to the north it is......

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Well guys as you can see from the blog entries there is one in this relationship that has both the patience and novel writing skills to give an up to date and details account of our travels better than the other....and 6 weeks into travelling I am becoming quite relaxed (ys that means lazy) and fit in perfectly with the thai's way of life...slow.


Kieran has been doing a fantastic job of keeping you all in the loop as to where we are and what we have been up to and now it is my turn....we arrived back into Bangkok in the minivan which dropped us off just around the corner from the Kho San Road which was a pretty nifty drop off compared to finding station when we were heading to Kanchanaburi. Not to digress and go back on the blogs but Kieran merely skims what quite possibly was one of THE most frustrating hour I have ever encountered. After we had dropped Dean, Dan, Sam, Elaine and Barry near the Kho San Road we have already negotiated with the taxi driver that he would drop us at the Southern bus terminal bound for Kanchanaburi for an addional 200 bhat (sound enough and we didn't even have to switch vehicles-or so we thought!). So after the hugs and waves goodbye we carried on. What happened next was the the taxi went UP the Ko San Road (anybody that has been will know it is the most awkward street to get up on two feet let alone a minibus), down the road for about 15 minutes, past a few temples, traffic lights and ladyboys to return back to exactly the same spot we had dropped the others off at. At this point I was getting a bit annoyed so the driver stopped and asked for directions although Kieran and the lonely planet already had this worked out but the driver was having none of it. He then tried to palm us off onto a minivan driver who (coincedently) offered to drive us not only to the bus station but ALL the way to Kanchanaburi instead!! But we said no and pointed on the map again, his reply was that is was "TOO FAR....TOO FAR....TTTTOOOOOO FFFAAAAARRRRRR". "Right that's it I say to Kieran we are getting out" so two very hot and aggitated westernered deposit out of the taxi and wait curb side for another taxi. After MKieran hanging through several taxi driver windows we picked the best of a bad bunch who said he knew where it was and off we went.......or so we thought. This guy I would say was about 65-70 years of age and spoke not a word of English (GOOD START!) but drove fast and seemed to be heading in the right direction. After reading the street signs up above and realising he was going to wrong way and with another couple of thousand cars, mopeds etc on the highway decided to stop right in the centre of it! after pi**ing a few other drivers off we looked to be headin in the right directions again following the street signs to the Southern Bus Terminal-yipee! A couple of minutes (felt like hours) later and the signs dissapeared to the station we got a little worried he had gone WAY too far and asked to pull over. We called over some thai's to see if anyone could speak English and although not an english word spoken with alot of finger pointing our eyes met a row of minivans that they kept shouting "Kanchanaburi" towards-no, no, no, no we're onto you "WE DO NOT WANT TO GET A MINIVAN" I shout loudly and it frustration then ask the driver to turn around and take us back to where we were-after turning on the highway and going a mile or so we decided after consulting lonely planet that we were close so asked the driver to pull over (yes on teh side of the highway) paid and got out with 2 rucksacks in the blistering midday heat! GREAT! What happened next was unimagineable, another taxi pulled over offered to take us to the bus stati9on for 50 bhats and pointed to the other side of the very large highway so jumped in....so our third taxi and still not at the bus staition we waited to see what would happen....we then turned around heading the other way yet again...for a mile or so and right back to where we had been and where the 2nd taxi driver had brought us-past the row of minivans that the thais were shouting "Kanchanaburi" was the Southern Bus Terminal-we had been in the right place all along! Funny now....not then!

