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Published: February 19th 2017
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The minivan from Cambodia eventually made it to Bangkok and we were dropped off at about 8.30pm somewhere near Pratunam market where the company's office is. We then found ourselves unable to get a taxi prepared to use its meter. The price they wanted, and the tuk tuks too, was about three times what the meter rate would have been. We walked away and eventually found a driver prepared to take just twice the price. Meters in taxis are supposed to be used by law so we were not happy. Less so because the drivers used the excuse "it's busy!"
The
Retroasis turned out to be a great choice of hotel. Its rooms are all nestled around an inner courtyard with a lovely pool. We felt very happy there.
The next day we went to a part of Bangkok that we hadn't been to before.
House of Lucie is a photographic foundation and we were there to see an exhibit of
Steve McCurry's work. He was the photographer who took the famous Afghan Girl picture for National Geographic. Needless to say, it lived up to and exceeded all expectations. Any would be travel photographer need look no further for inspiration.
That
evening we meet up with some new friends thanks to an organisation called
Meet Up. We had arranged to meet fellow travelbloggers Kris and Kate, better known here as
Rat on the Road. We got on like a house on fire and had a great evening drinking Beerlao of all things. Well, it was the cheapest option!
In the morning we followed the advice of Kris and Kate, getting a taxi (with meter running this time!) to Wat Khlong Toei Nai. Nearby is a small jetty with a very enthusiastic Thai lady waiting to greet any foreign visitors. Before we knew it we had dashed across the river on a small boat and were on bicycles exploring the island of Bang Krachao, also known as the green lung of Bangkok.
Once on the island it's immediately apparent that you have left the big city behind. Yes, you can see the skyscrapers in the distance but the absence of traffic is sheer bliss. The Sri Nakhun Kuan Khan park is escapism at its environmentally friendly best. Several paths take you around the huge lakes and there is a bird observation tower hidden in the trees but in all honesty we didn't see many
birds. It was just a beautiful place to be.
We cycled around some of the island for a couple of hours and were disappointed to find the temple pretty much closed off as they were preparing it for a festival or something similar. Had we visited at the weekend we could also have visited the floating market or the intriguing sounding Siam Fighting Fish Farm.
That night we met up with out friend Nat again and had a drink surrounded by plushness in the Emporium shopping centre. Dior, Gucci and the likes are not our usual choice of window shopping but this place made even a couple of flashpackers feel glitzy for a while! The next morning we relaxed by the pool before flashpacking our way down to Hua Hin in a private transfer car. The traffic was horrendous and it felt like money well spent.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Beautiful
I love this photo