So we have neglected the old blog for a few days now- we left Pai on the 27th (i think- we never know what day it is) and the next day in Chiang Mai got food poisioning and have been deathly (I liek to dramatize) ill for a couple of days. Nothing like sleeping on top of a toilet bowl whilst dry wretching to make you homesick thats for sure.
Anyway now we are recovered I shall recap our adventures.
On our second last day in the wonderful village of Pai we took off on our motorbike again to see some more surrounding sights. We drove South (? perhaps) ntowards Chiang Mai and stopped off at Pai Canyon. We had tio do a mini trek (maybe 300 m) up a hill to come across a grand gully. A very thin (and scary in my opinion if not in Tim's) outcrop of red earth connected our side3 of the canyon to the other. I decided to forbid Tim from crossing it lest he "be slip down". He was less than impressed by my lack of adventure. but I did promise his mum and Dad I would look after him. I don't think "be slip down" into Pai canyon would make them very happy.
It was magnificent though.
After this we continued on to the Thai Pai Hot springs. This was fairly hilarious. The hotsprings get up to 80 degrees celcius in some parts and in the cooler pools we were able to walk through and sit for a bit. We sat with a school group who had come replete with eggs to boil in the spring- the school girls were hilarious to watch as they cooked their eggs then ate them straight from the shells with soy sauce! Further upstream where temperatures were probably more effective for boiling eggs there was
another great sign that said "No Boil egg". We are loving these signs. Nothing beats "be slip down" but other highlights include "your drive on left remember"!
Anyway it was getting time to take the trusty old motorbike back to Pai and say goodbye. But it started raining down in torrents and we only got as far as a coffee hosue on the road. we sat here and waited for the rain to stop.
I don't think we did anythign else very exciting on this day except for soaking up the Painess of the place before having to elave.
The next day we got onbaord a bus bound for Chiang MIa- and again wound though the mountains. There were signs everywhere in Pai saying, "Pai- Chiang Mai, 136km 752 curves" and I don't think they underestimated. Icnredibly curvy and not great on the stomach.
So we decided to have a relxed dayv in Chiang Mai and then the next day go to the elephant Sanctuary where we are going to learn how to love elephants properly. I already ahve the spirit jsut not the skills. Hopefully I get some elephant loving accreditation out of this I can put on my CV. Professional elephant lover would look fabulous on my tax return.
But alas we fell ill from a dodgy pad thai and were confined to our bed- lucky we had upgraded to a room with a decent bathroom and a TV- we stayed tuned into the Australia network amidst our wretching. Hopefully I have painted a cleasr enough picture of our abject misery- I eman real;ly reruns of Home and Away whilst vomiting?
So we postponed our elephant loving and are now goi9ng tomorrow. We will have two days at elephant camp then headed back to Bangkok as we need to go to the Vietnames embassy to organise our visas.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Insect Museum
Oh I forgot to write about our day in chaing Mai! we went for a bit of a walk inside the old part of the city which is surrounded by a moat and wall. We saw a couple of wats, one of which housed one fo the oldest Buddha statues - made in India (or sri Lanka- can't remember) about 2500 years ago. I would have been more amazed had it not been hidden behind a bigger golder newer Buddha statue.
Tim really wanted to go to this insect museum and I am glad he insisted - it was pretty hilarious. This guy has been collecting various insects for 50 years and the museum is his lifes work. He is a taxonomist who identified about 300 different types of mosquitos. But thats the boring part- the msot fascinating things were the stories of his childhood - where he got malaria and his experiences living in Thailand during WWII. He also now paints and has filled the museum with paintings of Buddhist godesses flying on the backs of giant mosquitos. He also has amzing (broken english) quotes about life- how nature works and how humans need to respect and love nature, because nature is God. He was such an enthusiastic man.
