This morning was pure horror comedy.
We were out and about at 7:00am and had a little wander in search of critters before breakfast. Amber was still a bit jumpy about the whole leech situation, so when we arrived at the start of the northern trail I made was I thought was a rather good deal. "We'll go down this trail until we see the first leech and then we'll turn back."
Thanks to last night's abundant rainfall, I only got to the second concrete step when Amber shouted "LEECH!".
So much for the northern trail. It was hard to tell but I swear the leech looked pretty smug at having ruined my early morning trek...
We had breakfast (again superb) and opted to go down the same trail as yesterday, but to go further.
Again we saw a host if weird and wonderful wildlife. The langurs were still around and we saw a fine example if camouflage when I almost walked straight into a male horned mountain dragon sitting proudly on a big leaf. He had changed his skin colour to a dark brown and looked for all the world like a big dead leaf. His safety measures involved being as still as possible, so I got some cracking photos! We also found an amazing grasshopper leaf-mimic, which looked just like a dead leaf, veins and all, with a bite taken out of it. Again its survival strategy was to remain motionless, so it didn't budge when I picked it up for a photo.
As you may have guessed from the title of this post, the trail was full of leeches today. I estimated that we had seen at least 20 over the course our 6km trek. Of these, two had managed to get onto our shoes before I pulled them off and a third had managed to get into Amber's ankle. Luckily I got to it before it had found a suitable sucking point.
Amber found the whole experience both horrifying and hilarious in equal measure, which helped a lot. Essentially leeches are harmless and you don't feel the bite when they do start feeding, so there is no pain either. The only reason people freak out is because it's plain creepy to have something drinking your blood.
The best part of the trek was arriving at a section of river full of huge boulders and surrounded by lush forest. The whole place was bathed in sunshine and we stopped to soak our feet and relax. So beautiful. You really do have to come to a place like this to understand why we need to protect the world's rainforests. I would challenge anyone to be in this place and not appreciate its beauty.
We stayed there for a while and then headed back down the trail. Along the way we heard the calls of gibbons, but sadly didn't get to see them.
Back at Tree Tops, we packed our bags and checked out at 12:00pm. The nice lady who cooked our dinner last night gave us a lift down the road to the bus stop. For some reason we just hadn't seen all the other guesthouses along this road on the trip up to the Visitor Centre. It was a shame not to have had the chance to look round them yesterday, but in the end we did really well with our choice of accommodation.
According to the timetable, the bus was supposed to turn up at 12:30pm, giving us just enough time to scoff a bag of crisps and a cup of instant tom yum noodles.
We needn't have rushed. The 12:30pm bus never showed.
Neither did the 1:30pm one!
The owner of the snack shop informed us that the bus would turn up at 2:00pm. Could have done with that information a bit earlier!
He was right though.
We got on the bus and settled down for the journey to Khao Lak (just 100 baht each). After a bit we stopped for a pee break and hit another stumbling block in our journey: There was a problem with the bus's engine, which meant the driver had to pootle along at a ridiculously slow speed.
Not ideal, but there was nothing we could do about it, so we just went with the flow and tried to get some shut eye.
We had hoped to be at our hotel in Khao Lak by 2:30pm. In the end we got dropped off in Khao Lak at around 4:00pm.
And then we had some more bad news...
Although we had asked to be dropped off at the La Flora resort, the bus had in fact turfed us out in the main town, 3km from our hotel!
We got hacked off with all the taxi drivers trying to sell us expensive rides to La Flora, so in true Amber and Martin style we donned our backpacks and decided to walk all the way.
It was heavy going in the intense heat, so by the time we got to reception we were sweating buckets. We felt rather out of place in the luxurious reception of La Flora, with it vases of orchids, uniformed staff and heaps of top hotel awards.
The awards appear to be well deserved, we were instantly made to feel very welcome and soon we were being shown one of the nicest hotel rooms I've ever seen: Balcony complete with table, chairs and deckchairs; large double bed; day bed; two wardrobes; bath and separate shower. Best of all is the sliding smoked glass partition separating the bed from the bathroom, so you can sit in the bath and chat to someone on the bed. And this is just a standard room!
After our sweaty hike we couldn't wait to get into the amazing infinity pool looking out over the beach. At 6:00pm, the hotel put on free cocktails and canapes to welcome the new arrivals. We were all greeted by Jowell, a super-camp Frenchman (with more than a passing resemblance to a skinny Jean Reno) who gave us a bunch of info about the resort and the activities available. Nothing too exciting, especially as we had already asked about the hotel's overpriced trips to the Similan islands and decided to find a cheaper tour elsewhere. The free booze went down a treat though. Amber had already made friends with the Happy Hour guy earlier on, so by the time we left to get dressed for dinner we were fairly sozzled.
At the drinks reception we met a nice couple from London called Chris and Alex. They just arrived today after two days in Bangkok and are here to celebrate their one year anniversary. Would have been nice to have dinner with them, but they were all dressed for dinner whilst we were still in our swimming gear.
As it was, Alex and Chris were still in the hotel restaurant (View 59) when we turned up, but we sat separately as they were done eating.
The evening entertainment consisted of a Thai bloke playing electric guitar and singing Western songs over computerized backing tracks that sounded like they had been produced for use as elevator music.
It wad a shame he didn't have a full band, as he looked pretty sad up on the stage by himself. This didn't stop one table getting up and singing a lairy rendition of 'Hey Jude' with him. Tragic to see that even the world's best hotels aren't free from the effects of Brits abroad. The hotel presented the singers with flowers. They know how to get repeat business.
We had selected some DVDs from the free selection at reception, so after dinner we went back to the room and stuck on 'The American', which was excellent for the first 10 minutes. Then the DVD stopped working as a result of being horribly scratched. Bloody typical!
We gave up on the film idea and opted for some much needed sleep instead.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Monday, 25 April 2011
Khao Sok National Park. Not for the faint hearted?
We left Ko Phi Phi in the morning at 9:00am on the ferry.
For some stupid reason the boat operators had decided it made sense to put all the backpacks downstairs, right at the front of the boat. This meant that when we got to port in Krabi we had to wait ages for everyone to clamber down and find their bags and then haul their bags between the rows of seats and back up on deck. Not very clever.
We didn't have long to wait at the port before we were whisked away in a minibus to a transport hub, where we had time to grab an ice cream before getting into yet another minibus bound for the Khao Sok national park.
We met an interesting couple on the way, the woman was Swedish and her partner was Swiss, so they spoke to one another in English. Pretty impressive! They were half way through 6 months of travelling. We couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, although we've done so much this trip.
