Transitional Phase: Phuket Bangkok Kanchanaburi Chiang Mai

---

Day 10

Phuket Off....

I got little sleep but woke up with absolutely no hangover. After the complementary breakfast I settled the hotel bills and left for airport in hotel provided sedan (which was ridiculously expensive and charged me extra 650 bahts!). Hard day coming up as I need to reach Chiang Mai by tonight for my long waited trek in North Thailand and to Laos and the breakfast was not that great to my liking.

I stopped the sedan at Phuket beach road, Starbucks Café to grab some coffee and doughnuts. Starbucks was virtually empty early morning apart from a chirpy young Australian guy and girl. The girl kept smiling at me and after a while started laughing and I barely understood the reason. I felt a bit embarrassed but she turned up to my table to say really enjoyed my printed Tshirt. Oh! I then understood what the cause of attention seeker was. I bought a T shirt from the street side stall one day back which says

"I don’t want a F**Kn tuk tuk, massage or a suit, Thank you very much"

We got involved in conversation as I noticed a group of tall, slim, young almost like supermodels of Czech Republic came to have coffee. Though I was talking to the Aussies but my eyes were on the girls without control. Anyways, back with the Aussie girl I had to end up showing the shop I bought the t-shirt from.

I reached airport safely and smoothly which was quiet a distance from the hotel on highway. The airport is better than Krabi and I got to know this is an international airport after Bangkok and people fly direct to Phuket. My flight was in AirAsia Airways and it was bigger carrier than the Bangkok Airways. The waiting room was on first floor and this airport looked in pretty good shape as this is another international standard airport and also I got to know tourists come to Phuket even directly skipping Bangkok altogether. There were mini stalls doing the massages, selling souveniers, books and there was a small restaurant as well. But the price there was airport standards really! Though we were boarding here for a domestic flight I could hardly spot one domestic passenger for the flight but there were a few unlike Krabi Phuket flight there were none. I chose a seat next to old German couple this time inspite of AirAsia being a free seating arrangement just for a change. The flight took off from the runaway very close to the sea. The landscape outside consisted of mostly sea and limestone cliffs- big and small and I got to see the James Bond Island of the Pha Nga. The flight landed in our old Suvarnabhumi airport in about 1 and hour time. What a pity! at AirAsia I did not get the salami burger which I got in Bangkok Airways!

Kanchanaburi

My next flight to Chiang Mai was late at night. So I wondered what to do? Stay at airport, go to Bangkok or someplace else? I decided to head to Kanchanaburi so I picked up my luggages and having quick snack of steamed rice, some spicy dry pork with beans and thai fried chicken leg at the airport food court I picked up the public metered corolla taxi and went to Southern Bus Terminal again where the buses leave for Kanchanaburi. Lucky for me I found the bus about to live. I was virtually snorring in the bus and didnot realize when the bus reached Kanchanaburi. It was probably two hours. I got down from the bus and with the help of local I found out the place where I could catch the Songthaew to "Bridge Over River Kwai".

Legendary Bridge over River Kwai

As I reached the bridge, the bridge looked less impressive than I actually imagined. It looked very ordinary with metallic arched suspended iron bridge across Kwae Yai river. I had high hopes post watching the movie and even imagined dramatic effects I might feel seeing the bridge and how could have been this bridge bombed from time to time during the war and people die. It was a part of the infamous Death Railway to Burma, constructed by POWs working for the Japanese in hellish conditions during World War 2. Some 16,000 POWs and 100,000 Asian workers died during the railway construction. In 1940's the Japanese built this railway to move equipment through Thailand and Burma to attack the Allies and try to reach India. Japan held thousands of POW hostage to make this project possible. The railway stretched over 400kms. Thousands died to make this railway and just being there in person seeing the work they had died for was extremely touching. The present iron bridge is the second wartime incarnation (a part of the original can be found in the War Museum), but 2 central 'boxy' spans were rebuilt after the war to replace three sections destroyed by Allied bombing. As I cross up and down the bridge by foot I did not find any mark, remains or scratches that will remind me of dreaded past.

