Day 7 Sunday R&R


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Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok
October 20th 2019
Published: October 20th 2019
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Long boat water taxiLong boat water taxiLong boat water taxi

This was the ferry over to the island for the jungle ride. The name was Bang Kachao.
I finally slept through the night, for nearly 7 hours too! Won’t it be ironic that this week will be problematic getting out of bed I. The morning. Even sleeping that long, I was still at breakfast by 6. I thought I had finished yesterday’s update and published but seems a technical error cut that short. Today was the Bangkok jungle bike ride. It’s one I’ve been on before, but like most things, it was different in many ways. The only thing similar was it was in the same pickup location. I recognized it from before, although the buildings around it are new and much improved. It was just a short BTS trip over 2 stations, and they recommend taking a taxi since it was about 1.6 km from the BTS. I had plenty of time to kill, so of course I decided to walk. It was a very sleepy part of the city that I’d never walked through before.

By the time I found the Spice Roads meeting place, I was right on time. There were only 3 of us on the tour, so we got the extended ride. The two others were from Germany and were doing multiple
Boat rideBoat rideBoat ride

No rain today and water was calm. Still had some splashes. Definitely want to keep your mouth closed on this trip.
cities throughout Thailand. To get to the island, there’s a bit of death-defying riding through the streets of Bangkok. Luckily, it was early and a Sunday, so traffic wasn’t as crazy. The first stop was the same place we’ve taken the river long boats before, the first couple pictures show the boat and the trip over to Bang Kachao. One of the first stops was the old Wat. There is a new one just across the road where a large celebration was going on. The guide told us that it was a celebration for one of the men who was going to become a monk. This celebration can be expensive and last for 3 days. She said in Thailand the Buddhist men are expected to study as a monk for at least 3 months, but also said that is changing now too. She said it can be two weeks or as little as 7 days. Seems like a big party for only a 7 day monk.

Next, we went to another area on of the island named for the honeybee - Bang Nam Phueng. This is part of the pathway that has been redone. They had much wider paths
Waterfront propertyWaterfront propertyWaterfront property

Can’t get any closer than this. I remember being here many years ago and the water was flooding and washed inside houses like this
and honeybees marking the trail. Once we left the nice pathway, we reached more of the jungle trails. We would ride along and have to avoid sleeping dogs, people and motorbikes, oh and the always fun, low roofs. These paths took us in between peoples house, and many had small shops setup outside selling drinks or food. We took a break at one of these places where the guide typically stops for a cool drink. She was telling us about how many cats he used to have, and he explained about the monitor lizards and pythons in the park across the dirt path are not the best companions for cats. From his description of the size of the python, I don’t think its very good for most people also. I Imagine he sleeps with one eye open, if he’s smart. Just up,the path from his house, we saw multiple Monitor lizards swimming. They were pretty big, and I’m glad they stayed in the water heading away from us.

Our next stop was going to be the “floating market” but it’s not actually floating, and it’s not the one that all the taxis try to take the tourists to on
Old Wat in Bang KaChouOld Wat in Bang KaChouOld Wat in Bang KaChou

This Wat was being restored, but the guide said it is taking along time due to little money and the problems with is being so old.
the weekend. It was more of a farmers market/ flea market, which we hadn’t seen on previous tour. We walked around there and sampled some of the local food - batter fried banana slices, water chestnuts, and a local fruit that I can’t recall the name of. We all passed on the fish stew.... The guide said many people come to the island from Bangkok because the prices are so cheap.

We were headed back to the pier for the return boat ride when we stopped by one of the larger houses here. The guide explained that it takes some time to get them built because the workers have to carry much of the supplies from the pier to the job site. Even though there are cars and trucks, most are not used for this. The tour finished by going through”hidden Bangkok”. It was some of the hardest areas to look at and realize people were living there. Should be a good reminder for when I start to complain about how bad my ”problems” are. When I do, and I’m sure I will, someone please smack me and remind me.

Now that I’ve been typing and reviewing/uploading photos
Bang Nam Phueng - HoneyBeeBang Nam Phueng - HoneyBeeBang Nam Phueng - HoneyBee

This is part of the differences from the last trip. They’ve redone parts of the path here as the area is named for the honeybee, as you can see in the picture. They’ve even added LED lights for night.
for almost 2 hours now, I’m about ready to go and do something outside of the espresso bar. Not sure what though. I know I need to keep track of souvenirs I’m bringing back so I don’t get special treatment like I did on one trip. I think they only want generalities now, but I’m going to have a list just in case. I’m still a little sore from last week, so today was a well needed break. It’s going to be a fast week as I think about it. The flight out is on Friday in the early evening, so it will only be one session in the morning. The days go fast with two-a-day training.

There should be enough reading material and some photos of other things than of the gym or fights to make it a little more interesting reading. Until tomorrow !



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Jungle pathJungle path
Jungle path

This is the typical bike path, also used by pedestrians and motorbikes alike. Sometimes a game of chicken breaks out. It’s amazing how quiet it is when the craziness of Bangkok can be seen jaunt across the river.
Monitor lizardMonitor lizard
Monitor lizard

This thing was huge. It wasn’t the only one we saw either. There were probably 3 others in the same area.
Island livingIsland living
Island living

This is becoming more typical of the houses here. Large and well-built. They are expensive because of the difficulty getting supplies to the job site. Many are not on roads, but only bike paths.
The unfortunate other halfThe unfortunate other half
The unfortunate other half

On the way back to the meeting point at the end of the ride, we saw how deep the poverty is in some places. This is near the main freeway and many were displaced when it was built. The houses are like this on both sides of this waterway in both directions. It’s a reminder to be thankful for how lucky we are.


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