Bangkok to Hanoi

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Day 17 Relaxing by the river

Our room is a floating raft on the river and I thought that it would be quite a peaceful place to be. But the walls are so thin that you can hear the people in the next room chattering (luckily they didn’t seem to do anything else but talk!), and I think that a family of birds is having a party on the roof!

The plumbing system is very interesting here. It appears that when you have a shower the water just filters down through the wooden floorboards into the river below. And I think that’s also what happens to your poo too! Let’s put it this way, I am not going to take a dip in the river!

On further inspection, what looked so spectacular yesterday in the dark when we arrived looks a bit jaded today. The rooms, although beautiful inside, are nothing more than glorified garden sheds with thatch on the roofs sitting on top of floats. But I have to say that it is very peaceful compared to Bangkok, and you certainly feel like you are miles away from civilisation!

Unfortunately as I get up and do my ablutions, I drop my little mirror and it smashes into what seems like a million pieces! It is fair to say that my Mother was a very superstitious person and she would have told me that I would now have 7 years bad luck. I kid myself that I am not at all superstitious, but I can’t help worrying about what trouble might befall me! During breakfast I realise that I have lost a diamond out of my eternity ring! Perhaps my mother was right after all!

We decide to take today to recharge our batteries and so we say no to doing any tours e.g. river rafting, washing the elephants and climbing up waterfalls! So we take a walk across the very rickety bridge that we can see from the hotel. The receptionist says it is perfectly safe to walk over it but if I say it is like something out of an Indiana Jones film then I am not exaggerating! There were huge gaping holes between the wooden boards which makes crossing it extremely scarry! I feel like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider as I pick my way across. Wish I looked like her!

We walk on, hoping that we will complete a circuit. On the way we see three large elephants and a baby elephant next to the road! They look bit bored. Well there’s not alot to do around here. No one walks in Thailand - everyone drives a scooter, sometimes with the whole family on board and the road is quite busy. We start getting a bit hot and find a little shop with a “wizened” old man and lady at the till. We choose some 2 packets of crisps and 2 local ice creams and we are fleeced of 60 baht!!!! We know that we have paid too much! They get you every time, but at least they do it with a smile and a bow!

Well after a restful day doing absolutely nothing, we catch up on our emails, have dinner and then go to bed! At 7.30pm!

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