So back to Bangkok from Kanchanaburi it was....for 2 hours we sat in what quite possibly was the most uncomfortable position in the back of a minivan but easily enough it picked us up from the Jolly Frog and back to Bangkok. The others were staying in Sawasdee House on the Rambuttri Soi for a reasonable price so we lugged the bags from Kho San to there (only round the corner but felt longer) and checked in. The rooms were really nice allbeit twin beds but no windows which actually was a blessing as it was easier to sleep when the sun came up. It also had the luxury of a flat screen tv which we watched several films on such as x men, what happens in vegas but Kieran had to draw a line at Legally blonde! So once checked in we went down to the bar for a lemon shake and was joined by the others. It was lovely to see the guys after a mild seperation and headed off to a pool we had free access to which had the bonus of a sauna as well which myself and Sam took advantage of whilst the boys chatted by the pool. Jen I think this may of been the place you stayed at with the pool in the alleyway (Cha Cha's it was called?) After an hour or so the lads went off to the park for the aerobics class and a gym workout whilst Sam and I went for a mooch round the shops on Kho San (Elaine unfortunately was suffering from a cold and was back at the hotel). After a few quiet days, just Kieran and I, we were looking forward to a night out with the others and after getting ready I purchased a mojito from the street bar just next door which I will say served THE best mojitos (I have since being here become addicted to these as well!) and Kieran a Chang. When last in Bangkok we really enjoyed a fish restaurant down the Rambuttri so decided to go there again we both had BBQ red snapper mine with Garlic topping, Kierans with Chilli sauce-STANDARD! We then proceeded to a recommended club on the Kho San Road aptly called The Club. It played really good dance music, although a little pricey. after a couple of hours, vodka and redbull and changs later we headed home to bed.

After a needed lie in due to the comsumption of alcohol the night previous we rose at mid day (terrible I know) and decided to do something a little different and get a picnic and head to the park that the lads had been to the previous day. First stop Subway for a sub of the day (69 bhat) and then to 7/11 for a few extras and off we went. I was really looking forward to lounging in the heat with a book and a nice picnic, unfortunately we arrived when they were watering the whole of the park with sprinklers and couldn't sit anywhere other than on a bench next to a group of thai students in the middle of an art class (note that wouldn't happen in England!) so we ate, tried to have a lie down but got wet bums so headed out of the park. As we were heading to Chang Mai the day after by night train we decided as we were close (or so we thought) to go to get the tickets in advance-forward planning. We headed in the direction we thought was right but ended up near the river and nowhere near the train station so jumped on the local bus (Number 73) we were told in broken English that that was the right bus, which it was so booked our tickets for the following night at 10 pm and jumped back on the local bus to Kho San (number 53). The bus jouney was 7 bhats each a bargain next to 100 bhat they charge in the taxis!!! That evening as the other Guys had headed to Kanchanaburi myself and Kieran decided to visit the night bazaar. The Suan Lum night bazaar was about 20 minutes taxi away but well worth it-shoppers galore!

So out final day of our second trip to Bangkok and had to be out of the hotel by 12 noon so packed, lefty our bags in the storage room for 30 bhat and headed for breakfast/lunch at O! Hungry-we liked the name and the food was good. As we had quite a few hours to kill what better way to do it than to relax around a pool, have a beer and read books which is exactly what we did at a hotel called Dang Deng who allowed us to use their rooftop pool free of charge if we purchased beer etc-something that we would of done anyway-BONUS! Feeling very relaxed and chilled we headed back to the hotel we had stayed in/left our bags and used their bathroom to shower and yes you guessed it-it was now time to eat AGAIN! something we are either doing or talking about constantly on our trip!!! We decided although in Thailand we wanted something a little more like home and headed to a place called Oh My Cod (specialising in, you guessed it, fish and chips) but opted for the pie and chips for Kieran and Jacket Potato for me-mmmmmmmm it was lovely. After killing the last part of the day supping yet another Mojito from the street bar we put backpacks on backs headed to the number 53 bus stop to get the bus to the train station. This time we managed to get to the station for free as noone asked us for money (they usually come round after getting on rather than paying when getting on-if that makes sense) so jumped off feeling great for the free ride and into Bangkok Central train station bound for Chang Mai......

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Photos

Bangkok
Kieran's dessert after the red snapper-a local delicacy of Locus

Bangkok
Picnic in Bangkok Park

Bangkok
Art class in the Park-wouldn't happen in England

Bangkok
A local bus in Bangkok

Bangkok
Pie and chips