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Published: March 1st 2008
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The rumours were true I've escaped reality again and found my way to the airport for the SEA escape. This time round I've decided rather then fly through Bangkok on the way to Europe, that hanging around in asia could be a good idea, we'll wait and see if it was a good plan or not.
I've also decided to make life easy this time and actually book some accomodation before I left home. The other plus of this was that with the good deals going at the moment with accomodation in Bangkok I managed to get three nights in an almost flash hotel in the right part of town complete with limo transfer from the airport for the price of one nights accom in Sydney.
One of the main reasons for coming to Bangkok was to go to the Tiger Temple to play with a tiger or two. As always it's the journey, the first couple of stages were great, on the Skyrail then onto the ferry totally seamless really all going to plan. Now for locating the Southern Bus Terminal according to the map it was just off where the ferry pulled in. This is when the
short walk turns into a long one, you see what they didn't put on the map was how far it was. They had a little arrow and Southern Bus Terminal, but in reality the little arrow should have said keep walking and when you get to the city limits come back a 100 metres and it's on your left. After asking directions and getting a taxi I arrived and onto the bus for the two hour trip to Kanchanaburi it was. Kanchanburi is also where the Bridge over the River Kwhae and the Kanchanaburi War Cemetry (Don Rak) are. The ute style taxi that I hired for the day in Kanchanaburi for the bargain rate of THB550 took me via these on the way to the tigers.
THB300 gets you into the Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno (Tiger Temple) and once you get to Tiger Canyon a photo with the tiger. You can upsize that for another THB1 000 to have one put it's head in your lap. Why not, cats and I get on fine so lets go play with the sleeping puddy cat (there are rumours that they are drugged but no-one has prooved it). They're just
tired after a big day of running and eating, so why not spend your afternoon siesta being pushed and prodded by tourists.
We (a couple I met on the bus and I) were starting to wonder if the bus trip back from Kanchanaburi would ever end, a two hour bus trip turned into three hours and then stopped nowhere near the Southern Bus Terminal, but it was closer to where we wanted to go, even if the bus driver couldn't show us where we were on the map!! But it turned out all good anyway with the three of us sharing a taxi to the backpacker and fake ID part of town. Kao San road goes for a couple of blocks and beside having a fabbo pad thai you can probably buy spare body organs to go with that fake student ID if you ask the right people.
My only faux par so far was to wear shorts to visit the Grand Palace, an enterprising Tuk Tuk driver was kind enough to point this out to me and said that after 2 pm it would be ok to go in wearing shorts. Conveniently he could take me for
There goes my taxi
The guys on the bikes also run a taxi service, helmets were optional. a tour on his Tuk Tuk to fill in the time. I've got to give this guy points for trying as he was up there with the guy in Cairo who told me the Egyptian museum was shut and should go to his friends museum instead. Fortunately for THB100 refundable deposit you and loan a stunning pair of silk trousers at the Palace. Mind you this didn't stop a woman in 3/4 capri pants trying to argue that her pants were fine to wear in when I went to get my THB100 back after the tour, go figure.
After tramping around the very impressive Grand Palace it was off to the King and I for what turned out to be two hours of feet up relaxation starting with the one hour foot massage followed by the one hour body massage. Now if only I'd taken the two hour body massage instead of the hour long one that would have been three hours of bliss. But being the frugal person I am THB1 000 was enough spent, although it was very tempting to go back again. With one night left in Bangkok what better way to spend it then to
go shopping. MBK shopping centre and Paragon was enough for me but you could spent a week in MBK and not come out.
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