like this as you will read in the next gripping installment.......
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Beginnings
Well I've made it safely to the first port of call, Bangkok, Thailand. I have experienced my first long haul flight which made me act like a kid in a candy store, (free stuff and TV/film on demand!). Although I did manage to get some sleep in between all the excitement and we arrived only a little worse for wear at 3.55pm local time (7 hours ahead of UK). The views coming into Bangkok were stunning however we missed the main attraction of Mount Everest as we flew over Nepal.
Dan and I bravely negotiated immigration (have my very first stamp in my passport) and the taxi touts and made it into a metered taxi which took us to our friend Danielle's place of work, albeit slightly delayed due to rush hour traffic. Since then we have just been relaxing and trying to get to grips with a new country and new time zone.
This evening I had my first experience of a traditional Thai restaurant was was brilliant, really nice food and a amazing view of the city not dampened much by my choice of a fairly hot dish, something ill have to remember for next time!
Still can't quite believe we are in Bangkok or even in Asia, but I expect it will become more real tomorrow when we try the markets!
Hope everyone is well in cold Britain (oh by the way it is nicely hot here, about 31 degrees when we landed, although its humid rather than sunny due to the pollution in Bangkok!) and I will have more to share very soon.
Dan and I bravely negotiated immigration (have my very first stamp in my passport) and the taxi touts and made it into a metered taxi which took us to our friend Danielle's place of work, albeit slightly delayed due to rush hour traffic. Since then we have just been relaxing and trying to get to grips with a new country and new time zone.
This evening I had my first experience of a traditional Thai restaurant was was brilliant, really nice food and a amazing view of the city not dampened much by my choice of a fairly hot dish, something ill have to remember for next time!
Still can't quite believe we are in Bangkok or even in Asia, but I expect it will become more real tomorrow when we try the markets!
Hope everyone is well in cold Britain (oh by the way it is nicely hot here, about 31 degrees when we landed, although its humid rather than sunny due to the pollution in Bangkok!) and I will have more to share very soon.
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