Tim really wanted to go to this insect museum and I am glad he insisted - it was pretty hilarious. This guy has been collecting various insects for 50 years and the museum is his lifes work. He is a taxonomist who identified about 300 different types of mosquitos. But thats the boring part- the msot fascinating things were the stories of his childhood - where he got malaria and his experiences living in Thailand during WWII. He also now paints and has filled the museum with paintings of Buddhist godesses flying on the backs of giant mosquitos. He also has amzing (broken english) quotes about life- how nature works and how humans need to respect and love nature, because nature is God. He was such an enthusiastic man.
Museum of World Insects and Natural Wonders Chiang Mai
Link to youTube(I haven't watch it but this is where we went)
Tim can ride a motorbike but he can't drive a car
This morning we decided to rent a motorbike and travel around the surrounding parts of Pai. It was assumed that I would drive seeing as I have a license and Tim doesn't. However it turns out I don't have the greatest skills when it comes to motor bikes so Tim took over and proved to be a natural. We rode just out of town to this funny little place called "Coffee in love" which is essentially a really nice coffee shop with amazing views of fields and hills. Deciding to be truly decadent we ate cheesecake and drank iced coffees for breakfast! It was great.
Then we rode a few km's towards Chaing Mai to see a waterfall called Pam Bok waterfall. We drove up into the mountains and again saw some beautiful scenery. he waterfall was fairly isolated and we had to walk up a bit of an incline to get a really good view- but it was worth it. We had to cross (what I will describe as) a very rickety old bridge like those you see in horror movies and I felt very brave crossing it. I didn't want to but I did.
After this we headed to some outlying villages. We came across a house that had art showing. We stopped and the artist insisted on giving us shots of tequila- which I had to drink because Tim was driving- and it was fairly potent stuff. He was a great guy who had studied philosophy and then used this in his art. His work was pencil and pen and he made this tiny little swirls that came together to make very detailed images - and the colours were luminous. It was almost pointilist in approach but using swirls instead of dots.
After this we kept going to a small village called Santichon which is very close to the border of Myanamur (Burma). It was originally settled by Chinese people and thus is referred to as the Chinese village and still maintains a very Chinese feel. We had some great Chinese style soups for lunch and continued onto another waterfall called mo Poeng. Again stunning. Only the photos will describe it.
By this stage it had started to look rainy and the temperature had dropped dramatically- but we wanted to see this Lisu tribe village that supposedly wasn't far. But as our map was fairly vague we got a little lost and by the time we were back on track it was pouring with rain. So we headed back into Pai. By the time we arrived at our hostel we were practically drenched. So we spent the rest of the afternoon lazing in cafes and wandering the shops of Pai.
Tomorrow we will ride out to the hot springs and have a soak and then again try to find that mysterious Lisu village.
Then we rode a few km's towards Chaing Mai to see a waterfall called Pam Bok waterfall. We drove up into the mountains and again saw some beautiful scenery. he waterfall was fairly isolated and we had to walk up a bit of an incline to get a really good view- but it was worth it. We had to cross (what I will describe as) a very rickety old bridge like those you see in horror movies and I felt very brave crossing it. I didn't want to but I did.
After this we headed to some outlying villages. We came across a house that had art showing. We stopped and the artist insisted on giving us shots of tequila- which I had to drink because Tim was driving- and it was fairly potent stuff. He was a great guy who had studied philosophy and then used this in his art. His work was pencil and pen and he made this tiny little swirls that came together to make very detailed images - and the colours were luminous. It was almost pointilist in approach but using swirls instead of dots.
After this we kept going to a small village called Santichon which is very close to the border of Myanamur (Burma). It was originally settled by Chinese people and thus is referred to as the Chinese village and still maintains a very Chinese feel. We had some great Chinese style soups for lunch and continued onto another waterfall called mo Poeng. Again stunning. Only the photos will describe it.
By this stage it had started to look rainy and the temperature had dropped dramatically- but we wanted to see this Lisu tribe village that supposedly wasn't far. But as our map was fairly vague we got a little lost and by the time we were back on track it was pouring with rain. So we headed back into Pai. By the time we arrived at our hostel we were practically drenched. So we spent the rest of the afternoon lazing in cafes and wandering the shops of Pai.