In typical tourist scam fashion, the minibus dropped us at their affiliated accommodation in a bid to convince us to stay there. The place looked okay, but we had no idea how far from the park entrance it was. Given we were only spending one night we wanted to be as close to the forest trails as possible. We held our ground and persuaded the guy to drive us to the Visitor Centre.
The place was more or less deserted, like some kind of ghost town. There was only one place to stay near the Visitor Centre, but the people in there didn't seem very inclined to ask for our business. The polar opposite of the feeding frenzy that met us on Ko Phi Phi.
It transpired that Tree Tops River Huts was in fact open for business. The couple we met were there too and we all checked in, although we went slightly upmarket by opting for a 1200 baht hut on stilts with aircon.
The Khao Sok park is awesome. I had read an animal log book in the Visitor Centre that wad full of sightings of snakes, including cobra, so I was desperate to hit the forest trails.
We met a couple who looked like they shopped in the same place as Bear Grylls. They were wearing hiking boots and hiking socks pulled up over their walking trousers and they looked pretty fed up and sweaty. Turns out they had walked along the northern trail and had spent the last 2 hours pulling leeches off one another. They hadn't even seen any wildlife! Their exact words were, "It's not worth it".
Having seen the forest I can tell you categorically that it definitely IS worth it.
We walked the trail leading west from the Visitor Centre (which is on the doorstep of Tree Tops) for about two hours and within 10 minutes we saw our first snake. This was followed by a long list of other animals including Dusky langurs, horned mountain dragons and an amazing butterfly whose wing tips have evolved to look like its head to confuse predators.
Not my photo below, but I wanted to share the beauty of Dusky langurs with you. We saw a fairly large group of at least four individuals as they moved silently through the canopy.
What we didn't see was any leeches. Just as well, given the number of daytrippers we passed walking down the trail in flip-flops!
We had heard thunder on the way out and it started chucking it down as we were on the way back. Another refreshing tropical rainstorm. We were fairly drenched by the time we got back.
Despite the modest accommodation the lady who seems to run the place is very smiley and helpful. Even better, she's a brilliant cook. Superb Thai curries for a quid each! It's very hard to fault this place right now.
After dinner I decided it would be fun to do a night walk to see if we could spot anything interesting. We stuck to the tarmac, for fear of leeches, but we still managed to see some good wildlife, particularly a horned mountain dragon asleep on a leaf (which to my annoyance a passing guide then caught by the tail to show to the two paying customers with him). We also saw a fabulous Tokay gecko.
We got an early night in the hope of getting up early and having time to do a decent hike along the same trail before leaving for Khao Lak.
For some stupid reason the boat operators had decided it made sense to put all the backpacks downstairs, right at the front of the boat. This meant that when we got to port in Krabi we had to wait ages for everyone to clamber down and find their bags and then haul their bags between the rows of seats and back up on deck. Not very clever.
We didn't have long to wait at the port before we were whisked away in a minibus to a transport hub, where we had time to grab an ice cream before getting into yet another minibus bound for the Khao Sok national park.
We met an interesting couple on the way, the woman was Swedish and her partner was Swiss, so they spoke to one another in English. Pretty impressive! They were half way through 6 months of travelling. We couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, although we've done so much this trip.
In typical tourist scam fashion, the minibus dropped us at their affiliated accommodation in a bid to convince us to stay there. The place looked okay, but we had no idea how far from the park entrance it was. Given we were only spending one night we wanted to be as close to the forest trails as possible. We held our ground and persuaded the guy to drive us to the Visitor Centre.
The place was more or less deserted, like some kind of ghost town. There was only one place to stay near the Visitor Centre, but the people in there didn't seem very inclined to ask for our business. The polar opposite of the feeding frenzy that met us on Ko Phi Phi.
It transpired that Tree Tops River Huts was in fact open for business. The couple we met were there too and we all checked in, although we went slightly upmarket by opting for a 1200 baht hut on stilts with aircon.
The Khao Sok park is awesome. I had read an animal log book in the Visitor Centre that wad full of sightings of snakes, including cobra, so I was desperate to hit the forest trails.
We met a couple who looked like they shopped in the same place as Bear Grylls. They were wearing hiking boots and hiking socks pulled up over their walking trousers and they looked pretty fed up and sweaty. Turns out they had walked along the northern trail and had spent the last 2 hours pulling leeches off one another. They hadn't even seen any wildlife! Their exact words were, "It's not worth it".
Having seen the forest I can tell you categorically that it definitely IS worth it.
We walked the trail leading west from the Visitor Centre (which is on the doorstep of Tree Tops) for about two hours and within 10 minutes we saw our first snake. This was followed by a long list of other animals including Dusky langurs, horned mountain dragons and an amazing butterfly whose wing tips have evolved to look like its head to confuse predators.
Not my photo below, but I wanted to share the beauty of Dusky langurs with you. We saw a fairly large group of at least four individuals as they moved silently through the canopy.
What we didn't see was any leeches. Just as well, given the number of daytrippers we passed walking down the trail in flip-flops!
We had heard thunder on the way out and it started chucking it down as we were on the way back. Another refreshing tropical rainstorm. We were fairly drenched by the time we got back.
Despite the modest accommodation the lady who seems to run the place is very smiley and helpful. Even better, she's a brilliant cook. Superb Thai curries for a quid each! It's very hard to fault this place right now.
After dinner I decided it would be fun to do a night walk to see if we could spot anything interesting. We stuck to the tarmac, for fear of leeches, but we still managed to see some good wildlife, particularly a horned mountain dragon asleep on a leaf (which to my annoyance a passing guide then caught by the tail to show to the two paying customers with him). We also saw a fabulous Tokay gecko.
We got an early night in the hope of getting up early and having time to do a decent hike along the same trail before leaving for Khao Lak.
No monkey, no stop!
We had a fairly relaxed morning, booking our tickets to get to Khao Sok tomorrow (550 baht each) and also booking onto a half day sunset tour with Emerald tours (250 baht each) for this afternoon.
We had a drink in D's Bookstore to catch up on our diaries and then spent some time by the hotel pool before heading out again.
We had to be at the tour 'office' for 1:30pm, so we decided to grab a quick lunch at Camaro Resto. Our plan backfired because it took them ages to cook our food. It didn't arrive until 1:25pm! We wolfed down as much food as we could in 5 minutes and then asked for the bill and a box to take the remainder of my lunch away with us.
After meeting at Emerald tours, we were all led down to the sea-front and onto long-tail boats. There were 20 people on ours, so nice and cosy.
Driving the boat looked like great fun. I would have loved to have a go. They look so bizarre, a cross between a traditional wooden boat and something out of the film Mad Max, with a great big oily engine stuck on the back powering the propeller, which sits at the end of a 4m pole (hence the name log-tail).
