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Published: September 23rd 2008
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Bangkok
From Vertigo rooftop Bar Restaurant - 59 floors up The night train was delayed for 5 hours to Bangkok…Lucky for us we were able to change trains and catch the next one outta there. Not so lucky for us we arrived in Bangkok at 6am on a Sunday morning. Nothing was open.
Our first 3 nights were spent out of the city in a serviced apartment which we had to ourselves. Having a full kitchen meant we could make our own food - a roast was on the menu. Bang-khe shopping mall was the biggest we’ve been in (rivals KLCC in size) and it had a theme park on the roof. We found NZ Mainland vintage cheese along with many other favourites which we took home to our fridge and kitchen. Collecting vege’s for our roast at the markets, the locals found it humourous at the small quantities we were buying. This was a place where tourists do not come, and therefore none spoke any English. They were all very helpful at trying to figure out what we wanted except for salt and ended up buying MSG instead - opps.
The next 3 nights were in Bangkok city, staying at a 4-star luxury hotel, 28 floors up with
Bangkok
suburban life a great view of the city and occasional fireworks. The first day was spent SHOPPING in MBK mall, 7 floors of total madness, which has lots of little shops all competing for the best price with lots of wicked legit stuff to choose from. T was very glad to leave to get a drink as it was sensory overload. That evening we treated ourselves to one of the top 5 bars in the world ‘Vertigo’ 59 floors up on the rooftop. We were fortunate to have an electrical storm in the distance and be mesmerized by the city lights as we sipped our cocktails. Stunning. And then…it was down to the night markets where the counterfeit fashion brands are sold by the dozen. Men on the side-walks asked us if we wanted live sex shows, and others trying to sell class A drugs. We declined both.
We needed some culture but the tuk-tuk drivers refused to take us to the National Museum as we didn’t want to ‘stop at their friends shop…just to have a look’. Apparently, they get petrol vouchers for bringing tourists. We’d had enough shopping so took a taxi, which worked out to be cheaper anyway.
The museum was really extensive with lots of artifacts and just the right amount of written info. It explained the history of Thailand very well and the Indian influence was an interesting aspect we could relate to. The most impressive of the labyrinth display rooms was the ivory room. Three meter tall tusks arch over us and in glass cabinets some are intricately hand carved with the Buddha’s image almost floating inside, with further Buddha images carved on the outside.
Making our way to the Grand Palace we detoured down a street filled with locals selling artifacts and Buddha pendants on mats. T found a small silver tin with a gold coin in it for 8,000 baht - not paying tourist price today sorry. Finally reaching our destination, both of us were inappropriately dressed for a temple and had to borrow a hospital looking shirt and trousers to enter. This is the place where the Emerald (actually Jade) Buddha lives with many Thai’s still coming here to worship. The temples were incredible with mosaic tiles covering almost every inch - intense with the hot scorching sun.
On our way out we saw the police squad - 100+ of
Shiney Mosaic
Bangkok Royal Palace them - with shields and batons ready to go into government buildings and bash the protesters up who’d been there since Tuesday, arguing the current Prime Minister was not worthy of his position. We feel it’s time to leave Bangkok, so slyly dodge another strike and grab what turns out to be one of the last trains to leave before the workers strike. By lunchtime Saturday 30th August we safely arrive in Ayutthaya, 80km north of Bangkok.
We were picked up by a locally made tuk-tuk, like a mini ute with covered seats in the back. Our first stop on the Wat (temple) trail was the most impressive perhaps due to the bustle of many people praying on a Sunday morning. An army of Buddha surrounded the perimeter of the main temple, dressed in their summer outfits of yellow and orange. Incense burned and gifts of lotus flowers, gold leaves and gold Buddha’s where placed on and around the larger Buddha statues for good luck and good health. Our second stop was Wat Maha That, which was the royal temple and most sacred in Ayutthaya during it’s time. In the 17th Century Ayutthaya was taken over by the
Burmese. Many of the Buddha statues which reside in the old ruins were be-headed and taken as trophies. Other heads where left in the trees or gardens.
In the centre of the island city there is a large park with cannels, a royal palace and one of the largest Bronze Buddha images in Thailand - Phra Mongkhon Bophit. The image measures 9.55m across the lap and 12.45m high. The Buddha is believed to have been constructed in the early Auytthaya period between 1448 and 1602 A.D. Bordering on Buddha overload Andrea puts her foot down a gets the tuk-tuk driver to take us where we want to go, which was Na Pra Mane…not where his buddies are hanging out for lunch. This is the only original Wat in the area after the Burmese sacked the city, as they used it as an army base. The gardens surrounding the Wat where immaculate and a fantastic place to sit, relax and contemplate the history.
In the evenings the night-market beckons, and is the liveliest part of town. This market has the coolest T-shirts in Thailand - T buys 3 and A buys 1. We eat dinner and leave as the
biggest and quickest cockroaches we’ve seen start to challenge the humans for some tucker.
Our final day is started with an early morning walk to escape/avoid the burning hot sun, tourists and tuk-tuk drivers. We try to sneak into the old Royal Palace ruins, but a pack of dogs run towards us, and we get outta there pretty darn quick!!
Ayutthaya is the old capital of Thailand whose ruins have been well preserved for tourism and pilgrims. It is an island surrounded by three rivers and crissed-crossed by cannels.
Ayutthaya is a lively, busy little city with deep history but still thrives on its local business and not just tourism. A very enjoyable town for 3 nights.
Our last stop in Thailand, before crossing to Cambodia, is Surin. The trains are still delayed due to the strike, so we are forced to catch another bus (grizzle). Surin is known for its elephant herding in early November, but for us it’s just a stop over point to avoid a horrible 30hr bus ride scam from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Surin is really small and seems like we’re the only tourists in town and get a good amount of attention
in our 2 night stop over. We were fortunate to find “Farang Connection” restaurant (Farang = white person). While enjoying English pub food - a much needed break from fried rice and fried noodles - the heavens open and the cats and dogs run inside (T ponders, I wonder if that’s where the saying “it’s raining cats and dogs” comes from). After the 2 hour downpour and electrical storm the roads are flooded and traffic is chaos. We get supplies for tomorrows travel day which was uncertain after being told various information on which one of two border crossings we should take. We decided to play it by ear.
From Surin the driver manages to pack 16 people plus our packs, including an old man with one of ‘those’ coughs, into a 14-seater minivan for a 90min journey to Chomp Chom. We arrive and have a chat to the only whitey at the border crossing - a Melbourne expat. He says it’s a hellish 8-10hr drive at 15km/h on extremely bad roads and that the other crossing is no better. We have a guide across the border, who turns out to be a taxi organizer - how convenient. Taking
the only car available for 2,700฿, not the cheapest but by far the most comfortable, we prepare ourselves for a long trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
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