So, we're not where we should be and it wasn't the easy option. Let's explain...
We had to be at the airport to check-in at 11.30am for our 1.50pm flight, so we caught a tuk tuk at around 11am to take us there. The journey to the airport was mainly up hill and unfortunately for us we must have taken the oldest tuk tuk in town. As it coughed and spluttered it's way up the hill, our nerves set in, worried it was going to break down! We eventually limped into the airport, which was a shock, as it more resembled a farm and the cattle shed being the terminal building!
Nervously we entered and after fifteen minutes we eventually got some kind of acknowledgement of our presence. Check-in appeared to be quite a lengthy procedure involving a set of bathroom scales and some sticky labels.
We were then informed, in pigeon English, by the check-in clerk that we were now flying to Vientiane, then changing aircraft to fly to our destination Luang Prabang. This was big news to us and seemed totally illogical as it would be like flying from London to New York via Los Angeles! We then asked how long the journey would be, so after receiving a print out, it seemed that a forty minute flight was going to take us nine hours. Bearing in mind the option of the bus would have only taken ten hours and also been a whole lot cheaper! It did not help matters that this was a once weekly flight and was delayed by half an hour.
We sat down on the wasteland of the terminal for 3 hours, firstly in silence and then weighing up all our limited options. As we had no other real options open to us, we decided to go with the plan, even though we were nervous about turning up at Luang Prabang late at night with no accommodation booked.
The time passed very slowly but eventually we heard the welcome sound of an aircraft coming into land. This plane was the smallest that either of us had ever travelled in before and Adam seemed unusually nervous, more so than Clare.
The tractor loaded our baggage onto the tiny plane and then it was our turn to get on board. After a very bumpy fifty minute flight, we landed at Vientiane airport.
We were hoping this time for a slightly more modern airport to help us while away our four hour wait for our connecting flight. This was far from the reality, it was just as rundown as the cattle shed! We had not eaten since breakfast and found a sorry excuse for a restaurant, so we thought we would play it safe and order some sandwiches. Again, the Laos hospitality came shining through as it seemed such a hindrance to them. They really shouldn't have bothered, as not only were they tiny, they were made with rock hard stale bread. To add salt into the aleady weeping wounds, they cost a princely £3 each, needless to say they went straight in the bin!
This was just about the icing on the cake for us and led to Adam confessing his Lonely Planet research into Laos Airlines to Clare. According to the book, they are "mostly safe" and do have a chequered history of poor safety and fatalities! Suddenly Adams prevously unusual nervous state was explained. So our options were, to either get on another Laos Airlines flight or to do a runner from the airport!
Before we knew it, we were in a taxi speeding towards the Laos capital, Vientiane. Obviously we had no accommodation booked, so we plucked out the best looking option from the Lonely Planet guide book. Arriving at the hotel we were met by the porter, who asked if we had a booking. Yes that's right it was fully booked. This was turning out to be a very bad day for us.
We walked around Vientiane feeling like Mary and Joseph, constantly being told, "Sorry, no room". After about half an hour of going from hotel to hotel, we managed to find a room in a decent looking place called The Anou Paradise Hotel. We think they use the term 'paradise' out of context here, but it was comfortable enough and had cable TV with 3 movie channels.
Our first night in Vientiane was spent drowning our sorrows with beerlao (only 64p a pint!) and eating a tasty burger. It was no more friendly here than it was in Huay Xai, so we started planning our escape back to Thailand.
We did however manage to find time to do some sight seeing in Vientiane, firstly the bus station (to plan our exit strategy) and then on to the main temple called Pha That Luang. Even our visit to Pha That Luang was plagued by the usual Lao graciousness. We attempted to pay the 10,000 KIP entrance fee with a 50,000 KIP note, only to be told by the grumpy man that there was no change. So off we went to try and find some change from a local shop. We returned with the correct change and this time he let us in. We did however take a quick look into his drawer, only to see it bursting with all sorts of cash! So Adam paid and thanked him very much for lying to us, he smiled and nodded, clearly not understanding the sarcasm.
