Bangkok (Thrills?)

Hi all!
Well we made it, and here we are in Thailand, just arrived in Kanchanaburi after a few days in the mad capital!

Flight was great - slept most of the way! Got dropped off by a Tuk Tuk miles away from the hostel and had a great walk in 38 degree heat!

Finally found our way into a friendly YHA on Phitsanulok Road (well recommended) and after dumping our packs headed (via Tuk-Tuk) to Khao San Road. Had some food, and headed back for some kip.

The next day we decided to visit the grand palace and found out the dangers and annoyances listed in the guide books are true, we were approached by numerous con artists around and on the Palace gates who told us the palace was closed (it was just midday) and to use their services to visit some 'great' shops and attractions instead.

In spite of this, we fought our way in to the Grand Palace that actually turned out to be the completely different attraction called Wat Po (a famous temple with a 40+ft reclining gold Buddha)! We had a great tour and got a valuable insight in to the Buddha and Thai customs.

The next day we went to the tourist office to find a map to the 'real' Grand Palace to discover that it is actually open until 5pm every day and somehow we'd walked past it! This time we avoided the con artists (they are very convincing - look official and stand at the attraction gates) and managed to get in to the Palace for a great day! Looking back - we now agree the guided tour at Wat Po yesterday was well worth it, if only because the guide stopped us from making any Thai 'Faux pas' in the sacred places.

Other than visiting main tourist attractions we also decided to visit China town expecting to find something like China Town, London (doh!) and hoped for a nice restaurant serving sweet and sour chicken and egg fried rice... We actually couldn't find chicken anywhere, only fish (shark tail seemed to be a favourite). We also couldn't find anywhere amongst the hundreds of street food traders that looked like it wouldn't give us food poisoning (except for a few highly priced restaurants) so in desperation ended up in a backstreet 'cafe' with noodles and vegetables feeling sorry for ourselves.

Overall we found Bangkok very friendly however, around the tourist areas it's hard to distinguish the genuine from the con-artists. It was continuous mayhem throughout and we are relieved to be in the much calmer Kanchanaburi. That said, it is worth spending a few days there as there are some interesting sites and it really is a unique experience!

Next Kanchanaburi... after a two hour train journey on a very hard wooden seat we found a great place to stay (Sugar Cane Guest House). The heavens opened up shortly after our arrival so we havent really had a chance to venture much further! Its now mid-night and we have a trip booked for tomorrow from 7am. Off to bed, will update soon!

ลาก่อน (bye bye)x

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