Tomorrow we will ride out to the hot springs and have a soak and then again try to find that mysterious Lisu village.
elephants, bamboo rafting etc.
Yesterday we woke up and had breakfast at this awesome little cafe/art gallery which is in an old tradtional teak thai house. Pai is extremely laid back and reminds me of Bellingen or some places in the Blue Mountains.
We followed breakfast with an elephant ride through the jungle. At first I thought "through the jungle" was a bit of an exaggerated term for walking on a bitumen road that had trees alongside- but the elephant stayed true to his word and quickly went off road through the wilds of the hills. It was at times extremely frightening as we were riding bareback with Tim up on the elephants neck and our elephant happened to be fairly strong willed and whenever he saw a particular breed of bamboo that he enjoyed he would bound off into the depths of the jungle to pull it out. The small path we were on through the forest was only about half a meter wide (at most) and we climbed up very steep parts- the descent was more frightening than the ascent. But elephants are extremely sure footed creatues- and Tim kept assuring me that the elephant wouldn't want to fall over either. it was such an incredible feeling to feel the strength of his spine beneath us. I have to say my favourite part of the ride was when the elephant let rip with some thunderous farts. A fart never fails to make me laugh- and it appeared that the manhout (the guy leading the elphant) and I shared a similar base sense of humour.
We got some great footage on our video camera- which hopefully we will upload at some point.
The ride lasted about an hour and we saw some spectacular views of Pai and the surrounding country side as we climbed up into the mountains. We also some the greatest arrangement of coloured butterflies- the most beautiful of which had bright tourquoise wings.
After this we went for a more relaxed ride on a bamboo raft. Its amazing tht something that looks so flimsy is so boyant. We cruised around the Pai river for about an hour.
It was a really great day.
We followed breakfast with an elephant ride through the jungle. At first I thought "through the jungle" was a bit of an exaggerated term for walking on a bitumen road that had trees alongside- but the elephant stayed true to his word and quickly went off road through the wilds of the hills. It was at times extremely frightening as we were riding bareback with Tim up on the elephants neck and our elephant happened to be fairly strong willed and whenever he saw a particular breed of bamboo that he enjoyed he would bound off into the depths of the jungle to pull it out. The small path we were on through the forest was only about half a meter wide (at most) and we climbed up very steep parts- the descent was more frightening than the ascent. But elephants are extremely sure footed creatues- and Tim kept assuring me that the elephant wouldn't want to fall over either. it was such an incredible feeling to feel the strength of his spine beneath us. I have to say my favourite part of the ride was when the elephant let rip with some thunderous farts. A fart never fails to make me laugh- and it appeared that the manhout (the guy leading the elphant) and I shared a similar base sense of humour.
We got some great footage on our video camera- which hopefully we will upload at some point.
The ride lasted about an hour and we saw some spectacular views of Pai and the surrounding country side as we climbed up into the mountains. We also some the greatest arrangement of coloured butterflies- the most beautiful of which had bright tourquoise wings.
After this we went for a more relaxed ride on a bamboo raft. Its amazing tht something that looks so flimsy is so boyant. We cruised around the Pai river for about an hour.
It was a really great day.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Pai and beyond!
Tim and I rose extra early this morning to ensure we got tickets on the bus to Pai. We ended up on this minivan with about ten seats. The journey to Pai was semi disturbing (as most of our journeys thus far have been- the Thais don't seem too fond of road rules). We drove through the mountains and it was incredibly steep and windy. Pai is only about 135km from Chaing Mai but it took 3 hours to drive because of the mountain bends. Our driver (who was very skilled) had a habit that made me uneasy: like overtaking around bends. Anyway we got there in one piece and also without losing our breakfast. The views through the mountains were spectular- little groups of houses nestled into random pockets of flat ground. The descent into Pai was breathtaking- we could see the lush green of the jungle against the blue of the mountains. The poverty in this area is less overt and the standards of living generally appear to be higher. The houses are all quite beautiful. Pai is fairly touristy but still really fun and laid back. It is described as a hippie village and we went to this really great little art gallery. We fell in love with these pop art style paintings that blended Western culture (eg: spiderman) with traditional Thai and Buddhist images. The artist used the most vibrant colours- wish we could have bought one. Instead we bought these hilarious hand made figurines of two lovers with owl heads- sounds lame but actually really fantastic.
