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Posts Tagged ‘Trip 09’

The Only Good Mouse Is A Reading Mouse

Posted by ally on December 5th, 2009 1 Comment

It’s hard to sum up our first two days in Luang Prabang. It’s an exceptionally pretty little town; an elegant melange of Asian and colonial influences. We began the morning observing the Tak Bat ceremony outside our guesthouse during which the faithful offer a small amount of sticky rice to each passing monk; a tradition which provides monks with their morning meal and makes merits for almsgivers. It has become a symbol of this little town, to the extent that there are various posters around town requesting tourists refrain from blinding the monks with camera flashes, impede their path or buying substandard rice to give to the monks.

In the morning we visited the former Royal Palace, now the National Museum. It was much humbler and more domestic than those of Cambodia or Thailand. The museum was completely silent about the fate of the royal family after the 1975 socialist revolution. A highlight, in the hall displaying official gifts to the former royal family, were the miniture moon lander and moon dust which the United States gave to Laos in the 1960’s.

Over the next two days we spent time wandering and admiring the town and it’s many temples, to the extent that we really lost track of which wat was what! Wat Xieng Thong, however, was definitely a highlight with gorgeous mosaics on soft pink walls.

One thing I must mention is Big Brother Mouse, an organisation dedicated to printing and distributing picture books in Lao. Many children in remote villages in Laos have little or no access to books and Big Brother Mouse is dedicated to giving young Lao the opportunity to write, illustrate, produce and print books and to create books that encourage young Lao to read. Ally and I bought some t-shirts and a pack of books to give out to children.

Luang Prabang

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Four Engines Good, Two Engines Bad

Posted by ally on December 4th, 2009 No Comments

Left for Bangkok airport still not feeling the best. Arrived at the airport quite early and where almost thrown out the taxi by the driver – we subsequently noticed a fellow wandering up and down the taxi rank with a loudspeaker roaring at taxi drivers who were dallying.

Had a quick drink then lined up to book in with Bangkok Airways. All went quite smoothly, although security was very strict – I had to take off my belt for the first time in the trip. The amount of shopping airside at the new Bangkok airport is staggering, it streches for miles. In stark contrast to the packed feel in the areas before checkin, with very limited eating and drinking outlets.

Bangkok Airways has a small lounge for all passengers which allowed us to grab fifteen minutes  internet, a drink and a couple of little snacks.

Got to the plane and we had the shock of our lives. It was so… little, and… propellor driven. The ATR 72 probably sat 50 or 60 but amongst the Boeings and Airbuses it seemed tiny and, as it was my first flight on a turbo-prop I was a little concerned. Flight was actually quite pleasant after a bumpy takeoff, with brilliant views of flat Thailand and then, increasingly mountainous Laos.

Nonetheless, it was a great relief when we arrived in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang ’s airport was tiny and we entered a customs area with brown timber partitons straight out of the fifties. An amazing contrast to the space age Bangkok Airport. USD$30 dollars later we had our visas and were out of the airport. Taxi to town cost a standardised USD$5.

Luang Prabang is a little town on a peninsular at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers and was the royal capital of Laos and was the politcal and religious center of the country. Surrounded by towering mountains and majestic rivers it really is marvelous location. It still contains over 30 Buddhist wats, alongside some beautifully preserved French colonial buildings, particularly the main streets which are lined with wonderfully renovated shophouses.

Did very little that evening apart from having dinner at a restaurant very close to our hotel, the 3 Nagas. After the tropical heat of the past few weeks it was a surprise to see little charchol burners below each table, but after we had been sitting for a while we appreciated the extra warmth as it is quite a few degrees colder in evenings at this altitude.

The meal was very pricey by local standards but we tried a  local delicacy – khai paen – fried Mekong riverweed with sesame and served with a spicey jao bong (buffalo skin jam). The spice of the condiment (which just tasted like a chilli jam) took away the fishy taste of the riverweed, which on its own tasted like nori on steroids. The rest of the meal was more prosaic: some delightful spring rolls, grilled pork chops for Ally and steamed fish in banana leaves for me, accompanied by the culinary symbol of Laos, sticky rice. Our waiter was wonderful and it was lovely introduction to Laos.

