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Published: January 17th 2010
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I had slept really well on the overnight coach, but Ellie hadn't at all as she's still really ill. We swapped seats so she could lean her head against the window while I (feeling guiltily refreshed) kept night watch on the coach. I was sat next to Wierd-Coughing Lady who sounded more like a dying Wolf, making peculiar wheezing noises, and the odd sneeze splattering germs everywhere. The coach company kindly handed out hot drinks and a cold flannel to all the passengers. Unfortunatly the tea was more of that powedered stuff with condensed milk that's too sweet to drink. Strangely, it also tasted of coffee and Ellie suspected they may have slung it all in together trying to please everyone.
Arrived at Bangkok Bus station at 6am, navigated our way to the ticket stall for information on Kanchanaburi, and coincidentally a coach was due at 6.15. The coach took 2.5 hours, so by 8.45 we were wandering Kanchaniburi not really sure what we were doing. There were no tourist centres and it all looked very industrial, perhaps it was the business district. A taxi driver and Thai Tourist Police helped us find a great Guesthouse called Blue Star Bungalows, which
were built singly or semi-detatched on stilts. For 650THB, we got an air-con room with hot water and a double and single bed.
Ellie caught up on sleep in the Bungalow while I sat for a few hours on a Terrace area overlooking the river. It had a wooden Swing Seat where I sat to do my nails and read my book. At 2pm we shared a pick-up Taxi to the Tiger Temple where Monks take care of Tigers in their natural habitat. Many people speculate that the animals you can have pictures taken with are drugged to make them more dosile, but the Monks claim to feed them cooked meat which means they're not blood-thirsty. The smell of Tiger Poo as we entered the grounds was horrific, it knocked me sick. Gradually we got used to it.
We got to stroke Tigers and have our photos taken with different ones, it was amazing. We watched a Monk bottle feed one, and I walked alongside a Tiger and a Monk to get a photo which I love! We had about an hour in the grounds, then our shared taxi returned. For entry to the Tiger Temple, photos and a return
Taxi we paid 620THB (just over 11pounds) which was fantastic since not many other countries (especially England) would offer this kind of trip due to Health and Safety. The Tigers were so well cared for and loved playing with the Monks and helpers. I couldn't have watched (let alone have photos taken) if I thought they were mistreated.
We went for dinner to an Indian restaurant opposit our Bungalows. I ordered my standard Chicken Korma, which was good, but Ellie was feeling experimental so went for a Chicken and Spinnach dish. The bowl of green slop arrived and it didn't even taste nice; poor Ellie's had a few dodgy meals recently. When we got back, our Bungalow kept quivering and we heard strange noises. We needed to close the window but were terrified. We decided to do it together so we wrapped up in the safety of our blankets, but Ellie covered her face which scared me even more. We did it and congratulated ourselves on being so courageous, then fell asleep about 11pm.
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Debbie
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Read your blog, found it very interesting, take extreme care, Love gramps x (dictated to Deb 19 Jan 2010 ps Man City 2 Man U 1 x