also I got offered a job today- after over an hour on the phone to a Uk principal discussing my trip with a few random pieces of educational philosophy thrown in he offered me a permant position at his school. It is teaching English but when I get settled they want to use my drama skills in extra curricular stuff (which I may get paid extra for- unlike in Aus!). So I said yes (well I didn't actually think i just said, "sure Ok" then got off the phone and panicked cause the school is all boys and in some place called Gravesend. I mean really Gravesend? So tim and I looked it up on the net and found that the grave of Pocahontas is in Gravesend- so we were relieved to see we would have somewhere to go on the weekends.
Well we are all geared up for an elephant (bear back) ride through the jungle tomorrow followed by some bamboo rafting. tim is trying to convince me to go white water rafting- but I feel it is too early in our adventures to drown. I'd at least lie to see a few more countries.
also I got offered a job today- after over an hour on the phone to a Uk principal discussing my trip with a few random pieces of educational philosophy thrown in he offered me a permant position at his school. It is teaching English but when I get settled they want to use my drama skills in extra curricular stuff (which I may get paid extra for- unlike in Aus!). So I said yes (well I didn't actually think i just said, "sure Ok" then got off the phone and panicked cause the school is all boys and in some place called Gravesend. I mean really Gravesend? So tim and I looked it up on the net and found that the grave of Pocahontas is in Gravesend- so we were relieved to see we would have somewhere to go on the weekends.
Well we are all geared up for an elephant (bear back) ride through the jungle tomorrow followed by some bamboo rafting. tim is trying to convince me to go white water rafting- but I feel it is too early in our adventures to drown. I'd at least lie to see a few more countries.
Leaving Phitsanaluk
We learnt our lesson about the trains and got up super early so we could go to the train station and buy a ticket for the 2nd class train to Chaing Mai. We caught the Special Express but I don't know what was so express about it- it took 7 hours and went slightly faster than my walking pace. Anyway the views were beautiful. The sky's in the North are much clearer and bluer than in Central thailand and the landscape is lush and fertile. The train wound its way through the mountains which was quite an incredible sight. We arrived in Chaing Mai at about 8.30 at night and by the time we found somewhere to sleep it was pouring with rain and so we just went to bed. Another fairly dull day.
Phitsanaluk
Phitsanaluk is not a very entertaining stop- really just a transit point for people to go out to Sukhothai and up to Chaing Mai. By this stage we were pretty buggered and Tim was a bit sick so we wandered about the city at a slow pace and sat in every coffee shop along the way. Then had an afternoon nap- lazy days.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Carzy train trips, monkeys and other catastrophes
We woke up super early today and headed to the train station headed dor Lopburi (or as I prefer to call it Monkey town). We had to get the express train as the ordinary train was ages away- and we were a bit miffed at the price (around ten bucks each compared to the fifty cents it had cost us to get from Bangkok to Ayatthya- a longer journey).
We planned to spend a couple of hours in Lopburi just to catch sight of some monkeys. Enthusiastically we ventured into the town- not caring to look at the map until we were well and truly lost and hadn't found any monkeys. The Lonely planet had asssured us that the monkeys were litarlly hanging from the train carriages! When I had just about given up hope of a monkey sighting we saw some monkey turds dotting the road! Yahoo my childish excitment meter was turned up. Across the road from the non-innocent poos were a band of cheeky monkeys sitting atop a car and a couple of motor bikes. We crossed the road and watched monkeys pulling people's belongings out of their car and sprawling them everywhere. A few monkeys seemed convinced they could ride motor bikes and were trying on the helmets for size. It was at this point that some mysterious fluid rained down from above onto Tim's dreaded head- looking up we discovered he ahd been unceremoniously been pissed on by a monkey! hA! Tim didn't seem his usualy jovial self after this point for quite a while.
