Advertisement
Published: March 1st 2008
Chatuchak Market
Some of the wood carvings on sale24th February - A Taste Of The Bangkok Nightlife
As it was the weekend the biggest markets in Bangkok were in full flow so we decided to go and have a wander.We made our way to Chatuchak Market (supposedly the largest) and split up. It was HUGE! Alley after alley of shops selling everything from hand woven silk to wooden carvings. After just a few minutes we were clearly lost as the stalls are so compact together it becomes very easy to lose your bearings. The heat also became unbearable so, early afternoon we decided it was time to move on.
In the evening, as it was to be one of our last nights in the capital, we planned to sample the nightlife. First stop was Sukhumvit Road where many of the bars are situated. Here we met one of our school friends, Kit, who was staying in the area. He showed us his 'local' which turned out to be a great bar as the bar staff were friendly and we managed to get several games of pool in with other travellers. Moving on, we saw a baby elephant walking the streets with two Thai people allowing tourists to
Night Sky
The sky just as the sun was setting and we were boaeding the night bus feed it 😞
After Sukhumvit Road we set off for the reknowned Patpong Night Market, known for various reasons... It was a great laugh! Thats all that can really be said 😊
Finally, at 4 in the morning we made tracks to the nightclub 'Spicy' and arrived home at 7 in the morning. I think we did ourselves proud!
25th February - Recovery Day
As should be expected after arriving home at 7 in the morning (when it was getting light), there was a fair bit of recovery going on today, with very little sightseeing on anyones schedules!
In the evening we boarded the nightbus for our 3 day trekking adventure to Chang Mai
26th February - Arrival Chang Mai
After one of the most uncomfortable nights sleep I have ever had, on a bus which broke down temporarily, we arrived in Chang Mai 10 hours after leaving Bangkok. Today was set aside for having a look around the city itself which is situated in the North of Thailand, and after a few hours kip in the hostel we ventured into the city walls. There was a very different atmosphere to that of
Our Tour Van
If we ever go on tour ANYWHERE...this is how we were going to do it! Bangkok with everyone here seeming to be a lot more 'chilled out'. At midday the heat was too intense so we took shelter on the steps of one of the many temples in the city. A visit from icecream man (an umbrella over a fridge attached to a motorbike) revived us all and we continued through the little alleyways that crisscross the city. Still feeling the effects of the previous nights bus journey we relaxed at a bar on the edge of the city where we met the barman, Tim, a really nice American guy (and a BIG fan of Madonna - it speaks for itself). After several rounds of 'Killer' on the pool table we sat down for something to eat before setting off for the Night Bazaar.
The Night Bazaar was another large scale market selling many of the usual market goods. A fun experience but I think once you have seen the first 10 stalls, you have seen them all. Then it was back to our hostel to prepare for the real adventure which would begin tomorrow - 3 days trekking!
27th February - Chang Mai - Trekking - Day 1.
I woke up
The Night Bazaar
Just some of the items on sale. A little scary! to the sound of a Thai man shouting 'wakeee up everybody!' This was our tour guide, Rocky, who has to be one of the coolest/ funniest guys I have ever met. Modelling himself on the boxer, over the next few days he was to take us through the forests of Chang Mai and the surrounding area. With our backpacks carrying the bare essentials we jumped into the back of an open back pickup truck with the other four people on our trek ( Jin and Sun - a Korean couple and Michael and Careena - An Austrain couple - a great group) An hour and a half later we arrived at our base. Leaving the vehicle we walked through some woodland to arrive at the elephant trekking location. They are amazing animals! There were several large ones and one baby which was about the size of me. They are all allowed to wander around and the baby walked over to the feeding base and ran off with a bunch of banannas! We then climbed up to the platform and lowered ourselves onto its back. Ross and I on the seat and Rick actually sitting on the head! This has to
The Pickup Truck
Rick and Chad leaving the pickup truck be one of the best experiences yet as we wandered through the undergrowth we made regular stops at feeding platforms to feed the elephants banannas. Ours was a bit of a rouge as it often chose to take a detour from the track in search of food. It also made the point of stopping at every platform along the way until it received another bunch of banannas! He wasn't stupid! After an hours trekking we returned to the pickup truck. This was when the real leg work began!