It was good to be somewhere quieter than Bangkok, and Luang Prabang was certainly charming.

Bangkok to Luang Prabang

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For One Night Only

Posted by adam on December 3rd, 2009 No Comments

Street PerformerSpying a big crowd from a tour bus this guy set up shop for an impormptu show right in front of Sala Bai one afternoon as we were having lunch. Carrying his props in the cart behind him he creates quite an impresion with his vividly dyed hair and tattoos.  After some illusions, flame swallowing the highlight of the show was him jumping through a crude wheel with various knives and flaming torch attached. Not death-defying, perhaps, but worth a couple of dollars.

Here, for your enjoyment, is the climax to his performance.

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Sold Up The Klongs

Posted by adam on December 3rd, 2009 No Comments

We had two nights in Bangkok which began as high farce and largely continued in the same vein, ending with us promising ourselves that we will have to return one day and give the city another try.

It started inauspiciously. We had agreed with Jo and Greg that we would meet them early in the morning on our first day and to see the Grand Palace together, but had not determined any details. Their hotel was on the river, near the Grand Palace; ours was on the other side of the city, but near the BTS. Despite several phone calls the reception at their hotel were unable to find them in the register, even though we knew they had booked in, so we were anxious as to whether to travel to their hotel or to the Grand Palace.

We set out for their hotel. We took BTS to Siam and interchanged to the other line towards Saphan Taksin station to catch the ferry up the Chao Pahyra river. On this second train we began chatting to a very friendly local. During the course of quite a long conversation he offered to direct us to the public pier from Taksin station. Feeling very overwhealmed by Bangkok and struggling to remember whether the pier was very easy or very hard to find from the BTS (I was sure it was one or the other) I stupidly agreed, before Ally had a chance to say otherwise. He ended up leading us to a little private pier somewhere near the Shangri La hotel and by this time I was a bit of wreck. It sounds very stupid and credulous on paper but this fellow was slick and enourmously charming. However, I knew pretty soon that we weren’t in the right place for the public ferry, but didn’t really know where we were and was panicking about how we would meet Jo and Greg.

We ended up paying an exhorbitant amount for a tour of the Klongs (the smaller waterways of old Bangkok) we didn’t want and were shown to a little longtail boat. Sitting on the boat, my reputation as anything like a savvy traveller forever destroyed, the water seemed much choppier than I expected, although my general feeling of unease probably made it worse. We could have taken the tour and minimised our losses, but we decided, instead, to cut our losses and just ask the driver to drop us off at the ferry stop we wanted. She dropped us close by but it took us another few minutes of stress and gesturing on a map with a helpful local security guard to determine exactly where we were. It was an expensive lesson and I still can’t really explain how it happened, espescially as I had read so much about the various scams of Bangkok.

Holding a grudge against the whole city we recouperated in Jo and Greg’s hotel room, and swapped war stories: they had had a bad experience with a tuktuk driver the day before, as everybody who catches a tuktuk in Bangkok seems to. We then caught the proper public ferry down towards the Grand Palace. At the ferry stop there were no signs, but we ascertained the direction and wandered down to the ‘big white fence’. Again, no signage as we tried to find the entrance, and when we did were set upon by guides offering their services and a fellow with a loundspeaker who would bellow at tourists he determined were not in accordance with the dress regulations. Jo was of his victims – her dress was sleeveless and the scarf she had brought for the purpose was deemed insufficient to rectify the sartorial deficiency. Very grudingly she borrowed, for a 100 baht deposit, one of the plain, less than flattering, grey shirts available for the purpose.

The Grand Palace was magnificent, but very busy and hot by the time we arrived. We were funnelled round a set route and at one point there was a sign warning that, for no apparent reason, once we passed through a particular doorway we could not re-enter and there was no turning back. Took some beautiful photos and I am glad we saw it, but we really weren’t in the mood to appreciate it.

We left and decided to see Wat Pho, just a few streets away. On the way several people standing near a empty small buddhist temple – I presume they were tuktuk drivers – came up to warn us that Wat Pho was closed, for a ‘Buddhist day’. Thankfully, we were now easily cynical to ignore such unsought advice and keept walking. After asking a rather confused young man outside the naval academy we found the rather grander Wat Pho. That it was open surprised us not at all.