Anyway we moved onto the old ruins that the monkeys call home to see that there were aproximately 100 monkeys living there. It was incredible to walk amongst these monkeys - and kind of scary as they probably have a thousand diseases.
We eventually ventured back to the station to catch the ordinary train to Phitsanoluk - the next major stop on our way North to Chaing Mai. We thought we were being very clever by catching the ordinary train which only cost around 2 dollars each rather than the touristy express train that was coming 20 minutes later. We thought we were so clever that we convinced a couple of German tourists to do the same. We thought that catching the train with the Thai people would be a more realistic experience of Thailand. It was. We also learnt not to assume anything. We had assumed that if we were sold tickets for a journey lasting 6 hours that there would be seats enough for all. Silly pampered Australian assumption.
Tim and I clambered aboard the train in the stinking heat of the middle of the day- with our packs on our backs to find there was barely standing room and the standing room we aquired was up against the toilet door. To make matters increasingly hilarious (read torturous) every 5 minutes a person selling hot soups, dried fishes, beer or some other interesting concoction would squesze past us. I counted 11 people in a space I estimated to be 1 square meter. Most of those people were standing. I successfully managed to avoid the eyes of the German tourists we had convinced to take this train. I also then assumed that most people would be getting off at the nex couple of stops and we wouldn't be standing for long. Again silly assumption. In all Tim and I stoof dor 3 of the 6 hours of the journey. And the 2 or the next three hours I sat with one bum cheek on a hard wooden plank seat. It was truly an unforgettable experience and I actually wouldn't trade it for an airconditioned carriage with padded seats.
We eventually arrived in Phitsanaluk and found some accomodation. We went for a walk to the night bizairre where we had some dinner. I was unimpressed to see that stir fried chilli frog was an option. Naturally I went for the shrimp instead.
We planned to spend a couple of hours in Lopburi just to catch sight of some monkeys. Enthusiastically we ventured into the town- not caring to look at the map until we were well and truly lost and hadn't found any monkeys. The Lonely planet had asssured us that the monkeys were litarlly hanging from the train carriages! When I had just about given up hope of a monkey sighting we saw some monkey turds dotting the road! Yahoo my childish excitment meter was turned up. Across the road from the non-innocent poos were a band of cheeky monkeys sitting atop a car and a couple of motor bikes. We crossed the road and watched monkeys pulling people's belongings out of their car and sprawling them everywhere. A few monkeys seemed convinced they could ride motor bikes and were trying on the helmets for size. It was at this point that some mysterious fluid rained down from above onto Tim's dreaded head- looking up we discovered he ahd been unceremoniously been pissed on by a monkey! hA! Tim didn't seem his usualy jovial self after this point for quite a while.
Anyway we moved onto the old ruins that the monkeys call home to see that there were aproximately 100 monkeys living there. It was incredible to walk amongst these monkeys - and kind of scary as they probably have a thousand diseases.
We eventually ventured back to the station to catch the ordinary train to Phitsanoluk - the next major stop on our way North to Chaing Mai. We thought we were being very clever by catching the ordinary train which only cost around 2 dollars each rather than the touristy express train that was coming 20 minutes later. We thought we were so clever that we convinced a couple of German tourists to do the same. We thought that catching the train with the Thai people would be a more realistic experience of Thailand. It was. We also learnt not to assume anything. We had assumed that if we were sold tickets for a journey lasting 6 hours that there would be seats enough for all. Silly pampered Australian assumption.
Tim and I clambered aboard the train in the stinking heat of the middle of the day- with our packs on our backs to find there was barely standing room and the standing room we aquired was up against the toilet door. To make matters increasingly hilarious (read torturous) every 5 minutes a person selling hot soups, dried fishes, beer or some other interesting concoction would squesze past us. I counted 11 people in a space I estimated to be 1 square meter. Most of those people were standing. I successfully managed to avoid the eyes of the German tourists we had convinced to take this train. I also then assumed that most people would be getting off at the nex couple of stops and we wouldn't be standing for long. Again silly assumption. In all Tim and I stoof dor 3 of the 6 hours of the journey. And the 2 or the next three hours I sat with one bum cheek on a hard wooden plank seat. It was truly an unforgettable experience and I actually wouldn't trade it for an airconditioned carriage with padded seats.