Our first stop was Monkey Beach. Sadly there were no monkeys to be seen. "No monkey, no stop" said the driver and we carried on to the next stop, a brief pause outside the Viking Cave, where locals collect bird nests to sell for soup.
After the cave we were taken to the beautiful Pilah lagoon surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs. The water was crystal clear and the most amazing turquoise colour. We spent a good amount of time here swimming and taking it all in. Bliss.
After the lagoon we headed to the southern side of the island for some snorkelling. There wasn't a reef as such, more like a collection of large rocks, but the water was teeming with colourful fish. We saw damselfish, parrotfish, triggerfish, boxfish, butterflyfish, wrasse and many more. The highlight was seeing Moorish Idols. Worth checking them out on Google Images, they are really striking fish.
Amber was hilarious because she gets a bit freaked out by being surrounded by too many fish and when the boat driver chucked all the fruit peelings overboard we were right in the middle of a feeding frenzy! The look on her face was priceless. I thought I was going to have to rescue her, but thankfully she was fine after a minute or two.
I find it always takes a little while to adjust to snorkelling when you haven't done it for a while. But the water was so clear and the fish so brilliant that I could have stayed there much longer than we did.
After snorkelling we ate some fruit and went on to Maya Bay, apparently one of the main locations for the film The Beach. Personally I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. The beach was absolutely packed with people on tours like ours, and half the bay was taken up with tour boats. Sure, the beach itself would have been lovely if we'd had it to ourselves, but to share it with that many other people just to say you'd been there was a pity.
We had a bit of a swim in the cove before heading back round the other side of Ko Phi Phi Leh to return home. For our onward journey we were given a bucket of whiskey, red bull and coke to share. Nice!
On the way back we stopped half way to watch the sun set from the boat. A few of the others jumped into the dark blue water and I couldn't resist going back in myself. It's hard to beat watching the sunset from the sea. We got some great pictures.
We couldn't believe that we got that tour for 250 baht. It was so cheap! Well worth the money just for the lagoon and the snorkelling. Would have been even better value if the monkeys had been on the beach.
Once back on Ko Phi Phi Don we headed back to the hotel before going out for the all you can eat buffet at Matt's Joint, which we'd been eyeing up yesterday. It was a proper meat fest. We left feeling very full indeed.
Next door to the restaurant there was a small Nepalese run store selling fake watches and designer bags. I was quite surprised by the quality of some of the watches. It was pretty interesting talking to the guy about the different levels of quality. I was really tempted to buy one, but frustratingly the two I wanted both had slight flaws that were deal breakers.
We had a drink in D's Bookstore to catch up on our diaries and then spent some time by the hotel pool before heading out again.
We had to be at the tour 'office' for 1:30pm, so we decided to grab a quick lunch at Camaro Resto. Our plan backfired because it took them ages to cook our food. It didn't arrive until 1:25pm! We wolfed down as much food as we could in 5 minutes and then asked for the bill and a box to take the remainder of my lunch away with us.
After meeting at Emerald tours, we were all led down to the sea-front and onto long-tail boats. There were 20 people on ours, so nice and cosy.
Driving the boat looked like great fun. I would have loved to have a go. They look so bizarre, a cross between a traditional wooden boat and something out of the film Mad Max, with a great big oily engine stuck on the back powering the propeller, which sits at the end of a 4m pole (hence the name log-tail).
Our first stop was Monkey Beach. Sadly there were no monkeys to be seen. "No monkey, no stop" said the driver and we carried on to the next stop, a brief pause outside the Viking Cave, where locals collect bird nests to sell for soup.
After the cave we were taken to the beautiful Pilah lagoon surrounded by sheer limestone cliffs. The water was crystal clear and the most amazing turquoise colour. We spent a good amount of time here swimming and taking it all in. Bliss.
After the lagoon we headed to the southern side of the island for some snorkelling. There wasn't a reef as such, more like a collection of large rocks, but the water was teeming with colourful fish. We saw damselfish, parrotfish, triggerfish, boxfish, butterflyfish, wrasse and many more. The highlight was seeing Moorish Idols. Worth checking them out on Google Images, they are really striking fish.
Amber was hilarious because she gets a bit freaked out by being surrounded by too many fish and when the boat driver chucked all the fruit peelings overboard we were right in the middle of a feeding frenzy! The look on her face was priceless. I thought I was going to have to rescue her, but thankfully she was fine after a minute or two.
I find it always takes a little while to adjust to snorkelling when you haven't done it for a while. But the water was so clear and the fish so brilliant that I could have stayed there much longer than we did.
After snorkelling we ate some fruit and went on to Maya Bay, apparently one of the main locations for the film The Beach. Personally I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. The beach was absolutely packed with people on tours like ours, and half the bay was taken up with tour boats. Sure, the beach itself would have been lovely if we'd had it to ourselves, but to share it with that many other people just to say you'd been there was a pity.
We had a bit of a swim in the cove before heading back round the other side of Ko Phi Phi Leh to return home. For our onward journey we were given a bucket of whiskey, red bull and coke to share. Nice!
On the way back we stopped half way to watch the sun set from the boat. A few of the others jumped into the dark blue water and I couldn't resist going back in myself. It's hard to beat watching the sunset from the sea. We got some great pictures.
We couldn't believe that we got that tour for 250 baht. It was so cheap! Well worth the money just for the lagoon and the snorkelling. Would have been even better value if the monkeys had been on the beach.
Once back on Ko Phi Phi Don we headed back to the hotel before going out for the all you can eat buffet at Matt's Joint, which we'd been eyeing up yesterday. It was a proper meat fest. We left feeling very full indeed.
Next door to the restaurant there was a small Nepalese run store selling fake watches and designer bags. I was quite surprised by the quality of some of the watches. It was pretty interesting talking to the guy about the different levels of quality. I was really tempted to buy one, but frustratingly the two I wanted both had slight flaws that were deal breakers.
Saturday, 23 April 2011
Buckets and boxing in Ko Phi Phi
I am writing today's entry from our room 711 at the delightful P. P. Casita on the stunningly beautiful island of Ko Phi Phi.
We arrived in Krabi this morning at 6:30am and walked into the bus terminal to buy our tickets for the 9:00am boat to Ko Phi Phi. 400 baht each including minibus transport to the pier.
Once at the ferry port we grabbed an iced coffee and hung around until it was time to board the boat.
The good news is that despite warnings to the contrary, the weather is absolutely stunning here in Southern Thailand! We sat up on deck for the whole journey to the island, speeding across blue water under a blue sky, bathed in sunshine and enjoying the cooling breeze on our faces.
Compared to our night bus, on which we were the only 'farang' (foreigners), the boat to Phi Phi was packed to the rafters with other backpackers.
