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Published: March 12th 2010
Ayutthaya and Bangkok take two!
So we boarded our night train at 4.30 in the afternoon (if you can book like a week in advance do it) we wanted the later train and berths together but it wasn't the case...all the trains were booked other than this one and very limited bed 7 left on the train two days before departure! We board the train and have three different carriages T and Waz in carriage five, My Mike in carriage seven (he was ticketed in here as he is the only one travelling to Bangkok the whole way) Myke and myself in carriage eight we all had top bunks in different places. So the trip was pretty good except for me getting a little sick about an hour after dinner when they were changing our seats into beds! 10pm the carriages are locked so Mike and I say our goodbyes as we wont see each other for a couple of days and we all head to bed...I wasn't sure if I would get even a bit of sleep but I seem to have slept about 4 hours out of the six! About 3am I heard the lady below me on
the phone and I was wondering why until 4.20 came around and she said to me that she is getting off at Lopburi and that's the stop before ours and that the train will be at her stop then and our stop 1hour later....you think someone would have said something about the fact the train is an hour late...not that it mattered much in the end as the Monk's in the berth opposite me decided they were ready to get up and the man had to make there beds back into chairs (5am) the lights came on bright as bright and the noise of changing the carriage back began!
About 5.40 arrived at Ayutthaya and the train stopped for long enough for us to get on to the platform and T and Waz to get off the tracks as they have no platform where they are....the night markets are still going here in Ayutthaya we got a small songthaew down to the guesthouse (promtong Mansion) they had been waiting for us poor people and we were like 1 1/2 hours late...we were going to shower and go out early but we were all shattered and decide to have a sleep
instead...when we got up it was soooo hot...we head downstairs I was feeling like I was in a haze when we sat down; our lovely host Jeeda came and showed us some of the many things you must do in Ayutthaya (we know we have to select just a few of these things but we will see how we go!) Jeeda then decided that we are welcome to have breakfast about 1 1/2 hours late (I bet her staff weren't impressed but this is the sort of thing she does for her guests she rocks!)
So after banana pancakes and honey we head down the road in search of Wats we went the wrong way at first but that is fixed with a walk through the park...my goodness it is so hot and we all know that this day is not going to consist of very much as we are finding it hard to walk,talk and take in the surroundings at the same time usually something you do on autopilot...part of this maybe because of not having a proper rest.
We see a cute little wat in the park and one of the main ones in the background...we head over
there and walk around and by about 3/4 of the way around this massive wat we all wonder if we will make it to the next which is just next door...this place is amazing though as its all damaged wats from when the Burmese attacked its so interesting to see. So this first Wat is where the head from one of the buddha statue was lifted by the tree as it grew and is now suspended and the tree has grown around it! Pretty cool...we head over to get a cold drink after this wat and then on to the second one...this one we climb up to the top stupor and Myke goes down into the basement the stairs are so small and steep and I get a really airy feeling here...this is before I know that this is where the kings body was buried.
So the boys are done its sooo hot I think we all look burnt on the face even though we aren't...they head back to the guesthouse for a rest...before they went I said to go check the pool next door and see if they can pay to use the pool so they sent us a
message saying we can pay to use the pool awesome we will have a swim later. We think we can get one more wat in if we have a break and lunch...we stopped at a little place that was cooking fresh food and have the cheapest meal so far I had awesome fried rice that was sooo hot I had to wait for it too cool after we finished we walked outside we realise its to much and head back for a swim ourselves.(we discovered the next wat was about 10 meters down the road but we will try and get our and see some at night!
The afternoon is researching the next step and in the end we decide we have to get a hotel in Bangkok and stay there tomorrow so we can get the later train and have a bit of a rest in the morning. The boys get back in the evening and we head out to the wats and T goes to sleep...we took a few long exposure photos of the wats at night (something I want to have a play around with again maybe in cambodia 😊 then back to the hotel after
a quick stop at the 7-11.
The next morning we head to the train station and the train is not surprisingly is late and we wait and wait and then everyone walks across the tracks and waits only 1/2 a meter from the track on either side in hope that they can get on first and get a seat people make a final dash across the tracks when the train is only meters away I guess this is normal here but not in our countries...but theres no seats in cattle class at this stage so we stand in the open air compartment people watching....the boys have a drink and I take a few photos of the monk playing with a young girl (to cute) a young man passes through selling drinks and then passes back through to collect dried seafood and walks back through....at this stage I signal the boys to block there noses...the smell is terrible and lingers even with the open windows. Soon the train stops a couple of times and seats start to free up. Myke ends up sitting next to and intoxicated thai man that decides that he can lay all over him while he
sleeps and when he is awake he speaks in Thai almost expecting that we understand him...at one stage Myke has the guys arm resting heavily between his legs as he lays all over him sluring his words in THai..finally I find something he knows in english 'WHISKEY' when I say this one word I get an unexpected result 'Whiskey goooood' so this is all he knows in english in his drunken state! Finally we make it to bangkok and get a taxi to our wotif mystery hotel...got to our room (Mike was already there) it was a smoking room so I requested to be changed via phone after 1/2 and hour nothing had happened so I went down to reception and they sorted it straight away and gave us and upgrade...we ended up in a room with a sitting area and on a corner the windows wrap all the way around the side of the building it was awesome. This hotel is wonderful except the service and location hehe...we go out to get dinner and use the internet but the area is not the best for this and we end up in the local markets walking through alleyways and over
some train tracks that local people were standing around moving things across...the train comes and they move back a meter or so as to not get hit! We finally found a great little place to have dinner and ate some deep fried pork buns sooooo good why aren't these everywhere they are totally a winner! After dinner found some internet and booked a place through wotif as we didn't have much choice for next location again most things are booked out we do a mystery deal and end up in a five star hotel in Cha am! We are planning to leave early go to the floating markets and then carry on to Cha am however on my arrival back to the room I talk to Mike and decided I am to shattered to get up at 5am to catch a bus to go to the floating markets to get a couple of photos and then carry on to Cha am so we let T know we will meet them at Cha am the next day....haha this leads the way for everyone to pull out of the plan and the floating markets are given a miss and we decide to
make the most of the hotel room view and have a swim in the morning before checkout then go get a bus to Cha am after that afternoon.
Goodbye Bangkok I am sure many people love you but you are not for us this time...on to more interesting places from here!
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MaryMary
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WOW
I am soooooo inlove with these pics babe. I'm sorry about your sleeping arrangement tho, but least you can vouch, you've been there done that! xx