Thailand 1

---

Day 57

We woke up knowing that we had to fly to bangkok today so there was not much time to do anything. We nipped out and brought some guidebooks to Laos and Cambodia because we already had one for Thailand and these would help us plan our trip. Then we met Nigel again (our friend from Halng bay) and we had a drink with him and relaxed at a bar for a while before we had to get a taxi to the airport.

When we got to the airport we checked in with plenty of time and relaxed for a while before the plane took us to Bangkok.

Once we got to Bangkok Tracy rushed around and found a hotel for us to stay in which was a little pricey, but worth it because some of the Bangkok hostels can be dirty. Then we nipped outt for a drink and Tracy went to bed because she was not feeling well. Joe nipped out for another drink and met our friend Mena who we knew from China and went to a bar for a single drink before heading back because he was tired too.

Day 58

In the morning we decided to go to a park by the river to try and work out what to do. There was an amazing curry place that sold Thai green curry for 60p on the way after we found our favorite noodle shop had changed hands since the last time we went to Bangkok.

Once at the park we decided to go on a river cruise so we brought a all day pass that allows you to jump on and off the boat all day. We first went down to a flower market which was great because it was a Buddhist festival and there were loads of people buying and selling flowers and Joe tried a lemongrass drink that was interesting for about half the drink before throwing it away.

We then decided to jump on the boat again after Joe picked up some gorgeous street noodles and go to the next stop because Tracy wanted to use the toilet. We were going to walk into a really REALLY nice hotel, but then realized that we looked too much like travelers and chickened out and went to a mall instead that sold antiques. As this was a rich part of town they were all really nice. As we walked in Tracy saw a necklace that she said was “ugly and a bunch of stones on a string” until we realized that in fact it was about 600 years old.

After the toilet stop we jumped back on the boat again and headed back to where our hostel was and go our for a drink. Once there we met a really nice couple of Dutch couples! So we were talking to them for a while and sharing stories about traveling and then Ben from Vietnam was walking down the road so Joe shouted him over and we all started to have a few drinks together.

After a little while Ben started to feel more confident and ended up doing the Hakka in the middle of a really busy street much to the amusement of the onlookers. After that we got our pickture taken pretending to ride tuktuks and we went home.

Day 59

We woke and didnt really have anything to do this day so we started walking around and after talking to a really nice Thai lady found out that because of the religious Buddhist holiday we could get a tuktuk for the day for only about 50p and it would take us to all the big temples. We decided to do this and went to see a really large standing Buddha, another in a temple called the lucky Buddha and then we climbed a really big hill that had a temple on top in the middle of Bangkok which had lovely views over the city.

One way the drivers can make some money is for them to drop you off at shops. So we arranged with the driver that if he dropped us off at some shops then we'd go in a pretend to look around abut actually not buy anything. So we had to go to a couple of tailor shops and a travel agents which was a little weird but it was for a good cause.

On our way back from where the tuktuk dropped us off we noticed that the road we were walking along was starting to get a little quiet and there were police all around telling people to take their glasses and hats off. We turned in puzzlement and found out the king was going to drive by soon. So we stopped and were not allowed to take pictures because the Thai people take their king very seriously and watched him as he drove by which was amazing.

After this we decided to head to a street that sold lots of things for travellers and decided to try and do some shopping before heading off to grab some lovely street food with one of the Dutch couples we met the night before. Then we headed off to bed as we were all still a little head sore from the night before.

Day 61

We woke in the morning and headed off to the train station to go to Ayuthaya which was the ancient capital of Thailand. It was only a short train ride away from Bangkok and we were running a little late because we checked out around 12:00.

Once we got the train station we asked for a ticket and found there was only third class available. Now in China this would have been unthinkable and we would have waited for the next train, but in this instance we decided to give it a go and it was not that bad. There was no air conditioning but it didnt matter and we sat with loads of Thai people and a few backpackers on some hard seats for a couple of hours till we finally made it to our destination.

Once we arrived we got a tuktuk to the hostels (we were going to walk but in the end it was miles away) and Joe ran around while Tracy waited with the bags and he looked at all the hostels. After finding a cheap one that looked a little like a prison cell we dropped off our bags and nipped to a travel agent and booked a tuktuk night tour of all the temples that was starting in about an hour and a half. So we relaxed for a little while and waited for the tuktuk tour in the blistering heat.

When the tuktuk arrived it was still light and we started our trip which took us to a number of temples which were stunning at night. We were not allowed into the temples because they were shut at night but you could get some great shots from outside the temples.