An hour and a half later the boat arrived in Ton Sai bay, which looks gorgeous, as it is surrounded by gnarled limestone cliffs covered in greenery and the water is brilliant turquoise. A moment of tranquility before you arrive in the port and get mobbed by packs of touts trying to promote hotels.
We got so fed up with them that we decided to just pick a hotel and start walking. Casita was recommended in the guide book thanks to it's pool and proximity to the beach. We had a look around and decided it was perfect for our requirements.
Once we had checked in we headed straight to the beach - another postcard perfect bay. Welcome to paradise!
We demolished a pizza and a plate of spaghetti carbonara for lunch and headed into the sea. We'd brought our snorkels along, but to be honest there was very little to see, just a few sand coloured gobies and a wrasse or two. We'll see a lot more tomorrow. We are planning to do a half day snorkelling trip to various parts of Ko Phi Phi Leh. Should be great.
When we we'd had enough of the sea we went back to the hotel to hang out by the pool for a bit. It's not a big pool but it does have a jacuzzi section. Nice to sit there and have my back pummeled for a bit.
After that we spent a bit of time unpacking and writing our diaries before heading out to explore the town. We almost chose to stay away from town on a quieter beach, but I am glad we didn't. Despite all the other travellers, the town had a nice buzz about it, and some great looking (and smelling) restaurants.
We opted to eat in a dinky little Thai restaurant called Pum. Apparently the woman behind these restaurants already has a couple of joints in Thailand and one in Paris. Her plan is to expand further across Europe, so who knows there might be a Pum near you soon! If you do get one, count yourself lucky - the food is fab.
After dinner we took a leisurely stroll along the sea front and then wound our way back towards the hotel. Bizarrely it was raining quite hard.
We eventually found ourselves in the fantastic Reggae Disco Bar, with a small bucket full of incredibly strong cocktail each, watching drunken tourists beating the crap out of each other in a Muay Thai boxing ring. Much hilarity, but nowhere near as funny as the guy we saw trying to beat the bar's burger challenge.
Basically if you can eat the burger, onion ring, coleslaw and fries in 30 minutes, you get it for free. If not, it's 500 baht.
The guy we watched got fairly close to finishing in time and had a huge group cheering him on. Unfortunately, with a few mouthfuls to go, his time ran out. And then, to make matters worse, he had to run off to throw up in the street...in front of everyone!
So funny. Probably not for him though.
The buckets were potent. We staggered back to the hotel!
We arrived in Krabi this morning at 6:30am and walked into the bus terminal to buy our tickets for the 9:00am boat to Ko Phi Phi. 400 baht each including minibus transport to the pier.
Once at the ferry port we grabbed an iced coffee and hung around until it was time to board the boat.
The good news is that despite warnings to the contrary, the weather is absolutely stunning here in Southern Thailand! We sat up on deck for the whole journey to the island, speeding across blue water under a blue sky, bathed in sunshine and enjoying the cooling breeze on our faces.
Compared to our night bus, on which we were the only 'farang' (foreigners), the boat to Phi Phi was packed to the rafters with other backpackers.
An hour and a half later the boat arrived in Ton Sai bay, which looks gorgeous, as it is surrounded by gnarled limestone cliffs covered in greenery and the water is brilliant turquoise. A moment of tranquility before you arrive in the port and get mobbed by packs of touts trying to promote hotels.
We got so fed up with them that we decided to just pick a hotel and start walking. Casita was recommended in the guide book thanks to it's pool and proximity to the beach. We had a look around and decided it was perfect for our requirements.
Once we had checked in we headed straight to the beach - another postcard perfect bay. Welcome to paradise!
We demolished a pizza and a plate of spaghetti carbonara for lunch and headed into the sea. We'd brought our snorkels along, but to be honest there was very little to see, just a few sand coloured gobies and a wrasse or two. We'll see a lot more tomorrow. We are planning to do a half day snorkelling trip to various parts of Ko Phi Phi Leh. Should be great.
When we we'd had enough of the sea we went back to the hotel to hang out by the pool for a bit. It's not a big pool but it does have a jacuzzi section. Nice to sit there and have my back pummeled for a bit.
After that we spent a bit of time unpacking and writing our diaries before heading out to explore the town. We almost chose to stay away from town on a quieter beach, but I am glad we didn't. Despite all the other travellers, the town had a nice buzz about it, and some great looking (and smelling) restaurants.
We opted to eat in a dinky little Thai restaurant called Pum. Apparently the woman behind these restaurants already has a couple of joints in Thailand and one in Paris. Her plan is to expand further across Europe, so who knows there might be a Pum near you soon! If you do get one, count yourself lucky - the food is fab.
After dinner we took a leisurely stroll along the sea front and then wound our way back towards the hotel. Bizarrely it was raining quite hard.
We eventually found ourselves in the fantastic Reggae Disco Bar, with a small bucket full of incredibly strong cocktail each, watching drunken tourists beating the crap out of each other in a Muay Thai boxing ring. Much hilarity, but nowhere near as funny as the guy we saw trying to beat the bar's burger challenge.
Basically if you can eat the burger, onion ring, coleslaw and fries in 30 minutes, you get it for free. If not, it's 500 baht.
The guy we watched got fairly close to finishing in time and had a huge group cheering him on. Unfortunately, with a few mouthfuls to go, his time ran out. And then, to make matters worse, he had to run off to throw up in the street...in front of everyone!
So funny. Probably not for him though.
The buckets were potent. We staggered back to the hotel!
Suits, sashimi and snakes! Bye bye Bangkok.
What a great day! We checked out of the Bangkok Loft Inn, leaving our bags at reception for collection later and set out to spend our final day in Bangkok with no clear plan of action.
After some deliberation we decided that the thing to do would be to visit the snake farm, where they produce most of the antivenom in Thailand.
The farm is in the Lumphini district. En route we stumbled upon the Jim Thompson silk shop, which sold a wide array of expensive silk products...but not to us.
On leaving the silk shop we were accosted by an old Thai gent who tipped us off that if we wanted to buy good value silk (which we did for Amber's mum), we should go to D & M Fashion, which was just up the road. We decided to take his advice.
Minutes later we had already bought the silk cloth we needed, but then we got onto the subject of tailored suits. I have been after a new suit for a while and the chance of having a tailored suit, with my measurements held on record for 5 years was too tempting to pass up (who wouldn't want cheap tailored suits on tap just an email away?).
After much haggling I agreed to buy two suits and have them delivered to Cambridge for the princely sum of...ah...I promised the owner I wouldn't tell. Let's just say it has cost me well under a third of the price of a tailored suit in England to buy two in Thailand.