Wat Pho is famous for its enourmous reclining Buddha, which really was an amazing sight, with stunning mother-of-pearl work under its feet. After a difficult morning we needed something to ‘Wow’ us and this was just the ticket.

We let the fates decide whether we head north on the river towards the backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road or south towards the upmarket shopping malls around Siam. Khao San Road won and we wandered around the night market, finding some little souvenirs and some dresses for Ally and Jo. It wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as I expected, but a little disheartening between the tourist tat, the tattoo parlours and the Western restaurants.

After saying goodbye to Jo and Greg, Ally and I had a quite cheap, and quite good, dinner at the Siam Paragon mall, which contains like so many of the Asian malls, a simply mind-boggling variety of designer shops.

The next day I woke up sore. We headed to Jim Thompson’s house, built by an eccentric American in the years after the Second World War from a collection of traditional Thai houses sourced from around the country. These one bedroom dwellings were bolted together to create a single house which highlights the beauty of these buildings. He became famous as a force behind the resurgence of Thai silk (especially when it was showcased in The King and I). Looked around the showroom – Jim Thompson is becoming a luxury designer brand in its own right – but we were rather put-off by the prices.

In the afternoon we headed to the MBK shopping mall, rather like an asian market spread over seven levels of shopping heaven/hell. Had an awful, but cheap, lunch at an all you can eat place which promised noodles and curry. Most of the curries, despite the labels, had no meat or vegetable matter but I found one with some promising morsels of what looked like beef. I hope it was tofu. Meat should have some sort of texture. Still we managed to fill oursevles on noodles and sauce for the equivalent of a couple of dollars.

The pain in my side was a little worse by this time, so we headed back to the hotel. In the evening we intended to see Victory Monument, a enourmous traffic roundabout just a few minutes from our hotel, but after walking in the wrong direction for twenty minutes, and Ally falling over on the uneven pavement, we gave up the search and found a little restaurant where we had delicious calamari, pork with basil (literally) and a green curry that I ended up picking the meat out of because of the heat.

My side still hurt as I considered our cursed couple of days and drifted off to sleep dreaming of appropriate punishments for the scammers of Bangkok.

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A Monkey Walks Into A Bar…

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 1 Comment

Began the day with a really nice breakfast at the FCC overlooking the National Museum in one direction and the Tonle Sap river in the other.

We met our driver, Dara, and headed out the Cheung Ek ‘Killing Fields’ about 15 kilometers Southeast of Phnom Penh. A fitting memorial to the thousands of Cambodians who were killed and buried in mass graves during the four years of Khmer Rouge rule between 1975 and 1979. A large stupa contains seventeen levels of clothes, skulls and bones exhumed from the mass graves which now resemble craters dotting the area. Visitors are allowed to wander as they wish in the area, which made me feel particularly uncomfortable when our guide pointed out a handful of teeth barely buried in the dirt. Apparently remains are still washed to the surface during heavy rain. The site was chosen as it had been a Chinese cemetary where the site of bodies, and the accompanying stench, were less likely to arouse suspiousion. This is just one of many such sites which dot the country.

I have to admit the site just made be feel terribly cold – the utterly arbitary and brutal slayings of so many; beaten with blunt instruments to save bullets by a doctrinaire and paranoid regime certain of its own righteousness. Only now are some of the Khmer Rouge leaders believed to be responsible being tried – trials about which our guide was cynical as too little too late. During the ride back to Phnom Penh, Dara told us that his father had been amongst the victims of the Khmer Rouge.

For some relief we went next to the Russian Market, so named in the 80‘s when nearly all the foreigners in Phnom Penh were from the former USSR. A wonderful, bustling market full of tiny narrow little alleyways with goods piled to the ceiling. Ally and I are still far from expert bargainers and we were probably seperated from far too much of our money, but I did pick up a ‘legitimate’ North Face rucksack for USD$21. If it gets me through the trip I’ll be estatic. We picked up some T-shirts and other tourist nick nacks, but the real joy was just wandering through the incredible, dynamic space which so well typifies modern Cambodia. Energetic, enterprenurial and irrepressable.

