Advertisement
Published: December 6th 2006
The Train to Chiang Mai
This is the 2nd class airconditioned carriage before the beds were set up. I forgot to get a photo when the beds were set up!Hello!
Well well well, we dont have alot to say but we have a big day planned tomorrow so I thought I would post an update quickly tonight.
Meal at Coco Palm
I forgot to say in my last blog about the beautiful meal we had on our Temple Tour day. Tong recommended it and Charlie took us there. It was near the Grand Palace and called Coco Palm. There were 4 of us and we had 5 nonalcoholic drinks, a large beer (mine of course - equivilent to 2/3 beers in Oz) and 3 entrees and 4 main meals and the bill was 499 baht (around $16 AUD).. If you get a chance to go there you should! It was brilliant.
Shopping at MBK
Yesterday we decided we needed some 'us' time in an airconditioned building away from the smells and heat. The shopping was great but we didnt even get to see a quarter of the building. For any guys out there travelling to Bangkok, check out a little shop called LOBO - we think it is on the 3rd floor near the middle escalators that go down... they have
heaps of tshirts in skating brands, surfie brands and other random brands... They say 199 baht but they will be talked down if you bulk buy. Trent got some really cool army camoflage pants in light blue - 3/4 length for about 450 baht really good quality and heaps of tshirts. There is also a little stall near the KFC on the bottom floor with heaps of billabong, roxy, quicksilver tshirts... were 199 baht we got them down to 165 baht. I was able to get little tshirts there as well and they fit great... I am a size 10/12 with big boobies!!! :-) At the same place they have little kids surfie stuff for the same price too...
We had lunch in the 5th floor food court. We were trying to find the cheap food court which is meant to be great, but got confused and wound up eating here. It is meant to be more expensive but it wasnt too bad... we had a chicken noodle dish, a duck noodle soup, a coke and a Cosmopolitan Cocktail and it cost under 300 baht.
Trent did well shopping.. he ended up with the cargo shorts, 4 pairs
of billabong/quicksilver shorts, a dcshoes belt & 7 tshirts (element, billabong, dcshoes and quicksilver). So far I only have 3 tshirts. We were going to do a fashion parade for you all today (since we dont have any more interesting photos) but we fell asleep so you only get a couple of pictures!!
Mean Taxi Drivers
When we left the guesthouse in the morning we tried to get a taxi and he wanted 100 baht, I was told that it should cost no more than 60baht to the train station. We were heading there to drop our luggage at the storage facility for the day. Then a tuk tuk approached us and said he would do it for 200 baht! Yeah right. I just laughed at both of them and we walked off... with massive backpacks weighing us down... they were probably laughing harder at the dumb farangs with backpacks bigger than them, stumbling down the road.. What is the price of pride?! The next taxi driver said he would do it on the meter... so we jumped in... all the way to the train station he was trying to tell us he would take
My Billabong Tops 1
Only 165 baht ($6) and great quality! us to a travel agent to get our train tickets... he didnt understand that we had our tickets already... I thought I would be nice and asked if he would like to hang around then take us to MBK for shopping... I paid him the 61 baht for the trip and when we jumped back in the taxi to go to MBK he had started the meter again but it started at 45 baht (is meant to start at 35) so the bugger had started the meter as soon as we got out of the taxi obviously! Then he takes us the long way to MBK which was probably walking distance... all the way he is asking if we would like to get a suit... NO I am a student... dont need suit thankyou.... When we get to MBK the fare is 51 baht and he turns around and says really shittily 'you give me 100 baht' I laughed out loud and went 'no thanks you have made more than enough money out of me here is your 51 baht have a nice day!' and we jumped out! cheeky bugger!!
When we left the MBK it just got worse...
My Billabong Tops 2
Only 165 baht ($6) and great quality! as soon as you walk out there are thousands of tuk tuks and taxis (with meter taxi on the top of their vehicle) beeping at you and saying 'you want tuktuk?!' 'you want taxi?!' 'you want tuktuk?!' 'you want taxi?!'... every single METER taxi I approached all said 'I take you 100 baht' I was so shitty I just said NO and walked off with a huff... the tuk tuks were 80-100 baht as well NOT ONE would take me on the meter despite they were ALL meter taxis... One around the corner said 'yes meter' and as soon as we got on didnt turn his meter on .. I said 'you turn meter on?' he said 'yes yes where you go?!' I say 'train station turn your meter on' he says 'yes yes where you go' I say 'turn the meter on or stop the car' so he stops his car and we jump out and walk off... by this stage I was pissed off and hot and tired... the first tuk tuk that comes along says 'you want tuk tuk' I say 'how much' he says '100 baht' I say 'you have to be kidding right?!' he says
My Billabong Tops 3
Only 165 baht ($6) and great quality! '80 baht' I say 'fine' and jump in! It was not worth the hassle in the end!!!!
The Overnight Train from Hell
We got to the train station with a few hours to spare so sat around for awhile... my feet were killing and so we went to a little massage place in the train station (just near the left luggage) for a foot massage. Trent didnt want one so proceeded to fall asleep in one of their chairs and snore! They were all laughing at him! I had an hour foot massage for 200 baht ($6-7 dollars) and it was divine! My feet were feeling soooo good afterwards. We then got our luggage from the left storage facility (really good place - cost 45 baht for 3 bags), grabbed some KFC then went to get our train. The train was really old but clean... I went to the toilet just after we left and while it was pretty gross it was clean... at this stage.... You basically just do your business and it falls onto the tracks! Really! You can see the train tracks!!