We eventually arrived in Phitsanaluk and found some accomodation. We went for a walk to the night bizairre where we had some dinner. I was unimpressed to see that stir fried chilli frog was an option. Naturally I went for the shrimp instead.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Ayatthuya again.
Today was filled with even more excitment than yesterday. We jumped aboard our bikes again and headed back to the Ancient Palace. We took a different route this time and managed to see more of the island.
We rode past the elephants just in time to see them putting on the most hilarious show I have ever seen. I think the elephants have been watching the Ellen Degeneres show as they spent half the time just dancing- which made my day! They were grooving to a Thai version of 'the final countdown'. They did many tricks but most excitingly they hoolahed some hoops on their trunks and best yet- this man put his legs around the tusks of an elephant and hung upside down, then he put his head inside the elephants mouth and the elephant stood up on his hind legs! it was incredible. We were so blown away that we forgot to get the video recorder out and so we came back later and wtached the show again. I could have wtached those elephants for hours.
Off to the Ancient Palace - these ruins were pretty amazing- dating back like 1000 years (I guess we couldn't read much info). We also saw this huge bronze Buddha that was 12.6 metres tall- it was quite breathtaking.
Afterwards we headed back to the elephants - gave them a feed and decided to ride elephants up North as we want to go on a ride through jungle area on bareback if possible. I can't wait to love elephants at the camp!
We are now exploring a more Western part of the island that has a KFC etc. Tim ate a square donut and seemed to really enjoy himself!
Oh and when riding our bikes we saw this huge lizard that looked like a goanna- I nearly fell off my bike in fright. But pretty cool! Also seen some super cute little gecko things.
anyway running out of net credit. tomorrow we leave and head to Lopburi- Monkey town! YAY!
We rode past the elephants just in time to see them putting on the most hilarious show I have ever seen. I think the elephants have been watching the Ellen Degeneres show as they spent half the time just dancing- which made my day! They were grooving to a Thai version of 'the final countdown'. They did many tricks but most excitingly they hoolahed some hoops on their trunks and best yet- this man put his legs around the tusks of an elephant and hung upside down, then he put his head inside the elephants mouth and the elephant stood up on his hind legs! it was incredible. We were so blown away that we forgot to get the video recorder out and so we came back later and wtached the show again. I could have wtached those elephants for hours.
Off to the Ancient Palace - these ruins were pretty amazing- dating back like 1000 years (I guess we couldn't read much info). We also saw this huge bronze Buddha that was 12.6 metres tall- it was quite breathtaking.
Afterwards we headed back to the elephants - gave them a feed and decided to ride elephants up North as we want to go on a ride through jungle area on bareback if possible. I can't wait to love elephants at the camp!
We are now exploring a more Western part of the island that has a KFC etc. Tim ate a square donut and seemed to really enjoy himself!
Oh and when riding our bikes we saw this huge lizard that looked like a goanna- I nearly fell off my bike in fright. But pretty cool! Also seen some super cute little gecko things.
anyway running out of net credit. tomorrow we leave and head to Lopburi- Monkey town! YAY!
leaving Bangkok! Huzzah!
So we decided Bangkok was giving us the shits- I couldn't handle saying no to all these people trying to take us for rides in their tuk tuk's etc. So we got up early and went to Bangkok train station (i think called humphalong? ). we jumped on a train to the Ancient Capital of Ayatthuya. it was about an hour and half journey and I found it to be pretty exciting and interesting. Tim read a newspaper most of the way. it was so bizairre to watch out the window and see all these shack houses that line the railway and people living amongst what is essentially a lot of rubbish. We saw some nice sites as well, like some watery farm land etc.
