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Published: January 21st 2010
Top Times
* Bangkok New Year under fireworks
* Kayaking down the River Kwai and at Angthong National Park
* Eating local street food
* Natural water slides at Erawan Waterfalls
* Getting a cool breeze on a motorcycle side-car taxi
So far, Thailand has proved to be the best value for money on this trip with nice hotels, great food, cheap taxis, warm weather and friendly people. It's true, Bangkok doesn't have the most beautiful modern buildings and it is a bit rough around the edges, but after the hectic tour of India, it was great to be in a relatively normal city chilling for a few days, swimming in the hotel pool, internetting and watching movies etc.
On New Year's eve, live music and the count down were broadcast at the town centre. The street market there was busy with people milling around, but we found a spot at an outdoor restaurant quite easily, to our surprise, just in time for a couple beers before midnight when fireworks exploded right over our heads! All of the touristy bits in Bangkok were worth the visit, including the Grand Palace, floating markets, and even the infamous part
of town where women "play ping pong." (Being a family-rated blog, we'll leave it at that!)
We took a train to Kanchanaburi on a WWII built railway and stayed near the River Kwai for about a week. Kayaking down the river to the bridge was special after visiting the local WWII museums and PoW cemetary. Better yet was walking over the unlit bridge at night, the original ends of the bridge being without side rails, much to Christina's dismay.
At a one day Thai cooking course, we learned that jungle curry was the hottest of Thai curries, something we had inadvertantly already experienced on our first night in Bangkok, breathing flames! Dave continued his new habit of developing infections, this time above his eye making him look like he took a Thai boxing class instead of cooking. After extracting the infection at the local Kanchanaburi hospital, he'd have to return daily for about a week, cutting into our next adventure to the beachy island of Koh Samui. Luckily all of these Thai tourist destinations have international hospitals where they speak English and don't charge a fortune. And so, we waited for the infection to go before taking a
speed boat to Angthong National Marine Park for more kayaking and snorkelling. There aren't as many fish or coral to see here, but it was still good fun.
All of our accomodations were very pleasant and, particularly in Kanchanaburi and Samui, were surprisingly inexpensive at not much more than 1000 baht/day (30 USD). In Samui, we decided to stay a couple streets away from the beach, and when we wanted a change in scenery or a beautiful sunset, we hired a scooter for about 5 USD/day and paid another 10 USD to spend the day at exclusive resorts around the island. This turned out to be an adventure in itself, running out of petrol with a dodgy gauge one day and getting a flat tire the next, but both times amazingly just within feet of garages, getting us quickly back on our way for just a few dollars.
Dave was also particularly pleased to get his hair cut (which one?) for only 80 baht, and the best food in Thailand seemed to be at local cafes and street stalls, another bargain. Well done Thailand!
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