Clare especially did not enjoy this temple experience, but it was a very impressive and golden monument. We did at least get some good photos of Laos and it was another temple off the checklist.
Our overall impression of Laos hasn't been a positive one, but due to flight complications, we did miss out the more famous and beautiful places to visit. At the moment we are not ready to venture back, but we have time on our hands and we may give it another go at another time.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
7th February 2009
So, we're not where we should be and it wasn't the easy option. Let's explain...
We had to be at the airport to check-in at 11.30am for our 1.50pm flight, so we caught a tuk tuk at around 11am to take us there. The journey to the airport was mainly up hill and unfortunately for us we must have taken the oldest tuk tuk in town. As it coughed and spluttered it's way up the hill, our nerves set in, worried it was going to break down! We eventually limped into the airport, which was a shock, as it more resembled a farm and the cattle shed being the terminal building!
Nervously we entered and after fifteen minutes we eventually got some kind of acknowledgement of our presence. Check-in appeared to be quite a lengthy procedure involving a set of bathroom scales and some sticky labels.
We were then informed, in pigeon English, by the check-in clerk that we were now flying to Vientiane, then changing aircraft to fly to our destination Luang Prabang. This was big news to us and seemed totally illogical as it would be like flying from London to New York via Los Angeles! We then asked how long the journey would be, so after receiving a print out, it seemed that a forty minute flight was going to take us nine hours. Bearing in mind the option of the bus would have only taken ten hours and also been a whole lot cheaper! It did not help matters that this was a once weekly flight and was delayed by half an hour.
We sat down on the wasteland of the terminal for 3 hours, firstly in silence and then weighing up all our limited options. As we had no other real options open to us, we decided to go with the plan, even though we were nervous about turning up at Luang Prabang late at night with no accommodation booked.
The time passed very slowly but eventually we heard the welcome sound of an aircraft coming into land. This plane was the smallest that either of us had ever travelled in before and Adam seemed unusually nervous, more so than Clare.
The tractor loaded our baggage onto the tiny plane and then it was our turn to get on board. After a very bumpy fifty minute flight, we landed at Vientiane airport.
We were hoping this time for a slightly more modern airport to help us while away our four hour wait for our connecting flight. This was far from the reality, it was just as rundown as the cattle shed! We had not eaten since breakfast and found a sorry excuse for a restaurant, so we thought we would play it safe and order some sandwiches. Again, the Laos hospitality came shining through as it seemed such a hindrance to them. They really shouldn't have bothered, as not only were they tiny, they were made with rock hard stale bread. To add salt into the aleady weeping wounds, they cost a princely £3 each, needless to say they went straight in the bin!
This was just about the icing on the cake for us and led to Adam confessing his Lonely Planet research into Laos Airlines to Clare. According to the book, they are "mostly safe" and do have a chequered history of poor safety and fatalities! Suddenly Adams prevously unusual nervous state was explained. So our options were, to either get on another Laos Airlines flight or to do a runner from the airport!
Before we knew it, we were in a taxi speeding towards the Laos capital, Vientiane. Obviously we had no accommodation booked, so we plucked out the best looking option from the Lonely Planet guide book. Arriving at the hotel we were met by the porter, who asked if we had a booking. Yes that's right it was fully booked. This was turning out to be a very bad day for us.
We walked around Vientiane feeling like Mary and Joseph, constantly being told, "Sorry, no room". After about half an hour of going from hotel to hotel, we managed to find a room in a decent looking place called The Anou Paradise Hotel. We think they use the term 'paradise' out of context here, but it was comfortable enough and had cable TV with 3 movie channels.
Our first night in Vientiane was spent drowning our sorrows with beerlao (only 64p a pint!) and eating a tasty burger. It was no more friendly here than it was in Huay Xai, so we started planning our escape back to Thailand.