On arrival in Ayatthuya I immediately felt a sense of relief. It is a much smaller place and the people don't hassle you. We walked from the tain to the ferry and crossed the river. The town is broken up by a river which runs in a kind of circle around the part of town called 'the island'. We headed to a hostel recommended to us by Rochelle which was on the island facing the river. It is an old teak traditional thai house. Very beautiful. The food at the restaraunt is absolutely the best we've had yet. We had hot and spicy prawn soup- there were at least 6 prawns in the soup the size of a fist! more excitingly we watched these funny little squirrel creatures which were either white or brown and had tails that looked like old used bottle brushes. They ran around the tree and roof of the hostel and actually kind of flew from one to the other, launching themselves across.
After lunch we borrowed some bikes from the hostel and decided to explore the town. I'm really glad Tim convinced me to ride as it was the best fun we've had yet. We rode about 4 km's to the Historic park and centre of the island. We decided we wanted to see the Old Palace ruins and followed the map as far as it said to and for the life of us couldn't find the bloody ruins. we rode up and down this one street in the park under a torrential downpour to no avail. Eventually we sucked up our pride and asked a lady - she pointed and we looked across to see we had been cycling past it the whole time. I don't know how we could miss such inredible ruins. By this stage it was getting dark and we decided to come back tomorrow. We cycled around the see some elephants nearby that were giving rides to people. I have never touched an elephant before and I was so excited I nearly pissed my pants. There skin is kind of prickly and the elephant slobbered all over my hand.
Anyway we headed back to our hostel and parked our bikes. Lonely planet convinced us we should eat at the night markets and so we went for another trek trying to find them. We found markets eventually that were operating at night- but Lonely Planet led us astray- they were pretty average and we headed back to the hostel for more fist sized prawns.
We ended the day by sitting on the balcony overlooking the water and having a read. Such a wonderful day- Iw as filled with happiness.
On arrival in Ayatthuya I immediately felt a sense of relief. It is a much smaller place and the people don't hassle you. We walked from the tain to the ferry and crossed the river. The town is broken up by a river which runs in a kind of circle around the part of town called 'the island'. We headed to a hostel recommended to us by Rochelle which was on the island facing the river. It is an old teak traditional thai house. Very beautiful. The food at the restaraunt is absolutely the best we've had yet. We had hot and spicy prawn soup- there were at least 6 prawns in the soup the size of a fist! more excitingly we watched these funny little squirrel creatures which were either white or brown and had tails that looked like old used bottle brushes. They ran around the tree and roof of the hostel and actually kind of flew from one to the other, launching themselves across.
After lunch we borrowed some bikes from the hostel and decided to explore the town. I'm really glad Tim convinced me to ride as it was the best fun we've had yet. We rode about 4 km's to the Historic park and centre of the island. We decided we wanted to see the Old Palace ruins and followed the map as far as it said to and for the life of us couldn't find the bloody ruins. we rode up and down this one street in the park under a torrential downpour to no avail. Eventually we sucked up our pride and asked a lady - she pointed and we looked across to see we had been cycling past it the whole time. I don't know how we could miss such inredible ruins. By this stage it was getting dark and we decided to come back tomorrow. We cycled around the see some elephants nearby that were giving rides to people. I have never touched an elephant before and I was so excited I nearly pissed my pants. There skin is kind of prickly and the elephant slobbered all over my hand.
Anyway we headed back to our hostel and parked our bikes. Lonely planet convinced us we should eat at the night markets and so we went for another trek trying to find them. We found markets eventually that were operating at night- but Lonely Planet led us astray- they were pretty average and we headed back to the hostel for more fist sized prawns.
We ended the day by sitting on the balcony overlooking the water and having a read. Such a wonderful day- Iw as filled with happiness.
2ns day Bangkok
So this day was a bit of a shambles. We had many plans and pretty much failed to follow through on any of them. We moved hostels and went to the Shanti lodge which is in Thewet (they say its a 15 minute walk from khao San road but they must be Olympic walkers or something). It was an awesome hostel, with the nicest family running it and making beautiful vegetarian food. we had amazing meals there. All in all we managed to check out khao san Road, which is fairly hectic and touristy so we decided to forget our troubles with a couple of fairly potent and amzingly coloured cocktails at some bar on the street.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Day One in Bangkok
Tim and Steph started the day with a wonderous breakfast of Indian food. At first we thought it was a bit weird considering we were in Thailand- but it was free so we gave it a go. Then we found that they actually had eggs and toast.