After the relief of the market we returned to our melancholy mood as we visited Toul Sleng, the former detention and interrogation camp of the Khmer Rouge. A converted high school the site has become, along with the Killing Fields, a symbol of the barbarity of Pol Pot’s rule. What shocked me was the improvised, makeshift, nature of the gaol and torture camp created from four non-descript buildings in the center of Phnom Penh – where classrooms were rudely partitioned with brick or timber cellds, the front of the buildings strung with barbed and razor wire, and gym equipment became the apparatus for torture. Nothing characterised the place better than the security regulations posted in the courtyard.

After lunch at the FCC we made the prilgramage to Wat Phnom – considered the founding hill of Phnom Penh. The pagoda at the top of the hill was lovely, but it was the gorgeous French-inspired park which surrounded it that we really appreciated. Complete with Parisian lamp-posts, monkeys, elephant rides, children playing and vendors selling various snacks. It was so far removed from the Phnom Penh I expected to find – this city was virtually emptied by the Khmer Rouge who sought to create a rural idyll in Cambodia, yet it is among the most charming capital cities I have visited in Asia. The riverfront, where the FCC is situated, is composed of unspoilt, low-profile, colonial period buildings, and fairly bustles at night.

We wandered along the esplanade up to Grand Palace to take some photos, intending to dine at Friends restaurant, which gives employment and training to former street kids, but they were already full and Ally was feeling pretty ordinary with an upset stomach. We returned to the riverside, chosing a restaurant almost at random.

After dinner Ally turned in and I wandered up to the bar at the FCC for a nightcap with Jo and Greg. As we watched Phnom Penh pass below us a monkey ran along the electrical wiring and into the bar on the other side of the road! It took about ten minutes for anyone there to notice, during which we considered the protocols surrounding informing them about the rogue primate. After he made himself known, and a waiter gave chase with a broom all appeared to be peacefully resolved, but we still don’t know whether he managed to get his drink or not.

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Get Your Kicks On Route 6

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 2 Comments

We were all picked up early by the Mekong Express minibus, which had perhaps had better days. Rumbled around the back streets of Siem Reap picking up tourists until we pulled into the bus station. The Mekong Express bus company are recommended by all the guide books and were the recommendation of our guide Sanchey. Cost was $USD11 per person. The Mekong Express bus, which took 6 hours to rumble down route #6 to Phnom Penh, was comfortable enough but certainly nothing flash – it had a toilet and was certainly airconditioned, but it seemed a little tired. some of the buses alongside looked a little nicer, but I’m not sure whether they were going to Phnom Penh or longer trips to Ho Chi Minh or Bangkok.

We each recieved a bottle of water and a box containing a dried pork bun and a peanut cookie – Greg complimented the bun but Ally and I found the fiborous texture of the “pork” a little too disconcerting. I found the peanut cookie to be pleasant, although I think it consisted of little more than crushed peanuts and sugar.

Trip was flat and uneventful. One stop somewhere in Kampong Cham provence. To our dissapointment this was not a the village famours (notourious?) for its fried spiders. Rather it was a nondescript little place with a a couple of vendors and a large, very Chinese looking, restaurant which was doing a good trade with travellers on the road. There was one lady selling various bugs, including spiders, but she was very unhappy with tourists photographing her wares. I decided that, with another three hours between us and Phnom Penh and the flies around her fried delights being less of a concern than the Westerners wanting to photograph the spiders that I would wait for another opportunity to munch on an arachnid.

Arrived at the Mekong Express office in Phnom Penh and we managed to locate our bags. The touts were kept out the fenced off area, so we decided to take a moment to collect our thoughts. Literally before Ally and Greg could light a cigarette the fences dividing the taxi and tuktuk drivers and us, their prey, were removed. We were surrounded. We nearly provoked an ugly incident by agreeing to go with a taxi driver who had not been the first to shout taxi at us, but this was resolved by agreeing to go with whoever had called ‘Shotgun’ on us. I think the driver managed to pad out the short journey to our hotel, the FCC.