While the shop was preparing the fitting garment we went for lunch at a Japanese fast food chain called Fuji. I have been hankering after sashimi since we arrived in Thailand and the Fuji sashimi bento set meal I ordered was just what I wanted.
We followed lunch with the main event of the day, our visit to the snake farm. I admit that initially I shared some of Amber's concerns that this could be a bit rubbish - a few generic snakes in tanks and a lousy snake show where they bring out a big snake for people to pose with. Certainly the Lonely Planet only felt it was worth a sentence or two.
We were so very, very wrong.
The first thing we did, after a quick peek at a few of the larger constrictors (they have an enormous reticulated python - easily 6m) was to sit down and watch the snake show at 2:30pm.
Incredible. The guy giving the talk was so articulate and entertaining that even without any live snakes the talk would have been fascinating.
Founded in 1923, this was the second snake farm in the world. It currently produces antivenom for all species of poisonous snake in Thailand, which they do via the typical method of injecting the venom into horses in non-lethal doses, which encourages the production of antibodies. Once harvested and cleaned up, these constitute the cure.
He was full of facts, e.g. How should you react when you find a snake? Move slowly if it isn't a pit viper. Pit vipers can 'see' heat, so in their case you need to move away considerably faster!
We were all hooked.
Then they brought out a live 8 foot King Cobra and dumped it on the floor, right in front of the front row of the audience. Wow.
Suddenly the wire mesh across the front of the seating area made much more sense!
Hands down this was the best, most educational live animal presentation I've EVER seen.
The snake handlers were extremely professional, with nerves of steel and obviously a great deal of respect for their wards as they brought them out one by one. All the wow factor of Steve Irwin at his best, with a heap of fascinating information thrown in.
The purpose of the farm was originally to produce antivenom, but they now have a collection of non-venomous species in order to educate Thais about which snakes are safe, and indeed which snakes are not. Some of the non-venomous species are legally protected due to overhunting for food, which is tragic, as these species are fundamental to keeping the rodent population in check.
In fact, one particular species has been farmed and released in large numbers to combat the devastating effect of rodents on the rice crop. But without educating the locals, who kill all snakes indiscriminately, numbers will continue to fall.
The stars of the show were without doubt the snakes, all of which varied a great deal in their attitude towards the handlers. The running order was as follows: King Cobra, Common Cobra, Mangrove Snake, Green Pit Viper, Keel-backed Snake, Copper-headed ratsnake, Sunbeam snake, Burmese python (yes, people did get to pose with the latter - the small kids couldn't get enough!).
The farm closes at 3:30pm, so we only had a short time to whizz round the rest of the exhibits, which included a fascinating education centre and both an outdoor and indoor selection of live snakes.
I'm amazed that the Lonely Planet only devotes a couple of sentences to this place when by rights it should be high on the list of things to see and do in Bangkok.
And such a bargain for 200 baht!
After the snake farm we went back to the tailor's for my fitting session, which was over in minutes. Fingers crossed I have a couple of fantastic suits winging their way to me once we're back home!
With the rest of the afternoon ahead of us, we decided to visit the Pak Klong flower market over on the other side of town. We almost gave up after two cabs failed to understand our Thai pronunciation, but we got lucky with our third attempt and pretty soon we were surrounded by stalls packed to the rafters with marigolds, orchids, chrysanthemums and roses. The price for a bunch of a dozen roses? 20 baht!!! Really puts UK Valentine's Day prices into perspective...
We walked back to Bangkok Loft Inn from the flower market over memorial bridge, stopping along the way so I could eye up a couple of tropical fish stalls. Nothing too special apart from a couple of show quality Flowerhorn hybrids and a few giant plakat fighting fish. Interestingly they were selling frogs on one stall.
Back at the hotel we grabbed our bags, did our best to get cleaned up in the toilets by reception and got a cab to the bus station.
We arrived with time to spare, so we grabbed a quick dinner in Noodle Garden, which failed to live up to its name by virtue of the fact that they had (I kid you not) run out of noodles.
The bus is great! Nice big reclining seats with foot rests, pillow and blanket; powerful aircon; free snacks and water; and even a movie (albeit in Thai with no subtitles).
Turns out dinner was also included in the ticket price. Amber didn't have any, but I couldn't say no to more congee!
After some deliberation we decided that the thing to do would be to visit the snake farm, where they produce most of the antivenom in Thailand.
The farm is in the Lumphini district. En route we stumbled upon the Jim Thompson silk shop, which sold a wide array of expensive silk products...but not to us.
On leaving the silk shop we were accosted by an old Thai gent who tipped us off that if we wanted to buy good value silk (which we did for Amber's mum), we should go to D & M Fashion, which was just up the road. We decided to take his advice.
Minutes later we had already bought the silk cloth we needed, but then we got onto the subject of tailored suits. I have been after a new suit for a while and the chance of having a tailored suit, with my measurements held on record for 5 years was too tempting to pass up (who wouldn't want cheap tailored suits on tap just an email away?).
After much haggling I agreed to buy two suits and have them delivered to Cambridge for the princely sum of...ah...I promised the owner I wouldn't tell. Let's just say it has cost me well under a third of the price of a tailored suit in England to buy two in Thailand.
While the shop was preparing the fitting garment we went for lunch at a Japanese fast food chain called Fuji. I have been hankering after sashimi since we arrived in Thailand and the Fuji sashimi bento set meal I ordered was just what I wanted.
We followed lunch with the main event of the day, our visit to the snake farm. I admit that initially I shared some of Amber's concerns that this could be a bit rubbish - a few generic snakes in tanks and a lousy snake show where they bring out a big snake for people to pose with. Certainly the Lonely Planet only felt it was worth a sentence or two.
We were so very, very wrong.
The first thing we did, after a quick peek at a few of the larger constrictors (they have an enormous reticulated python - easily 6m) was to sit down and watch the snake show at 2:30pm.
Incredible. The guy giving the talk was so articulate and entertaining that even without any live snakes the talk would have been fascinating.
Founded in 1923, this was the second snake farm in the world. It currently produces antivenom for all species of poisonous snake in Thailand, which they do via the typical method of injecting the venom into horses in non-lethal doses, which encourages the production of antibodies. Once harvested and cleaned up, these constitute the cure.
He was full of facts, e.g. How should you react when you find a snake? Move slowly if it isn't a pit viper. Pit vipers can 'see' heat, so in their case you need to move away considerably faster!
We were all hooked.
Then they brought out a live 8 foot King Cobra and dumped it on the floor, right in front of the front row of the audience. Wow.
Suddenly the wire mesh across the front of the seating area made much more sense!
Hands down this was the best, most educational live animal presentation I've EVER seen.