With Rocky leading the way we were off. After an hour or so's trekking we reached our first stop off point. A waterfall! We would stop here for an hour so we all went for a swim to cool off. We were also able to walk behind the waterfall itself which was amazing as well as jumping from the rocks. After drying off we were walking again. A further two hours up hill and we had arrived at our first nights stay. A little village isolated from the outside world. The Karen Hill Tribe lived here and welcomed us, allowing us to stay in one of the bamboo huts. More or
Elephant Travel
A little slow...but it gets you where you want to go...eventually! less as soon as we had arrived we were offered a football match by the locals who were keen to take on the English. They said we would play at the stadium...I thought they were joking...they weren't! A whole area out of the side of the hill had been cleared for the pitch. It was Europe Vs Thailand....due to the conditions, which we obviously weren't used to, they may have scored one more goal than us...but who's counting! It was so peaceful and as night came we ate our meal of rice and vegetables and drank the locally made whisky (petrol!) over candlelight. It was a clear night and with no light pollution at all I have never seen the stars so bright.
28th February - Chang Mai - Trekking - Day 2.
After sleeping in the wooden hut ( a very jungle experience) I woke early to the sound of cockrels. Very annoying! Breakfast was pancakes and watermelon - a nice surprise! After saying bye to Mantas and Raucus (two Lithuanian guys who had also stayed in the hut) we left the village and continued on our trek. We returned to the football pitch where we sat
under one of the corregated iron huts while Rocky and Chad (our other Thai guide) carved out chopsticks from bamboo with their maschetes in preparation for lunch. As we set off the undergrowth had become a lot thicker and greener and after an hours trekking we arrived at another waterfall for our first time out of the day. We swam in the pool and jumped off the surrounding rocks. I then came out of the water to eat lunch to find I was was covered in loads of tiny leaches! Not nice! The chopsticks came in handy as we ate our noodles which had been wrapped in bananna leaves from this morning. After lunch there was a short distance to travel until we reached our second nights stay, a wooden hut on stilts right by the waterfall....with no electricity! This was one of the best experiences yet as we spent the evening round the fire where we saw a live pig killed and roasted on the BBQ, a new experience for everyone.
29th February - Chang Mai - Trekking - Day 3.
After a pretty restless nights sleep due to the constant noise of flowing water we woke
Nosey Bugger!
I'm sorry...bad joke. early for a breakfast of jam on toast! We had made it through the night with very few insect encounters, apart from the odd bug which came through the bamboo floor and a large spider on top of Jonny and Caz's mosquito net. Had a shower under the waterfall which was a little chilly!
At 10AM we were off trekking again and due to the intense heat there were many breaks. At one point Chad pointed out a large hole in the ground with a spiders web over it and as we gathered round we caught a glimse of a large hairy spiders leg!!! We continued until we reached the edge of the river and took another break at a waterfall where there were some huge cliffs, which, not suprisingly, Ross decided to jump off. We also slid down the slippery rocks down the waterfall...a giant waterslide!
Finally, after a further 2 hours trekking we reached civilisation! We jumped on the back of a pickup truck which took us to our final activity...bamboo rafting. This was a great laugh as there were 3 people per raft with one person using a large stick to steer. I was teamed
up with Careena and Michael (the Austrian couple) whilst Jonathon, Rick and Muc were on another. At one point down the river things got a little out of hand as we ambushed their raft. Everyone got very wet!
To finish the trip off we all hung out of the back of the pickup truck on the 1 hour journey back to Chang Mai in order to catch the overnight bus to Bangkok.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.182s; Tpl: 0.028s; cc: 8; qc: 51; dbt: 0.1079s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
davenport
non-member comment
keeping in touch
Hello boys. What an exciting experience you are all having, so pleased you are enjoying it, especially the one PATPONG we no all about this because our friend Russell told us to ask you what you thought about PATPONG and told us to watch your faces !!! now we know. Mothering Sun tomorrow we are all going to Alison and Nicks ~ wish you were coming too God Bless you all and lots of luv. Nanna and Granpop XXXXXXX