The Foreign Correspondents Club in Phnom Penh is a lovely little spot on the riverside. Only opened in 1993 it seems to have almost as much character as many of the grand old colonial hotels. It’s a bit of a charmer. On the second and third floors are the bar, with lovely views over the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers. The four rooms are on the first floor (ours was just under the pool tables) and they are chic and elegant. The minibar contains all the journalist necessities; 750ml bottles of gin, scoth, rum.

In the evening Ally and I wandered up to the night market along the quay. The market, which was only just beginning, was very subdued and, to be honest, not particularly interested. Stopped off on the way back to the FCC to have a $USD2.50 campari and orange overlooking the Tonle Sap at one of the multitude of bars which line the riverbank.

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Notes From A Blue Pumpkin

Posted by adam on November 30th, 2009 No Comments

Woke up for breakfast at Sala Bai and to news that Greg had taken ill during the night. I don’t think it was anything to do with the durian cookies the night before, but I still felt pangs of guilt. Jo’s back was playing up, and it was decided that just Ally and I would venture out for the morning.

Along with the unexpected cost of visiting Koh Ker, Greg’s illness finally decided the issue of what we would do – Ally and I would stay close to Siem Reap and visit the Roulous group of temples in the morning and do some shopping in the evening. It was disappointing not to visit Koh Ker and Beng Melea, as it had been something I had been very much hoping to do, but it leaves something to do on our next visit!

The three temples of the Rolous group, Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei are the oldest around Siem Reap. Once again words fail me in trying to describe how beautiful they were – along with Pre-Rup, Bakong was perhaps my favorite temple. Their unexpected beauty – the vista from Pre-Rup and approaching Bakong just took my breath away. There were significantly less visitors than any other temples we had visited, and rather than the hoards of hawkers at the more popular temples at the Roulous there were just a handful – just as cute, just as insistent but less overwealming.

On the way out of Bakong a very young girl approached Ally with a very old ploy. She thrust a flower into her hand and proceeded to tie it around her finger with a palm leaf. Ally gave in and decided to pay the dollar demanded, which led to a chorus of four or five other children demanding the same, or at least a few thousand riel (equivalent to a few cents)

Again, pictures of the temples, which are beyond my powers of description, will follow.

We returned to Sala Bai for lunch, and to make sure Greg was feeling better. The highlight of lunch was a street performer who set up for an impromptu show in front of the hotel while we ate lunch, which climaxed in a leap through a hoop of knives and burning torch.

As Jo and Greg still did not feel up to visting any temples, we had a very quiet afternoon of shopping with Sanchey at a slightly dodgy silver shop and Artisans d’Angkor, an organisation dedicated to preserving traditional Khmer arts and crafts and creating opportunity of local Cambodians.

During the afternoon Sanchey mentioned that Siem Reap provence is, ironically, the poorest provence in Cambodia. Despite the enourmous amounts of tourist revenue which pour through very little finds its way to the poorest Cambodians and the lights may appear bright to Khmer from other provences, but the streets are rarely paved, let alone with gold. Labor is cheap and plentiful; service everywhere is better than anywhere I have ever experienced. This evening we went to KFC to get Greg, who was still feeling very weak, something familiar and safe – french fries – and were served a complimentary coke while we waited for our order! Even buying drinks at the local mini-marts feels like we are doing a great service, the shopkeepers, literally jump out of their seats to open the door and will chase you down the street if you wander away!

In the evening we had dinner at the Blue Pumpkin cafe, perhaps the best example of ‘tourist’ Siem Reap. I have rarely seen a cafe so clean, so orderly and so welcoming and so Western. Ally had a ham and cheese crossiant and I sampled the local specialty – linguini. Its chief attraction for us was free Wifi and we passed an enjoyable evening dipping into our lives at home, totally removed from the lives of almost every Cambodian. It is hard to describe how awfully privileged it feels to wander round Siem Reap as a Westerner. USD $10 is a princely sum: even at the tourists restaurants at which we have eaten it will buy a meal, and often a large bottle of beer, for both of us. We’ve become used to so much of the chaos – the traffic, the tuktuk drivers touting for business and the adorable hawkers and have become very comfortable here very quickly. I wish we had far more time and it will be hard to leave.

