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Published: March 16th 2009
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Cityscape
Reflections of Bangkok I think this is the 4th or 5th time we have landed in Bangkok.
You feel more at home after so many alien airports and landscapes. We changed spare Singapore and Malaysian currency into Baht checked the exchange rate at around 50 to the £ about 30% less than 4 years ago and looked for the cheapest ticket into town.
The air conditioned airport bus is only 150 Baht so we clambered aboard and after 45 minutes were deposited a short walk from the top of Koahsan road (police station end!).
Despite my optimism we found most hotels either full or too expensive and I was left with the bags while the girls went off in search of a room. Duly found at just 430 for a triple room with fan, it overlooked the popular busy street and although we knew the bar next door didn't close until 2.30 we had forgotten that Khoasan Road never does, George and I didn't really notice as we had arrived in time to grab a bite to eat and settle at a bar in front of a large screen to watch the cup final and consume enough beer, in cheer and commiseration, to sleep
Half moon
Viewed from Koahsan road like logs that night. We moved to My House hostel the following day in the quieter area behind the nearby temple.
You travel in hot countries, you expect to get bitten and the bites collected during our last days in India were a minor nuisance. When the bite on my finger remained inflamed after a week, I found a doctor on Tioman who prescribed antibiotics and anti histamine. In Thailand (now over 2 weeks since the bite appeared) the bite was still red and sore so I went to a clinic just off Khaosan road.
The doctor recommended a blood test, the nurse probed the affected area with a needle, and she then proceeded to squeeze blood and pus from the wound culminating in a squeal from her as a worm popped out! (The doctor said tequila worm, Ray said maggot! Georgia named it Wendy!) The doctor tested the blood and confirmed what we had suspected that it was a bite from a female sand fly that had laid its eggs at the same time.
A 5 day course of powerful drugs and antibiotics followed, the doctor was proud to point out that his clinic was a satellite unit
George
Caught offguard of a hospital specialising in tropical medicine, I was in shock.
We had sent our passports off to get visas for Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia and had 5 days to kill until they were returned, and until my drugs course was completed. So we went on an adventure.
Rob and Noys friend Guk has a friend in southern Thailand called Patt and we took an overnight train to Trang to meet her.
We had top bunks; there are about six sets of 2 bunks each side of the carriage and porters come along to assemble and disassemble beds evening and morning. As the arrival time was 1.20 pm we had the morning to watch the countryside roll past the windows whilst eating breakfast in the restaurant car or sat in comfortable wide seats, very civilised.
Trang has a sleepy small town feel and it is the hub for travellers continuing to the southern islands of Hai, Muk, Sukorn and Lipe, It is also just a few hours north to Krabi and Phuket.
We stayed in an inexpensive hotel opposite the station with aircon and t/v...luxury!! We met up with Patt in Sam's bar nearby around 5.00 pm and soon
My House
George waiting in the restaurant fell into conversation with Russell the bar's owner and several ex pat locals, mostly teachers, who popped in for after work tipples. He explained he also had a small resort on Koh Muk (Pearl Island) and we decided to head for the beach and stay for a night.
Patt collected us early the next day and we were driven in a mini bus to the quay where we boarded a long tailed boat for the short trip out to the island. There are a couple of beach resorts and more resorts as you walk back from the beach. Russell’s place (Mookies) is about 500 metres from the beach set in amongst the trees of a rubber plantation.
Our guide had offered to take us snorkeling and to visit Emerald cave so we dumped our bags at Mookies and headed back to the boat. As Patt is an experienced sailor she had a waterproof bag with her that we put cameras etc into, This was proved to be necessary for when our boat moored nearby what looked like just a sheer rock face rising from the sea we were dressed in life jackets, gestured over the side into the water and
Temple roofs
From My House hostel told to swim towards the rock. As you approach the base of the rock you see that there is a cave part submerged and you swim into the dark (following our guide) snake left and right until you see the light and swim out onto a white sand beach surrounded by tropical vegetation and dominated by a crown of towering cliffs making it completely inaccessible from anywhere but the cave.
Awesome is the only word to describe the sensation of emerging from the dark into the light and rugged beauty of your surroundings. Your imagination runs wild with thoughts of desert islands and pirates treasure and it is easy to forget the other people arriving, discovering and wondering; wandering around you.
We had to leave all too soon and after our guide trying to scare us (and succeeding with Sue) by pretending he was lost we swam back out to the boat and zoomed off to another spot where we snapped face masks and snorkels on to see what was under the sea.
This had been a lot of swimming for me and I tired quickly, the girls clambered back aboard not long after and we headed back to the
Temple cart
hidden in the garden other side of the island and our resort.
We sat at the beach side bar on a huge rope swing bench looking out to sea, the girls sipping a sundowner, me an ice cream as I was not allowed alcohol for the 5 days of medication!
Mookies accommodation is in tents which are pitched below woven grass clad apexes and furnished with a mattress a lamp and a fan. Mossie nets and zips keep the bugs out and camping with nature in the forest at night is a refreshing if noisy experience. We ate at the bar and spent a pleasant evening with Brian who runs the resort his wife and a New Zealander named Don who wanted to buy me a drink but refused to buy a soft drink.
Despite my protestations about the strong medication I was on, I negotiated and he eventually agreed to buy me a red bull and we continued drinking and playing poker for ring pulls into the night.
We were woken early next morning by the rubber workers cutting new grooves into the trees and setting up coconut shell cups to collect the dripping white sap. It was not unpleasant and we
Thai Station
Pretty country station had to be ready early to catch the boat back anyway.
Our train journey home started at 12.00 midday and we were back in Bangkok by 5.00 am the next morning. We went to the hotel where our bag was stored and managed to get a triple room with aircon that was available immediately allowing us to grab another few hour’s sleep.
We spent Monday getting organised, clothes washed, shopping and collecting our passports with visas attached. We had a celebratory drink to my recovered finger and some good news and ended up sat in a rooftop bar watching a live band; George and I discussing their performance from a professional and slightly slurry perspective. Tuesday was spent repacking and trying to lighten our load in preparation for our journey to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
We were ruthless and determined to lighten our load and we succeeded in cramming the bare essentials for the next 3 weeks into 1 rucksack with 1 small rucksack as a day bag,
Will it be enough or will we end up buying more stuff en route?....Stay tuned to this channel!!
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