The first place we went was a big statue for a former ruler who loved cock fighting, so his statue was adorned with lots of cockerels which was really strange and some of them were massive!! After that we toured a number of very beautiful temples which provided some great photo opportunities.

After the tour we decided to head to bed because it was getting late and we were going to do the same tour the next day but with biikes instead of a tuktuk.

Day 62

After waking and having breakfast we headed to our hostel to rent some bikes for the day which we were both really looking forward to because the city looked so very beautiful. Once we had our bikes we put lots of suncream on because it was a baking hot day and wiith our map started heading out to the temples.

The temples in the city are everywhere and you cant walk down the road without bumping into temples that date back hundreds of years which are steeped in history. We spent the whole day going to four temples and enjoying the sun and taking photographs. Its amazing because the temples are so big there is so much detail on each of them, you could have taken ten thousand photos because it was so beautiful. During the tour we also stopped for some more lovely street food and had noodle soup before heading back to catch the bus to northern Thailand and a lovely place called Chang Mai.

When we got on the bus which would take ten hours there were not many seats left we had to sit on the back where there were five people all sat together, this was very cramped and uncomfortable and had to be the worst traveling experience for both of us since we started as we got no sleep all night long and it was pretty horrible.


Day 62

Thankfully the night bus dropped us off in the centre o f Chang Mai old town so Joe looked after the bags while Tracy went searching for hostels. The atmosphere here is much more laid back then we have become acustomed to though and as it was 7am there were no staff to be found in half of the places. We settled on a nice little place called Rendezvous Guesthouse, popped out for some cheap noodle soup for breakfast then promptly returned for a nap to try and get over the nightbus.

In the afternoon we wandered roundd town to get our bearings and signed up for a cooking class. We also got lucky, as we had wifi in our room, and we're able to spend a few hours 'skyping' family & friends. In the evening we wandered around the night bazaar and ate at the night food market there, then wandered around a few various bars. We met a large group of friends that we went to a club with, but once we realised the westerners were being charged 6 x the local price we decided we would be better off going home to bed.

Day 63

Today was fantastic as we had our cooking class from 9:30 till 4pm, with a great school called Baan Thai. We had a menu with six courses each with three options and we just had to tick off what we would like to make and eat and then we would go and join groups all cooking the same thing. We decided to both pick different things to make so we could teach each other later.

What surprised both of us was how simple a lot of the food is to make, healthy and tasty!! Some of the highlights were the tom yam soup, green and panang curry, spring rolls and the sticky rice with mango.

While we were there we met some really nice Australian couples from Perth that were telling us all about the different places we can go in OZ. That night we also met up with them and they were very friendly and invited us to go and stay with them aand they said they would not let us pay for anything while we were there which was very very nice.

During the night there was also a great night market that sold all sorts of things and ammazing food, We sat and enjoyed some great food and went shopping although we didnt end up buying anything.

Day 63

We awoke and decided to have a chilled out day because there had been a lot of travelling recently and we also needed to take some time to arrange where we were going next and what we were going to do there. We arranged to do a jungle experience called flight of the gibbon tomorrow and then to catch the night bus to the border crossing.

We spent the afternoon wandering around second hand book shops stocking up as we know we have a lot of travelling hours ahead. Them we decided to treat ourselves to some massages, it was amazing how the diminutive Thai women were able to bend and flex Joe by sticking their knees in his back and at times even walking on him.

Day 64

We checked out of the guesthouse in the morning and made our way down to the travel agent, with whom we had booked all our trips. We were picked up in a minibus and we're driven a couple of hours into the jungle. Once we arrive at 'flight of the gibbon' we were fitted with strong harnesses, helmets etc. and then driven to the top of the hilside where we could easily swing into the trees. This was a really novel experience as the idea is that you are attached to zip wires and swing between tree top platforms through the forest canopy, just as gibbons do! It was a lot of fun and the scenery was amazing but we both had been expecting something a little faster and perhaps a little more scary. It was nice to see one of the Welsh girls in o0ur group conquering her fear of hights and we should also mention that the gibbon staff were amazing; both were very friendly, would take lots of photos of us with our own cameras and showed us how to do some of the descents upside down. Once we had finished swinging through the trees the trip was rounded off with a visit to a waterfall and a big buffet dinner.

Once we returned to town we had enough time to grab a couple of drinks with our new friends before taking the 8:30 minibus to the Laos border crossing, where we were supposed to stay overnight in a guesthouse. Everyone seemed to have been told a different time for arrival but we eventually reached our destination at 1:00 am. There wasn't anything to do there really, but that was fine as we went straight to bed.

---