Angkor Day 3

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Dollarmites, Tuk Tuks and Overheard Comments

Posted by ally on November 29th, 2009 No Comments

After our adventures in Thailand we have a little time to reflect on our  experiences in Cambodia.

Siem Reap is an amazing town.  For all the tourists that go through there, the people, for the most part, are happy, friendly and helpful.  They are quick with a smile and will go out of their way to point you in the right direction.  The tuk tuk drivers will generally leave you alone after your first ‘No’ to the inevitable “Tuk Tuk Ladee?” and most are willing to have a chat if you have the time to stop.

We nicknamed the kids that come up to you selling souviners “Dollarmites” as everything is $1.  “One dollar ladee” is a common cry everywhere you go.  They sell everything from postcards to flutes and scarves.  Even they are happy to have a chat if there are not too many other tourists around.  They really are wonderful children and it’s sad to see that they have to go out to tout so they can suppliment the family income.

We stayed at the Sala Bai hotel which is a school for disadvantaged kids to learn about the hospitality industry.  The criteria is that they must be between the ages of 17 and 23 and their family income must be under $25 US per month.  These kids work really hard and always have a smile on their faces.  They were very helpful to us and no request was too hard.  We were very sorry to leave there.

The temples are many and simply amazing.  I was awestruck with each one that we went to.  The amount of work and art that has gone into each one is stunning.  It was also fun to just listen to the comments of the other tourists around us.  The most memorable of which was overheard by Greg  – “The temples are nice, but they do go on about them” – said by an American about his guide but another, just as memorable – “Everything in this country costs one dollar…except this” – said in response to the cost of the boat ride on Tonle Sap (we did not end up doing this).  I’m not too sure why an Angkor guide would be going on about Angkorian temples but there you go.

On to Phnom Penh where the dollarmites are a little more aggressive, Adam was told to ‘F off’ by one of them after he repeatedly said no to buying books, but still not too bad.  We stayed at FCC which is very nice.  It’s a bigger budget hotel than Sala Bai and was really comfortable right across the street from the river.  The staff were a little standoffish but that was probably to be expected, after all, it is a bigger hotel.

Just about all of us got sick or had just been sick by the time we got to Phnom Penh.  It slowed us down but didn’t stop us.  We went to the very very horrifying Killing Fields where the Khemer Rouge took people to be killed.  Apparently because it started as a Chinese cemetry they thought the smell would not be noticed so much.  Pity they didn’t think that the sheer amount of people they put to death would be noticed too much.

Our wonderful driver Dara, of whom Adam will post later, then decided that the Russian market would cheer us up a bit.  He was right.  What a crazy place.  It’s big and very very compact.  We wandered around there for a couple of hours before getting back into the car and off to the S21 museum.  This place used to be a school before the Khmer Rouge took it over as a prison.  The thought of the thousands of people that were kept prisoner within those walls is sickening.  Particularlly when most were then sent on to the killing fields for their final day or two.  The pictures on the walls were very graphic and literally made me sick to my stomach.  For some reason the Khmer Rouge were meticulous record keepers and there are rooms and rooms filled with the photos of just about every person who went through the S21 prison.  It’s a horrible past and one that the Cambodian people, rightfully I think, remember to ensure it never happens again in the future.

After that we were back to the hotel.  With Jo not feeling the best Adam and I set off for a wander up to the new night market.  We were a bit disappointed as it looked almost exactly like any market at home.  We wandered back down the street and stopped for a drink and some banana and honey pancakes.  YUM!

The next day was my turn to not be feeling on top of the world.  We had planned to go to the Royal Palace but I was just not up to it.  I was feeling particularly as it was our last day with Jo and Greg.  Greg and Adam tried to go and take some photos from the outside of the Grand Palace but were shooed away as there was some African delegation visiting.  As a result we lounged around in the hotel until Jo and Greg left for Bangkok.

Feeling a little better in the afternoon, Adam and I went to see the Palace, which was a lovely place, and then to a resturant called Friends which is also a school, this time for street kids.  The food was good and the service friendly.