The snake handlers were extremely professional, with nerves of steel and obviously a great deal of respect for their wards as they brought them out one by one. All the wow factor of Steve Irwin at his best, with a heap of fascinating information thrown in.
The purpose of the farm was originally to produce antivenom, but they now have a collection of non-venomous species in order to educate Thais about which snakes are safe, and indeed which snakes are not. Some of the non-venomous species are legally protected due to overhunting for food, which is tragic, as these species are fundamental to keeping the rodent population in check.
In fact, one particular species has been farmed and released in large numbers to combat the devastating effect of rodents on the rice crop. But without educating the locals, who kill all snakes indiscriminately, numbers will continue to fall.
The stars of the show were without doubt the snakes, all of which varied a great deal in their attitude towards the handlers. The running order was as follows: King Cobra, Common Cobra, Mangrove Snake, Green Pit Viper, Keel-backed Snake, Copper-headed ratsnake, Sunbeam snake, Burmese python (yes, people did get to pose with the latter - the small kids couldn't get enough!).
The farm closes at 3:30pm, so we only had a short time to whizz round the rest of the exhibits, which included a fascinating education centre and both an outdoor and indoor selection of live snakes.
I'm amazed that the Lonely Planet only devotes a couple of sentences to this place when by rights it should be high on the list of things to see and do in Bangkok.
And such a bargain for 200 baht!
After the snake farm we went back to the tailor's for my fitting session, which was over in minutes. Fingers crossed I have a couple of fantastic suits winging their way to me once we're back home!
With the rest of the afternoon ahead of us, we decided to visit the Pak Klong flower market over on the other side of town. We almost gave up after two cabs failed to understand our Thai pronunciation, but we got lucky with our third attempt and pretty soon we were surrounded by stalls packed to the rafters with marigolds, orchids, chrysanthemums and roses. The price for a bunch of a dozen roses? 20 baht!!! Really puts UK Valentine's Day prices into perspective...
We walked back to Bangkok Loft Inn from the flower market over memorial bridge, stopping along the way so I could eye up a couple of tropical fish stalls. Nothing too special apart from a couple of show quality Flowerhorn hybrids and a few giant plakat fighting fish. Interestingly they were selling frogs on one stall.
Back at the hotel we grabbed our bags, did our best to get cleaned up in the toilets by reception and got a cab to the bus station.
We arrived with time to spare, so we grabbed a quick dinner in Noodle Garden, which failed to live up to its name by virtue of the fact that they had (I kid you not) run out of noodles.
The bus is great! Nice big reclining seats with foot rests, pillow and blanket; powerful aircon; free snacks and water; and even a movie (albeit in Thai with no subtitles).
Turns out dinner was also included in the ticket price. Amber didn't have any, but I couldn't say no to more congee!
A boat, two Buddhas, a bar and a band.
We set aside our first full day in Bangkok for doing a tour of all the main tourist attractions, so after a fantastic breakfast at the hotel (fabulous congee) we set off to buy a day ticket for the Chaopraya Tourist Boat.
For 150 baht you get to use the boat all day and it stops within walking distance of most if the main attractions.
The first task was to take a photo of Wat Arun from the river, as by all accounts it's not worth seeing it close up. Apparently it's best viewed at dawn, but with the string of late nights and early mornings we've had there was no way that was going to happen.
We got off the boat at the pier nearest to Wat Pho and walked to the temple. The main reason for visiting this temple is to see the world's largest reclining gold Buddha. He looked suitably comfortable laid down on his enormous plinth and was, as you might well expect, huge. The overall effect is as if a giant lay down for a nap and while he slept they built a temple around him, especially as your view of the Buddha is obstructed by structural columns as you walk around it.
Having ticked one Buddha off our list we walked to the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, we somehow ended up walking around the perimeter wall as we had missed the main entrance. As a result we decided to get a cab to the Southern Bus Terminal to buy our tickets on the VIP night bus to Krabi for tomorrow night and then get one back to the palace entrance. At the bus station we got two tickets for 691 baht each.
No idea what makes the VIP bus so special, but we figured we might well try it, as we'll be on the bus for 12 hours solid.
We arrived at the main entrance to the palace only to find out that it was closed for a special Buddhist ceremony until 2:30pm. Typical!
To kill the time we went in search of the backpacker haven that is Khao San road. This was a boat ride upstream and a short walk away. When we got there it was everything you'd expect from a backpacker hangout: cool restaurants; stalls selling body jewellery, funny t-shirts and souvenirs; tattoo and body-piercing parlours etc. A good vibe (I was sorely tempted to get another piercing) but nothing you can't find in similar places the world over. The only thing we bought was a tray of veggie springrolls. Then it was time to head back to the palace.
This time we actually got inside. The palace complex is very large, so it took us a while to get round it all. It's funny, everybody says that once you've seen the temples of Angkor all other temples look a bit pants, and they are absolutely right. For all its glistening golden spires, proud statues and colourful mosaic tiling, the grand palace fails to capture the imagination in the way that the temple of Angkor do. This is largely due to the fact that the former looks like it was built last week, a tribute to all things concrete and kitsch - all spectacle and no substance.
Having said this, I have to confess to quite liking at times the use of excessive amounts of gold leaf and gold paint in these temples. You can't help feeling a bit like you're walking around some mythical 'City of Gold' from a children's novel.
The most important sight at the palace is the so-called Emerald Buddha, who sits a mere 66cm high and is technically made of nephrite jade. The King of Thailand changes the Buddha's gold outfit four times a year to coincide with the changing seasons. The Buddha sits atop a seriously elaborate mountain of gold, looking for all the world like a green jelly baby with a size issue and a penchant for rather a lot of 'bling'.
In fact, this statue is a rather important war relic and when you're in the temple alongside the Thai people saying their prayers, you start to understand what all the fuss is about.
Now that we had both Buddhas under our belts, it was time to go back to the hotel for a much needed wash (it was crazy hot today).
Once we had freshened up we rode the Skytrain to the Silom area of Bangkok and walked to the Banyan Tree hotel. Sat in the rooftop Moon Bar on the 59th floor of the hotel, we drank a couple of cocktails as the sun set and watched the city put on its evening dress to a soundtrack of jazz. It doesn't get much more romantic than this.
The romance didn't last long. We decided to migrate from the Moon Bar to a live jazz pub we'd read about called Brown Sugar. It looked to be in walking distance, so we set off in what appeared to be the right direction, according to trusty Lonely Planet.
An hour and a half later, we were getting a little frustrated by the fact we'd been up and down the same street three times and still hadn't managed to find the flippin' place. It made no sense, we were standing right where it was meant to be, but it wasn't there! What a crappy end to what had been a lovely evening. We gave up our search and walked further up the street to find the Skytrain...