Tiger Temple

I have heard stories about tigers been treated badly at “Tiger Temple”, Kanchanaburi and expected a Disney World kind of place there. I controlled myself from the lure of stroking tigers at that place and taking photos. I believed I have contributed noble cause as the fellow returning backpackers also confirmed the fact that tigers were very sad and gloomy looking and money waste.

Luckily I found the songthaew leave for Bus station as I reached back. I was running out of time as I have to reach in time at Bangkok airport to catch the night flight to Chiang Mai. The journey back was ordinary and boring like any journey I do twice.

Chilled out passage to Chiang Mai

At airport with some time to spare before the flight check-in I spent time locating an internet café which was over expensive, helping an old American select a SLR camera, watching Japanese eat at Japanese restaurant and checking out if there is any compact, slim and point-n-shoot camera for me there. I met the elderly German couple who flew with me from Phuket to Bangkok and found out they were on their way to Chiang Mai as well. There was no one in the entire row of my seat and as a typical Indian occupied all the seats and lay down to sleep. My attempt to sleep was interrupted by smell of some good food which the air hostesses were serving. Luckily, since it was a night they serve dinner though we have to pay separately for it in Air Asia. I was informed of potential bird flu in North of Thailand. I befriended the very kind, hospitable and prettiest airhostess who served me food. I kept on cracking some jokes and having good time with her. It was funny they do laugh for real on cracking simple jokes like she has infected me with the flu with the food she served! On the serious part, I order for a Thai chicken Green Curry rice meal (specialty of Northern Thailand) and also a chicken satay and seafood fried rice meal. She kept laughing and smiling at me and that I am so hungry really hungry that I don’t eat her. She also commented that "I do really love chicken" that comment reminded me of old college days when my friends used to make that comment about me all the time and on my carnivorous love of eating the bird.

Hunt for a place to stay in haunted night

We arrived at Chiang Mai at around 10:30 in the night and most of the stalls at the airport were closed. There were flights to China and I watched some people live for the the flight and probably that was the only flight for the night and last of the remaining passengers were boarding it. Otherwise the airport looked haunted. I tried to get something from the haphazardly lying maps, leaflets and booklets on Chiang Mai. I followed the other passengers out and went to taxi stand. May be because of late night or maybe Chiang Mai is peaceful that I did not have anyone chasing me offering a lift or hotel. I got in a taxi and told him to take me to Tha Pae Road. I got a response from Ross and got to know he has put up there at Soi 4 at Tha Pae Road. It was little scary as the roads were deserted and there were few night lights were glowing. I tried to read and find an ideal place to stay in Tha Pae Road and constantly feared I might have to sleep on streets in night and may get robbed or even hijacked. I stopped my car at narrow dark unknown alley and enquired availability of a room by Thana Hotel. What Ross did not tell me that this is an Israeli ghetto and almost everyone including the receptionists were talking in Jewish! After searching two or three hotels around I got a small room to put for the night at Jewish stronghold. God! I could smell Israel and Jewish around. The room was small and devoid of much luxury but anyhow it is good enough for a night halt and next morning hopefully I will be heading off to trekking in the hills of Chiang Mai.

Night Bazaar, Chiang Mai

In search of fresh air I went out in the streets and as directed by receptionist to nearby “Night Bazaar” . The Night bazaar or Kad Luang(Royal Market) as it is known by locals is suppose to be Chiang Mai's biggest draws. It is a great place to pick up trinkets and gifts. The local handicrafts is attractively cheap here as the market is in close proximity to the companies that manufacture them. The market shops and stalls by the streets were so packed that the stalls spill over onto the footpaths around the market. They sell absolutely anything you could have imagined from the fake "Rolex" watches, Japanese swords, local CDs, DVDs, bags, open air massage stalls, seafood stalls as well. The Sea food eatery joint which was surprisingly open still about price of lobster which sounded cheaper than prices in Phuket a bit but still not in affordable range. It was funny that the everyone around in “Night Bazaar” including the shop keepers were trying to talk to me in Thai and could not make out that I am foreigner. If only I have learnt a little more Thai I could have made excellent deals. I purchased a fake 50 ltrs front pack bag of “The North Face” from one of the road side stalls after a hard bargain before heading back to my room to get some sleep.

---