Next day was our turn to be leaving.  We really loved Cambodia and are already talking about our next trip there.  It was surpising just how lovely the people are and how friendly.  I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for their next holiday.  It’s a country full of contrasts from the extreme poverty and ancient temples to the new building that is happening all around and the seemingly rich tourists that come to climb all over their national treasures.

Wat a wonderful place!!!!!

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Bangkok – take two

Posted by ally on November 27th, 2009 No Comments

OK, so after our first day in Bankok we were really looking forward to our second day so we could improve our impressions.  We had said goodbye to Jo and Greg, found our way back to our hotel room and were pretty happy with ourselves as there were no mishaps along the way.

Day 2 – Adam was not feeling the best so we took it nice and slow.  Went down for breakfast and then up to the room to shower, shave….you know, the usual stuff one does in the mornings.  We lazed around until about 10am when Adam was feeling better.  Off to Jim Thompsons house.  What a little peice of quiet in the otherwise chaos of Bangkok.  It’s just lovely and tranquil.  We spent about two hours there.  We had to have a guide, but then we were able to wander the gardens by ourselves.  If you haven’t been there it’s worth a visit.

We decided to head on into the MBK shopping centre after that for a little bit of shopping.  Not a good idea if you have two people just not that into shopping.  It seems to be the place to go for a bit of a bargin for anything from mobile phones to furniture of just about any type.  After getting lost trying to find the food court there we managed to find an all you can eat place that cost us around $2 each plus drinks.  I’m not sure the Thai people have caught on to what “all you can eat” means, but generally there are more than six options and most people should be able to eat as least some of them.  Adam found something that I will describe as a dark brown cube which I think was beef(?) flavoured tofu (maybe).  He couldn’t eat it – “meat should have some texture” – I think the exact wording was.  I found some noodle and a tiny bit of vege and satay sauce.  I’m not normally a big fan of satay and this was not an exception.  I had a few mouthfuls before giving up and handing it over to Adam to finish off.  Oh well, it was enough for the two of us and all up it cost around $5.

After lunch we got lost trying to find the escalator down to the correct floor so we could head back to the BTS.  This took us around half an hour to do after asking directions.  We finally found the place we needed and were back on the train.  It took us short time to get back to our station and we found a burger place that serves REAL chicken in their chicken burgers!  They also serve that with lots (for me) of spice.  Mr Chesters, I may be a weak westerner with no taste for hot food, but you couldn’t beat me!!!!  I must say it was the best burger I’ve had in a while.

Back to the hotel to rest for a little while (I really hate shopping) and then off to dinner.  After wandering for a little while and a small incident involving me, clumsiness, a sticking out brick and a slide on the pavement, we found a nice restaurant that served both western and thai dishes.  Along with the food they also had an interesting music selection which included YMCA sung by a lounge singer with a bit of a jazz theme to it.  We ordered our meals and started with some delicious calimari which we shared.  I then had my stir fried pork with basil (lots and lots of pork, not any veges) and Adam had the green curry.  Unfortuately the pork and the curry won.  I love pork, but basically a plateful of the stuff is just too much for anyone.  Adam really really tried with the curry but the slow burning kicker after each mouthful just got the better of him.

After dinner it was back to the hotel to start packing.  I don’t think we were at all unhappy about this.  Not only were we leaving Bangkok which we still haven’t formulated a great opinion of, but we were leaving for Laos in the morning.

Our conclusion of Bangkok is that we probably need to spend a week there and try again at some time in the future.  It does seem like a great place to visit, we just weren’t in the right frame of mind at the time.

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Bangkok…….the jury is still out!!!

Posted by ally on November 26th, 2009 No Comments

We arrived in Bangkok in the early evening, tired but happy.  We had such a great time in Cambodia that we were on a bit of a holiday high.

Once we landed we were ushered off the plane onto a bus which then took around 5 or so minutes ot get us to an actual terminal.  Passport control was a breeze.  Line up for a few minutes (I’m sure it wasn’t longer than 10), smile for the camera and watch the guy not really pay much attention to my passport.  Once we got through passport control the baggage carousel was right outside.  As we had waited already our bags were just coming around as we arrived.

