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Published: March 17th 2011
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Tuesday 25th January 2011 Arriving early on our night train from Surat Thani, we booked some accommodation with the tourist office at the station for the Swan Hotel. The Hotel had an outdoor pool so we decided to make the most of it and go for a swim. Richard did 40-50 lengths to get the blood pumping and then relaxed in the sun for a while, but Joanne had to get straight out as her skin started to hurt – probably too much chlorine?
We took the river taxi to Khao San Road to see the infamous backpacker district and took a wander down the road and through the market stalls.
Back at our hotel we got a tuk tuk to dinner, but he dropped us at a pricey restaurant and we were sure he would get commission out of it, so we took a wander to the main road where we eventually found a nice Thai restaurant. After dinner we took a wander through the night markets and had to politely decline the many “ping pong shows” on offer. We ended up down a side street at a place called “Richard’s”. We thought it would be
a good place to go for a drink, but as Joanne was taking a picture of Richard outside she noticed the bar was full of grey haired white men with very young Thai boys on their arms. On reflection we thought we might enjoy a drink somewhere else.
Wednesday 26th January 2011 As we tried to make our way to the Grand Palace a Tuk tuk driver told us it was closed until 1pm and offered an alternative tour, which we politely declined knowing that he was talking rubbish – thank you Lonely Planet!!! We took another tuk tuk, but they insisted we stop at a tailors so that they could get their 5 litres of free petrol, we obliged but only after reducing the fare to 20THB (40p), not bad for a journey across the city.
When we arrived at the Grand Palace we realised we were inappropriately dressed, Richard was in shorts and Joanne had her shoulders exposed. All the shops on the side of the road have signs up showing what you need to wear get in, but don’t mention that you can hire clothes for free! Luckily we checked at the
ticket office first and avoided buying clothes we didn’t need. A free guided tour was starting as we got in, although when she likened one of the buildings to Buckingham Palace we lost a bit of respect.
We hopped back on the river boat to a temple on the other side. After paying admission we thought we should make the most of it by climbing to the top for views over the city, but they were the steepest steps we’d ever encountered!
As the Khao san road wasn’t too far we headed there again for dinner... Joanne had a bad back so we treated ourselves to a massage and a drink. Unfortunately this meant we missed the last boat, were confronted with a group of scary dogs guarding the port and had to take a taxi home. Should have just stayed in Khao San Road like everyone else!
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Mark
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Tuk Tuks
Never trust what a tuk tuk driver says!! Avoid bars called Richards!! Cabs are metered & air/c so good way to travel. Wat Arun, very steep steps. Skytrain & BTS also good cheap way to get around.