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Published: January 17th 2015
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We had a great sleep on the overnight train from Chang Mai and arrived refreshed. Now we are seasoned travellers, we knew to wear plenty of clothes as the air conditioning is so cold, and to take measures against the corridoor light (which shines through the flimsy curtain and stays on all night.) Unable to source eye shades locally, we fixed 2 socks around our heads to block the light....which worked well! We are not staying at the lovely Riverside Guesthouse this time, but a hotel almost nextdoor to the station. This part of Bangkok has lots of heavy traffic as well as being very crowded with street food stalls. Lots of people here wear masks to go about their daily business....either because they have a cough to protect others, or to protect themselves from the pollution. I have not mentioned before that in Thai toilets you cant flush the paper down, but instead put it in a bin beside the loo.....(my unproven suspicion is that this is in part to disguise the fact that a lot from the toilet ends up in the canals, and little bits of paper and tampons floating around would be a giveaway)
First day
we walked to Jim Thompsons House. This is a collection of ancient teak houses (a bit like the one we stayed in in Arruthya, except tastefully decorated with antiques) surrounding a nice little garden, in the middle of a load of tower blocks. It was owned by an american who was involved in the silk industry. There were displays of the silkworms munching leaves, cocoons, and someone spinning thread from the cocoons. Then we had a stroll by a canal on our way back. Second day we wanted a change from the temples and tourist sites, so we took a tube train out to a nice park in the suburbs. Peaceful and pretty. Came back on the Sky train. Both the tube and the sky train are clean and air conditioned with tickets under £1 for a longish trip. It was noticeable that there were fewer monks, temples and tourists in the suburbs. The gardening style is very manicured with topiary and ponds with koi and water lillies. In some parts of both Bangkok and Chang Mai there are even topiary elephants on the roundabouts and central reservations of main roads.
As it was New Years Eve we wanted
to go out and see fireworks in the evening. We checked internet and asked the receptionist, before deciding to attend the big event on the lawn infront of the kings palace, not really knowing much about it. Took a boat up from chinatown and landed at a lovely little riverside park decorated with coloured lights. Loads of lit up boats on the river tonight dinner cruising (costly). Had a nice meal sitting outside a restuarant, and thought how lovely to be warm on new years eve. Then made our way to the front of the palace. Here all the trees around the huge lawn had been lit up. There were loads of mainly Thai people sitting on mats on the ground and a big stage set up as if for a pop concert. We sat down and listened to a compere we couldnt understand, followed by a show about a snake performed with giant puppets similar to those used in Warhorse. Then a load of monks came on stage. The monks and audience started chanting, and this continued for over an hour. (We didnt like to appear rude by getting up and leaving, so stayed. ). At midnight fireworks were
let off, and then the chanting continued. This was certainly a different New Years Eve celebration to what we are used to!!!! There was no alcohol, all very calm and peaceful. (Fine for me as I am teetotal for medical reasons anyway.).....but I couldnt help wondering what the other party would have been like at the shopping mall.
Final day. We got up late, then went to look at the solid gold 5.5 ton Buddha in a temple nearby (which was only rediscovered 40 years ago when the plaster coating, which had been used to conceal it from enemies many years before, was knocked off accidentally during transportation to a new site). This Buddha is over 700 years old and worth £28.5 million. The place was packed as New Years day is a holiday, and people were donating money and gifts on top of the entrance fee of just under £1. We were reminded of the old adage 'money goes to money!'. We then went to eat at the Riverside Guesthouse roof restuarant. Everyone seemed rather hungover and jaded there. So I dont think their party had been alcohol free. Then back to our hotel to change, and then
onto an overnight train south to Surat Thani. From there we take a bus to Khao Sok national park, where we will meet Tony (Fred's cousin), Dida and Galvin.
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Fun activity to do in BKK
Another interesting activity to try out in the heart BKK! Escape Hunt Bangkok is located directly across from Terminal 21 Shopping Mall in Interchange 21 Tower (the building with the huge Citibank sign covering it) which is major plus point as it is connected to both the BTS Skytrain at Asok and the MRT Underground at Sukhumvit. Public transport is strongly advised as traffic in this area is severe most of the day. Go check it out and have the ultimate experience at The Escape Hunt Experience BKK. For bookings, please visit www.escapehunt.com or call 02-611-2828