...and would you believe it? There was the pub.
And what a fantastic experience it turned out to be. We sat down in the attached restaurant at 9pm and promptly ordered a jug of margarita (we definitely needed it!).
We then had a fantastic meal. Amber had an authentic Thai yellow curry and I had easily the best tom yum koong I've ever tasted. Then the live jazz started downstairs and made our whole evening. What a brilliant find!
We headed home with big smiles on our faces.
For 150 baht you get to use the boat all day and it stops within walking distance of most if the main attractions.
The first task was to take a photo of Wat Arun from the river, as by all accounts it's not worth seeing it close up. Apparently it's best viewed at dawn, but with the string of late nights and early mornings we've had there was no way that was going to happen.
We got off the boat at the pier nearest to Wat Pho and walked to the temple. The main reason for visiting this temple is to see the world's largest reclining gold Buddha. He looked suitably comfortable laid down on his enormous plinth and was, as you might well expect, huge. The overall effect is as if a giant lay down for a nap and while he slept they built a temple around him, especially as your view of the Buddha is obstructed by structural columns as you walk around it.
Having ticked one Buddha off our list we walked to the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, we somehow ended up walking around the perimeter wall as we had missed the main entrance. As a result we decided to get a cab to the Southern Bus Terminal to buy our tickets on the VIP night bus to Krabi for tomorrow night and then get one back to the palace entrance. At the bus station we got two tickets for 691 baht each.
No idea what makes the VIP bus so special, but we figured we might well try it, as we'll be on the bus for 12 hours solid.
We arrived at the main entrance to the palace only to find out that it was closed for a special Buddhist ceremony until 2:30pm. Typical!
To kill the time we went in search of the backpacker haven that is Khao San road. This was a boat ride upstream and a short walk away. When we got there it was everything you'd expect from a backpacker hangout: cool restaurants; stalls selling body jewellery, funny t-shirts and souvenirs; tattoo and body-piercing parlours etc. A good vibe (I was sorely tempted to get another piercing) but nothing you can't find in similar places the world over. The only thing we bought was a tray of veggie springrolls. Then it was time to head back to the palace.
This time we actually got inside. The palace complex is very large, so it took us a while to get round it all. It's funny, everybody says that once you've seen the temples of Angkor all other temples look a bit pants, and they are absolutely right. For all its glistening golden spires, proud statues and colourful mosaic tiling, the grand palace fails to capture the imagination in the way that the temple of Angkor do. This is largely due to the fact that the former looks like it was built last week, a tribute to all things concrete and kitsch - all spectacle and no substance.
Having said this, I have to confess to quite liking at times the use of excessive amounts of gold leaf and gold paint in these temples. You can't help feeling a bit like you're walking around some mythical 'City of Gold' from a children's novel.
The most important sight at the palace is the so-called Emerald Buddha, who sits a mere 66cm high and is technically made of nephrite jade. The King of Thailand changes the Buddha's gold outfit four times a year to coincide with the changing seasons. The Buddha sits atop a seriously elaborate mountain of gold, looking for all the world like a green jelly baby with a size issue and a penchant for rather a lot of 'bling'.
In fact, this statue is a rather important war relic and when you're in the temple alongside the Thai people saying their prayers, you start to understand what all the fuss is about.
Now that we had both Buddhas under our belts, it was time to go back to the hotel for a much needed wash (it was crazy hot today).
Once we had freshened up we rode the Skytrain to the Silom area of Bangkok and walked to the Banyan Tree hotel. Sat in the rooftop Moon Bar on the 59th floor of the hotel, we drank a couple of cocktails as the sun set and watched the city put on its evening dress to a soundtrack of jazz. It doesn't get much more romantic than this.
The romance didn't last long. We decided to migrate from the Moon Bar to a live jazz pub we'd read about called Brown Sugar. It looked to be in walking distance, so we set off in what appeared to be the right direction, according to trusty Lonely Planet.
An hour and a half later, we were getting a little frustrated by the fact we'd been up and down the same street three times and still hadn't managed to find the flippin' place. It made no sense, we were standing right where it was meant to be, but it wasn't there! What a crappy end to what had been a lovely evening. We gave up our search and walked further up the street to find the Skytrain...
...and would you believe it? There was the pub.
And what a fantastic experience it turned out to be. We sat down in the attached restaurant at 9pm and promptly ordered a jug of margarita (we definitely needed it!).
We then had a fantastic meal. Amber had an authentic Thai yellow curry and I had easily the best tom yum koong I've ever tasted. Then the live jazz started downstairs and made our whole evening. What a brilliant find!
We headed home with big smiles on our faces.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Goodbye Cambodia...hello Bangkok!
The rain had stopped by the time our alarms went off at 6:30am.
We had settled our bill the night before, so all we had to do was get breakfast and hop in our nice air-conditioned minibus to the airport.
The airport in Siemreap is surprisingly nice, despite being on the small side. I took a photo of their goldfish pond because it looked like something out of a tropical interior design manual. All very peaceful.
We were at the airport well before our flight so we spent a bit of time perusing books in the bookshop. They had some really lovely coffee table books full of gorgeous photographs of the 'real' Cambodia. It's always a petty to find such books when you are backpacking because you know you won't buy them - they add too much weight and are too likely to get damaged in transit. There are a couple I will have to look up on Amazon when I get home.
Sadly our otherwise relaxed morning was somewhat tainted by both of us having rather upset stomachs. It was bound to happen eventually, but clearly it's less than ideal for it to happen when you are about to get on a plane and have limited toilet access for a while!
The flight to Bangkok was a little bumpy, thanks to a much smaller plane, but otherwise not too bad. We did bounce on landing, which was quite exhilarating (or terrifying in Amber's case). The flight was nice and quick, a mere 45 minutes.
Getting out of the airport was straightforward and (after yet another bathoom visit - just to be on the safe side!) we were soon hurtling towards the centre of the city at 140km/hr in our hotel's enormous airport pickup SUV. The driver was playing hip-hop on his stereo with some rather colourful lyrics. Not your typical tinny taxi radio.
As expected, everyone in Bangkok drives like a nutter: Very aggressively and as fast as possible. Reminded me of the M6 toll road!
We arrived at the Bangkok Loft Inn to a remarkably lackluster welcome at reception. Our choice of this hotel had largely been based on rave reviews on Tripadvisor largely focused on the friendliness of the staff, so we were quite surprised. The lady at reception recommended we devote the afternoon to visiting some shopping malls, which sounded like a good plan. We ditched our bags in our room (which turned out to be very nice) and headed out to catch the BTS Skytrain from nearby Wongwian Yai station to Siam Central.