Anyway more excitingly we set out not knowing where we were going or what we were going to do. We made our way to the Central Pier on Chao Phraya River which is close to our hotel. We arrived just in time to jump on board an overly crowded boat which took us up (or down I have no sense of direction) the river to the Grand Palace. The river bank is an amazing juxtaposition of rundown and even falling down old tin and wooden houses and brand new apartments and other types of buildings. It was so starnge to see houses that were literally falling into the river but still lived in as the occupants washing was hung over the river.
When we got off the boat we wound through a crowded and overwhelming market place where we were linched by eager tuk tuk drivers offering to take us here there and everywhere for a very small fee (and what we later discovered was the expectation that we would buy a suit at some suit making place!). The tuk tuk drive was pretty fun- the driving here is so crazy- there seem to be no rules and people and cars, buses, trucks everything just move into any available space! This tuk tuk driving is a real art. Actually just walking in Bangkok is a skill- at fist we were hesitant to even cross the road its so crazy.
The tu k tuk took us to this incredible golden standing buddha and temple area. The temple was full of temple cats which we found amusing. We sat inside a temple that had the most incredibly detailed wall murals.
After this the tuk tuk driver just tried to get us to go to shops and buy things because he makes a commission... needless to say we ended up at the grand palace and left our tuk tuk driver. We couldn't get into the palace as Steph was wearing short... bloody hell. Anyway we used our boat passes to go up and down the river and chased these flower markets - we saw some incredible seed pods and flower arrangements. But more interestingly was watching the interactions of the people in these markets- we were slightly off the tourist trail and the people were fasciated by Tim's ability to grow a beard. Most of the stall owners were snoozing or looking kind of over it.
Anyway the day wore on and after one of the msot delicious pad thais we've ever had and paying 3 baht for a toilet we were stuffed and heat exhautsted and came home for a snooze.
Anyway more excitingly we set out not knowing where we were going or what we were going to do. We made our way to the Central Pier on Chao Phraya River which is close to our hotel. We arrived just in time to jump on board an overly crowded boat which took us up (or down I have no sense of direction) the river to the Grand Palace. The river bank is an amazing juxtaposition of rundown and even falling down old tin and wooden houses and brand new apartments and other types of buildings. It was so starnge to see houses that were literally falling into the river but still lived in as the occupants washing was hung over the river.
When we got off the boat we wound through a crowded and overwhelming market place where we were linched by eager tuk tuk drivers offering to take us here there and everywhere for a very small fee (and what we later discovered was the expectation that we would buy a suit at some suit making place!). The tuk tuk drive was pretty fun- the driving here is so crazy- there seem to be no rules and people and cars, buses, trucks everything just move into any available space! This tuk tuk driving is a real art. Actually just walking in Bangkok is a skill- at fist we were hesitant to even cross the road its so crazy.
The tu k tuk took us to this incredible golden standing buddha and temple area. The temple was full of temple cats which we found amusing. We sat inside a temple that had the most incredibly detailed wall murals.
After this the tuk tuk driver just tried to get us to go to shops and buy things because he makes a commission... needless to say we ended up at the grand palace and left our tuk tuk driver. We couldn't get into the palace as Steph was wearing short... bloody hell. Anyway we used our boat passes to go up and down the river and chased these flower markets - we saw some incredible seed pods and flower arrangements. But more interestingly was watching the interactions of the people in these markets- we were slightly off the tourist trail and the people were fasciated by Tim's ability to grow a beard. Most of the stall owners were snoozing or looking kind of over it.
Anyway the day wore on and after one of the msot delicious pad thais we've ever had and paying 3 baht for a toilet we were stuffed and heat exhautsted and came home for a snooze.
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