Trekking Through Thailand

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Bangkok

Hi Everyone, this is Vickie, yes I can type and it's my turn to update the blog.
Sorry it's been such a long time since we last put anything on here but we have been so busy chilling out so this is going to be a long one!

We flew to Bangkok from Goa but it took us a lot longer than the 21 hours we expected, it took about 29 hours which was fun, this is because the time of our flight from Singapore had changed and we hadn't been told.
We flew from Goa-Mumbai-Singapore-Bangkok and by the end of it we were so tired we ended up getting a taxi straight to a hotel one of our friends recomended on the street right behind Kho San Road and they had a room. We just didn't have the energy to do our usual trapsing around.

On our first night in Bangkok we just went out for a couple of drinks and a bite to eat but instantly felt right at home. The atmosphere was great, the food was great, there were loads of people in the bars and restaurants and it was a lot more bustling than what we were used to in India.

In our time in Bangkok we visited the Grand Palace, we did visit this in 2007 but this time we didn't have a guide so we got to wonder around more in our own time and actually got to see more of it.
It's really amazing there are so many temple's and most of them covered in gold. It's crazy to imagine how long it must have taken to build them all.
We also went to see the reclining Buddha which was huge, we had seen pictures of it but never thought it would be that big.
We spent a total of five days in Bangkok, one more than planned but we were so hung over one of the days it pretty much wiped us out! I think we are officialy getting old now!

Kanchanaburi

Our next plan was to go to Kanchanaburi where the bridge over the river Kwai is. Our original plan was to catch the bus but we got talking to a guy called Gareth in a bar one night who said that you can go by train and it is a lot more of a scenic route and cheaper so we took his advise and caught the train.

The train took 4 hours and only cost us 2 pounds each which is not bad. Also Gareth was right it was a better way to travel, we saw a lot more of the countryside and had a bit of a nap which I don't think we could have done on a bumpy bus!
When we got off the train we were greeted by a 'taxi' driver so we asked him to take us to the street where all of the guest houses are, little did we know that the main way of getting around and what they call a taxi is a Samlor which is just a guy pedalling you around and I don't think they are built for westerers bums, let alone two westeners and two back packs! We managed to just about squeze in but it wasn't the most comfortable of rides!

We found a guest house called The Jolly Frog which was 200 bhat a night (4 pounds) The guest house was right on the river and all of the accommodation was circled around lovely gardens with tables over looking the river. It was lovely to sit there of an evening to watch the sun set playing cards and drinking an ice cold beer.
We even bumped into Gareth that we met in Bangkok so had a few drinks with him one night which was nice.

The day after arriving we went to see the Bridge Over the River Kwai.
You can walk over it even though the trains still run over. When the train comes you have to jump into one of the alcove's until it passes!! They do go very slowly though and they have a man who makes sure it is all clear before the train can go.
I didn't make it over the bridge, well I attempted it twice but both times ended up going back due to my fear of heights, you could also see straight down the cracks whch made it worse! Jack made it over but even he said it was scary in places!

One day we took a public bus to Erawan Waterfalls which were beautiful. There are seven levels to the waterfall and each level gets harder and harder to get to. In some places you have to use your hands to help you up and there are lots of rickety bridges over the water which seemed dodgy in places.
You can swim on levels two and seven, we had a dip on the second level and it was lovely and refreshing but we only made it to level 5 as it was getting quite hard and the last bus went at 4pm so we had to go back down but these are a must see, we just wish we had longer there.

The last bus back was amusing. It takes 1 1/2 hours to get back and as it was the last bus it was rammed full.
There were people all sitting in the aisles before we left and as we went on lots of the locals got on too so we felt a bit like animals cooped up!

We also went to the Tiger Temple which was about an hours drive from Kanchanaburi. The temple is run by Monks and some western volunteers. We heard rumours that the monks drug the tigers as they are so dosile and I think maybe they are right as they were pretty sleepy, some of them weren't even tied up and had tourists all around them taking photos and they didn't even flinch! It was still pretty scary though.

When you get to the Tiger Canyon they have about 10-12 tigers all sitting around and they lead you around one by one and you can sit with them and stroke them while they take the photo for you. I only got the courage up a couple of times to touch them but Jack got straight in there!
There are also cubs which were so cute, they were funny as they were a bit more animated and jumping around everywhere.
The temple not only has tigers it also had dear, goats, horses, leopards, bison and some really cute puppies!

Ayutthaya

The next day we booked ourselves a minibus to go up to Ayutthaya which is the old Thailand capital. The capital was moved to Bangkok in the 13th Century as the Burmese took over and the locals were either captured or fled.
We only wanted to stay one night in Ayutthaya then get the train to Chang Mai the next night.
When we arrived we went straight to the train station to book our ticket for the next night but they told us that they were booked up for the next three days! So we went to one of the agents to find out about buses and they were booked up for two days but we went with that as it was a day before the train.
So we had one more day than planned in Ayutthaya which was fine as it was pretty chilled out. We hired a bike on one of the days and went cycling around the ruins which were amazing, it's best to get a bike as they are really spread out, hot work though!!

In the evening we found a little bar which had three english guys in all jamming so we joined them until the early hours and even sang along with them (Oh dear!!) There were lots of nice restaurants there and the food was great!

Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai after a lenghtly 10 hour bus journey which wasn't the most comfortable and we didn't get more than 30 mins kip through the night!
We were pretty sleepy so all we want to do was get a room and have a bit more sleep. Luckily enough we found this guest house which was only 300 bhat a night (6 pounds), it had hot water (A rarety when your travelling!) and it had a TV - WOW!! So we chilled out and watched some TV as we hadn't done that for 9 weeks!!
The next day we went and booked up a cooking course, a two day treking trip and a night at Thai boxing.

On the Monday we went to the cookery class. There were seven of us there. You begin with deciding what we were going to cook. You have 7 dishes that you make and you have a choice of three dishes on each section. Jack and I thought that we would all have to decide as a group but it turned out we could all cook different dishes if we wanted to.

Out of the 7 dishes Jack and I only chose one the same so at least when we get back we can cook more.
It was a really great day. First thing you get shown around their vegetable garden, then you go to the market and they show you all of the different fruits & vegetables and buy the produce you need for the day (This was a bit scary though as there were cockroaches everywhere as they spray the market before it starts so they are all trying to get away and climbing over your feet!!)
You then go back and the teacher shows you only how to make the first dish which myself and Jack cooked Pad Thai. It was lovely!!
Then you make curry paste, soups, curry etc... It was quite funny as all of the ladies chose the really hot dishes and all of the men chose the mild ones!
It's amazing how quick and easy it all is and we are definetley going to be making it when we get back!!

On the Monday night we went to see the Thai Boxing and that was an experience!!
There were about 7 matches and they start with the young ones. No kidding the first and second matches I could hardly watch as they must have only been about 8 and they were really going for each other, one of them even got carried off crying. They also had two ladies fighting and they were the most furocious.
That night they also had the semi final which was Sweden verses Thailand and Sweden one.
We met a couple of English guy's there and once the fights had finished we carried on drinking until about 2.30am! We even got into the ring and were fighting each other. It was a funny night!!
So the next day we spent nursing our heads and various bruises.

Then on Wednesday we went to do the trekking.
We got picked up first and then two Americans from Washington DC got on called Tucker and Ed, then a lady from Canada called Anne, then two French couples called Alex & Lauren, John-Claude & Bernadette so there was a range of different nationalities.
There was also Mr Bee our guide who was Thai and very funny.
He was obsessed by ladyboys, ping pong shows and his favourite 'buffalo style'.

The first day a lot of it was spent in the truck getting there but we did do some walking which was hard work. We walked to one of the hill tribes where we were going to be spending the night. There were about seven huts which the villagers stayed in and then one big hut which was for all of us to sleep in.
We chilled out when we got there and had the lovely food cooked by the villagers. We stayed up a bit later than the others with Tucker and Ed playing cards and then went to bed. Little did any of us know how cold it was going to be!!
Jack and I had about 4 covers each and still couldn't sleep!! Everyone was the same but it was nice to get up in the morning and warm ourselves up by the fire and drink some herbal tea.
The next day we walked for about 4 hours and it was hard hard work! Up and down, up and down in the heat, walking over logs over rivers with nothing to hold onto!
I wasn't sure about doing the treking as I thought that I would be the one slacking and that everyone would have to wait for me but I was quite supprised with myself!! It was really hard work but great fun too.
After the walking we went and had a ride on the elephants. I think Jack and I had the lairey one as it kept putting it's trunk up and blowing snot at us!! Nice!!
After the elephant ride we went bamboo rafting which was really cool. There was one guy on the front to steer, myself and Anne in the middle and as Jack was the man he had to stand on the back and help steer. When you start it's quite chilled and then as you go further down you get more rapids and get soaked. We thought we were going to fall in but luckily only two of the French people did!

When we got back from the treking we didn't have anywhere to stay but we went back to the same guest house we were at before and they had a room. Thank god as by that point our legs had started to hurt badly!!
We went out that night for a chilled one and also booked the bus to go up to Pai the following morning.

Pai

The bus to Pai only took about 3 1/2 hours but it was so windy and all up hill. It made you feel quite sick! But when we arrived we instantly loved it. It is so chilled out, it has loads of bars and restaurants and is really laid back. The river runs through it as well so it's nice to sit in the bar by it with a Chang.
We were only supposed to spend two nights here but changed it to four nights as we like it so much.
I can't really say we've done much here other than wander about, chill out and get our bits sorted for the onward journey to Laos. It's been good to relax after a fairly hectic couple of weeks.
One of the days we went to the local pool which plays loud music and serves food all day and it's good to top up the tans!
It's nice at night as the streets turn into a market with all sorts and lots of food stalls which we've been taking full advantage of.
Today is our last day here as we have booked a bus to take us to the Loas border tomorrow so the next update will be in a few days from Loas.

Catch up soon, Loads of love Vickie & Jack xxxxx

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Photos

India
Our last Indian Sunset

Bangkok
Khoa San Road

Bangkok
Tuks Tuks everywhere

Bangkok
Tuk Tuk ride

Bangkok
Street Market

Bangkok
Street kitchen

Bangkok
The Grand Palace

Bangkok
Grand Palace

Bangkok
Grand Palace

Bangkok
Grand Palace

Bangkok
Grand Palace

Bangkok
Grand Palace

Bangkok
Reclining Buddha

Bangkok
Reclining Buddha

Bangkok
Big feet

Bangkok
You had to drop one coin into each of the pots for good luck

Kanchanaburi
The first time I had to wear a jumper since leaving home

Kanchanaburi
Bridge Over the River Kwai