Off to the taxi rank, where we had no waiting,and  into the car with a driver that was just  as chatty as those at home (although he did also think he was hilarious and he treated us to a song) and after around half an hour we were at the hotel.  The bellboys were ready and waiting to get our bags before the car had even come to a stop.  We were greeted at the door, ushered into the reception area and given comfortable seats to complete our checkin.

Thanks to the Accor vouchers Adam was able to get before we left we were able to get an upgrade to our room that gave us a deluxe room plus breakfast everyday for what amounts to no extra cost.  The room is amazing with a view of the pool which is on the fourth floor.  The bathroom is connected to the closet so you can access your clothes either from the actual room or the bathroom.  The bed is the most comfortable we have slept in for over a week.   Once the hotel staff had left we did what we are good at….spread all of our stuff all over the room and then fell asleep.

Today, Adam woke up at 5am and got ready to go out.  I slept until 6 and held up all proceedings.  We went downstairs to breakfast which was a huge spread, everything from Yum Cha style dumplings to pikelets and toast.  We feasted on what we could (about half a plate each.  Both of us haven’t really had much of an appetite – the weather is just too hot) and then we set off in search of Jo and Greg.  Off to the BTS (that’s the train station or skyway as it’s called here).  Got onto our first train with no problem and away we were.  We had to change trains so we did that with ease and started chatting to a local who was (in retrospect we are not too sure) off to work as a school teacher.  He was very friendly and we covered all sorts of topics before he casually told us that he would take us to the ferry stop that the local people used.  It was very near the tourist stop so we, stupidly, went along.  1500 Baht and an unwanted boat trip later we ended up telling the boat driver to drop us at the nearest pier to where we though Jo and Greg were going to be.  Luckly we ended up only two piers away from their hotel.  Adam was not happy that we fell for one of the oldest cons in the book.  I figured at least we were conned on the first day.  Now we know what to look out for.

We met up with Jo and Greg and it was off to the Royal Palace with a very annoyed and cheesed off Adam, a very sick Jo and a Greg.  The palace is lovely.  Very ornate, full of sparkly bits and lots and lots of people.  As Adam and I had seen the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh only yesterday we had something to compare it to.  I think we decided (at least I did) that while the Bangkok Royal Palace is an awesome place to see, the Phenom Penh one we much more peaceful.

After the Royal Palace we were off to see Wat Pho.  This is the temple with the enormous reclining Bhudda.  As we were walking down the street to the temple we were told by on man that the temple was closed today for “Bhudda Day”, another guy that the temple was across the road (which was in fact the Royal Palace that we had just left) and for some inexplicable reason that the Royal Palace was not, in fact, Wat Pho.  None of these guys were in earshot of each other so we’re not too sure why we got such conflicting information.  Anyway, after I stopped to ask a Navy guard the way, we found the temple quite easily, which surprisingly was not closed for Bhudda Day.  What an amazing Wat!  The reclining Buddha was a sight to behold.  How they have managed to get photos of it all in one is a mystery.  There are columns all around it.  There are a couple of angles where you can get full length photos of it but nothing like the postcard pictures you see.  Jo and I decided to “donate” 20 Baht and ‘make merit’ by adding coins to the long line of pots against the wall.  As far as I understand each coin you add to the pots gives you a little bit of goodwill credit in the next life.

After the Wat we headed back to Jo and Greg’s hotel so we could go down to the Khao San Rd markets.  We stopped for a drink and then we were off again.  We had been warned that Khao San Rd was a pretty seedy place to visit as it is a backpackers haven and can get quite ugly after dark.  We got there it was around 6pm and the market was just starting up.  After about an hour of hard barginning we had to get back for our ferry as they only run until 7.30pm.  After a short wait we were on the ferry headed back to our hotel.  The ferry ride was uneventful and we found the stop we SHOULD have gotten our morning ferry on.  Onto the train we go without kind strangers chatting to us and then we got off at the Siam stop for dinner.  We went to the food court at the massive shopping centre and enjoyed a very nice simple meal before our last leg home.  Onto another train for a short trip and then back at the hotel.

Adam is now asleep after what has been a very long, frustrating, exhausting day and I am about to join him.  So far our impression of Bangkok is mixed.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

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