We were pretty tired so they set our beds up
Trent New Outfit 1
Trent paid 370 baht for the shorts and 170 for the top! Bargain! about half an hour into the trip. A guy comes along and pulls the top bunk down from the roof, puts mattresses on both and sheets, blankets and a comfy pillow... quite luxurious actually... we settled in and werent feeling cold, despite what we had heard of the aircon carriages being like fridges....
About 4am I woke up and Trent was freezing upstairs... I gave him my blanket as we couldnt be bothered to open the backpacks for jumpers.. I was ok downstairs... I was busting to go to the toilet so off I went... I opened the door and the stench of urine nearly knocked me for six... seriously! It was SO bad! I have never smelt anything like it (actually I had... the train station womens toilets were like it a few hours earlier and I had to pay 3 baht for the privilege!!!!)
I could not go in there! I went back to my bed and the stench was still in my nostrils... it felt like it was burnt in there forever! I felt so sick... about half an hour later I just had to go! I took my long sleeved top off and tied
Little Puppy!
One of the resident puppies at the Guesthouse... not sure what breed this one is, but the other is a rottie! it around my nose and mouth... luckily everyone else was asleep cause I looked really stupid!! I went in, did my business as quick as I could but I could still smell it (not as bad though... thankyou cheesecloth top!!)...
Trent went to the toilet just after our beds were packed up around 730am and said it didnt smell bad so maybe they cleaned them early morning.. I wasnt going to check the womens though... I held on till Chiang Mai!
Chiang Mai - We love it!!
So we have now been in Chiang Mai since lunchtime and although we havent had a chance to explore it so much we love it! The people are more friendly, the air much cleaner and the pace more to our liking!
Our train was late so we got in around 11am (were meant to be in around 9.30) - we were approached by a lady at the train station who offered to take us to our Guesthouse for 60 baht. We had been told by the Guesthouse the day before that it would cost us 60 baht so we agreed and jumped in the van. While we were waiting for others to join us a travel agent lady approached us with a map and some treks/activities. She wasnt pushy at all and the prices she quoted were all cheaper than what I had found through the internet... She didnt try to sell us anything on the spot... showed us some free places she recommended we visit then said we could call her on her mobile if we would like to book anything through her. She was lovely... we just might take her up on it....
We got to our Guesthouse - CM Blue House - and were pleasantly surprised. For 350 baht per night (around $13) it has everything we need! A flush toilet... A TV with english channels... A Fridge to store cold drinks (Yah!!) and a beautiful little outdoor restaurant/bar, with waterfalls and a resident 6 week old Rottweiler and another about the same age (photo attached.. not sure what it is but it is tiny)... You have a little book and help yourself to drinks.. you just write them in your book and pay at the end of your stay... it works on an honesty system! The owners are two retired gay americans who are just lovely... very accommodating! There is a little street within a 3 minute walk full of internet cafes, restaurants and travel agents... we love it.
We had lunch at our guesthouse today - Trent had a bacon cheeseburger and I had a basil chilli chicken stirfry... they told me it was mild but it was the HOTTEST! My mouth was on fire! But I was determined to eat through the pain, I had tears coming out my eyes and almost felt dizzy from the pain!! We went for a siesta this afternoon and when I woke up my stomach was still burning... no word of a lie!!!
We ate tonight at a place called The Wall... very nice... we had drinks (cocktail for me) main meal and dessert each and it cost 390 baht. Most expensive meal we have had but the cocktail was 120 baht by itself! So still cheap cheap cheap!!!
I will take some photos of CM Blue house tomorrow... the restaurant/bar is just so gorgeous and relaxing! Our room is pretty basic but its a bargain for the price. Really!
Thailand Toilets
Speaking of toilets before that reminded me.... the squat toilets are interesting, especially when you have to grab a bucket of water to flush with!! And you cant put toilet paper in the toilets so you either use the hose (havent been game enough for that yet!) or you throw your paper in the bin (yes just a wastepaper bin in the bathroom)... our hotel in Bangkok was like that... Trent couldnt believe he had to throw shitty paper in a bin and not flush it! It all takes some getting used to but at least at CM Blue we have a flushing toilet and there is no sign to say put paper in bin so we are assuming we can flush it!!
In closing
Sorry for the length, once I get started there is just so many little things that I could write that I could be here all day... hopefully everyone is well and you are all missing us! I was stoked to hear Kevin Rudd was made Opposition leader... I have been saying to Heath for about 12 months that I think he would be such a good prime minister. I watch him on Sunrise each week and he is a real sweetheart!
We are off to the Elephant Nature Park tomorrow so look out for our next blog ... coming to you on a computer screen soon ....
Love to you all, Reety and Trent xxxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0342s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Neemo
non-member comment
Train Tickets
Hi Emjay, did it work out with the train tickets? I am only going to the station with the email that was sent to me stating that my reservations are there. Thanks By the way great bolgs... can't wait to read the one on Milky Bay Please take lots of pictures