We spent a while enjoying the culture shock of coming from the relative poverty of Siamreap to hang out in the Siam Paragon mall, with its masses of fashion outlets, technology stores and, strangely, several sports car showrooms on one of the upper floors.
Everyone in Bangkok appears to have an iPhone, even the monks, who get to travel everywhere for free, so all forms of public transport have 'monk seats' in the same way we have disability seats in the UK. It's not unusual to see a monk walking down the street in bright orange robes listening to his iPod...an iMonk?
We ate a tasty lunch in the enormous food court. I finally got myself some chicken rice. Man, that's a flavour I've missed for a long time! Takes me right back to spending the summer holidays in Asia as a kid. Proper nostalgia food.
We managed to top our Swensons icecream experience in Cambodia by getting a ridiculous mixed icecream sundae in a waffle bowl for pudding. Luckily we probably managed to walk it off afterwards.
We had decided to walk to China Town from Siam, to see a bit more of Bangkok. This was a fine idea in itself, but sadly we hadn't factored in that Amber's stomach wasn't quite settled yet. This made our walk somewhat more exciting, as every few blocks we had to stop and decide how urgently we needed to find the next toilet! Not fun for Amber, but in hindsight pretty funny, especially when she had to choose between using the hideous toilets at Hualamphong train station or hedging her bets and holding out a bit longer (she held out).
To make matters worse, we had managed to get lost a few streets away from Yaraowat, the main drag of China Town, when the next wave of urgency came along. Thankfully it passed without mishap and for the next hour we were able to explore the bedlam of Bangkok's China Town.
They have some crazy stuff for sale in the market, but my favourite find was a plastic packet with an entire crocodile hand in it. Mmm...tasty AND nutritious!
After exploring the sights and smells of China Town we got a bright pink cab back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Andrew, a contact who had helpfully given us a lot of advice before we came out to Thailand.
We met by Thong Lo BTS station on Soi 38, for some excellent street food - you can just order what you want from the various stalls and then bring it ll back to the same table. We had a great selection: pad thai, spicy papaya salad, egg noodles soup, satay, pork stew, mango sticky rice and a selection of jellies and fruits in sweet coconut milk. Yum.
Afterwards we walked to a pub called the Witch's Tavern to have a drink and watch an army of rats running around the alley behind the pub. They were joined by an equally impressive army of cockroaches. We didn't order any food!
Andrea had to work the next day so we parted company around 11:30pm and made our way back.
We had settled our bill the night before, so all we had to do was get breakfast and hop in our nice air-conditioned minibus to the airport.
The airport in Siemreap is surprisingly nice, despite being on the small side. I took a photo of their goldfish pond because it looked like something out of a tropical interior design manual. All very peaceful.
We were at the airport well before our flight so we spent a bit of time perusing books in the bookshop. They had some really lovely coffee table books full of gorgeous photographs of the 'real' Cambodia. It's always a petty to find such books when you are backpacking because you know you won't buy them - they add too much weight and are too likely to get damaged in transit. There are a couple I will have to look up on Amazon when I get home.
Sadly our otherwise relaxed morning was somewhat tainted by both of us having rather upset stomachs. It was bound to happen eventually, but clearly it's less than ideal for it to happen when you are about to get on a plane and have limited toilet access for a while!
The flight to Bangkok was a little bumpy, thanks to a much smaller plane, but otherwise not too bad. We did bounce on landing, which was quite exhilarating (or terrifying in Amber's case). The flight was nice and quick, a mere 45 minutes.
Getting out of the airport was straightforward and (after yet another bathoom visit - just to be on the safe side!) we were soon hurtling towards the centre of the city at 140km/hr in our hotel's enormous airport pickup SUV. The driver was playing hip-hop on his stereo with some rather colourful lyrics. Not your typical tinny taxi radio.
As expected, everyone in Bangkok drives like a nutter: Very aggressively and as fast as possible. Reminded me of the M6 toll road!
We arrived at the Bangkok Loft Inn to a remarkably lackluster welcome at reception. Our choice of this hotel had largely been based on rave reviews on Tripadvisor largely focused on the friendliness of the staff, so we were quite surprised. The lady at reception recommended we devote the afternoon to visiting some shopping malls, which sounded like a good plan. We ditched our bags in our room (which turned out to be very nice) and headed out to catch the BTS Skytrain from nearby Wongwian Yai station to Siam Central.
We spent a while enjoying the culture shock of coming from the relative poverty of Siamreap to hang out in the Siam Paragon mall, with its masses of fashion outlets, technology stores and, strangely, several sports car showrooms on one of the upper floors.
Everyone in Bangkok appears to have an iPhone, even the monks, who get to travel everywhere for free, so all forms of public transport have 'monk seats' in the same way we have disability seats in the UK. It's not unusual to see a monk walking down the street in bright orange robes listening to his iPod...an iMonk?
We ate a tasty lunch in the enormous food court. I finally got myself some chicken rice. Man, that's a flavour I've missed for a long time! Takes me right back to spending the summer holidays in Asia as a kid. Proper nostalgia food.
We managed to top our Swensons icecream experience in Cambodia by getting a ridiculous mixed icecream sundae in a waffle bowl for pudding. Luckily we probably managed to walk it off afterwards.
We had decided to walk to China Town from Siam, to see a bit more of Bangkok. This was a fine idea in itself, but sadly we hadn't factored in that Amber's stomach wasn't quite settled yet. This made our walk somewhat more exciting, as every few blocks we had to stop and decide how urgently we needed to find the next toilet! Not fun for Amber, but in hindsight pretty funny, especially when she had to choose between using the hideous toilets at Hualamphong train station or hedging her bets and holding out a bit longer (she held out).
To make matters worse, we had managed to get lost a few streets away from Yaraowat, the main drag of China Town, when the next wave of urgency came along. Thankfully it passed without mishap and for the next hour we were able to explore the bedlam of Bangkok's China Town.
They have some crazy stuff for sale in the market, but my favourite find was a plastic packet with an entire crocodile hand in it. Mmm...tasty AND nutritious!
After exploring the sights and smells of China Town we got a bright pink cab back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Andrew, a contact who had helpfully given us a lot of advice before we came out to Thailand.
We met by Thong Lo BTS station on Soi 38, for some excellent street food - you can just order what you want from the various stalls and then bring it ll back to the same table. We had a great selection: pad thai, spicy papaya salad, egg noodles soup, satay, pork stew, mango sticky rice and a selection of jellies and fruits in sweet coconut milk. Yum.
Afterwards we walked to a pub called the Witch's Tavern to have a drink and watch an army of rats running around the alley behind the pub. They were joined by an equally impressive army of cockroaches. We didn't order any food!
Andrea had to work the next day so we parted company around 11:30pm and made our way back.
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