We did however manage to find time to do some sight seeing in Vientiane, firstly the bus station (to plan our exit strategy) and then on to the main temple called Pha That Luang. Even our visit to Pha That Luang was plagued by the usual Lao graciousness. We attempted to pay the 10,000 KIP entrance fee with a 50,000 KIP note, only to be told by the grumpy man that there was no change. So off we went to try and find some change from a local shop. We returned with the correct change and this time he let us in. We did however take a quick look into his drawer, only to see it bursting with all sorts of cash! So Adam paid and thanked him very much for lying to us, he smiled and nodded, clearly not understanding the sarcasm.
Clare especially did not enjoy this temple experience, but it was a very impressive and golden monument. We did at least get some good photos of Laos and it was another temple off the checklist.
Our overall impression of Laos hasn't been a positive one, but due to flight complications, we did miss out the more famous and beautiful places to visit. At the moment we are not ready to venture back, but we have time on our hands and we may give it another go at another time.
We had to be at the airport to check-in at 11.30am for our 1.50pm flight, so we caught a tuk tuk at around 11am to take us there. The journey to the airport was mainly up hill and unfortunately for us we must have taken the oldest tuk tuk in town. As it coughed and spluttered it's way up the hill, our nerves set in, worried it was going to break down! We eventually limped into the airport, which was a shock, as it more resembled a farm and the cattle shed being the terminal building!
Nervously we entered and after fifteen minutes we eventually got some kind of acknowledgement of our presence. Check-in appeared to be quite a lengthy procedure involving a set of bathroom scales and some sticky labels.
We were then informed, in pigeon English, by the check-in clerk that we were now flying to Vientiane, then changing aircraft to fly to our destination Luang Prabang. This was big news to us and seemed totally illogical as it would be like flying from London to New York via Los Angeles! We then asked how long the journey would be, so after receiving a print out, it seemed that a forty minute flight was going to take us nine hours. Bearing in mind the option of the bus would have only taken ten hours and also been a whole lot cheaper! It did not help matters that this was a once weekly flight and was delayed by half an hour.
We sat down on the wasteland of the terminal for 3 hours, firstly in silence and then weighing up all our limited options. As we had no other real options open to us, we decided to go with the plan, even though we were nervous about turning up at Luang Prabang late at night with no accommodation booked.
The time passed very slowly but eventually we heard the welcome sound of an aircraft coming into land. This plane was the smallest that either of us had ever travelled in before and Adam seemed unusually nervous, more so than Clare.
The tractor loaded our baggage onto the tiny plane and then it was our turn to get on board. After a very bumpy fifty minute flight, we landed at Vientiane airport.
We were hoping this time for a slightly more modern airport to help us while away our four hour wait for our connecting flight. This was far from the reality, it was just as rundown as the cattle shed! We had not eaten since breakfast and found a sorry excuse for a restaurant, so we thought we would play it safe and order some sandwiches. Again, the Laos hospitality came shining through as it seemed such a hindrance to them. They really shouldn't have bothered, as not only were they tiny, they were made with rock hard stale bread. To add salt into the aleady weeping wounds, they cost a princely £3 each, needless to say they went straight in the bin!
This was just about the icing on the cake for us and led to Adam confessing his Lonely Planet research into Laos Airlines to Clare. According to the book, they are "mostly safe" and do have a chequered history of poor safety and fatalities! Suddenly Adams prevously unusual nervous state was explained. So our options were, to either get on another Laos Airlines flight or to do a runner from the airport!
Before we knew it, we were in a taxi speeding towards the Laos capital, Vientiane. Obviously we had no accommodation booked, so we plucked out the best looking option from the Lonely Planet guide book. Arriving at the hotel we were met by the porter, who asked if we had a booking. Yes that's right it was fully booked. This was turning out to be a very bad day for us.
We walked around Vientiane feeling like Mary and Joseph, constantly being told, "Sorry, no room". After about half an hour of going from hotel to hotel, we managed to find a room in a decent looking place called The Anou Paradise Hotel. We think they use the term 'paradise' out of context here, but it was comfortable enough and had cable TV with 3 movie channels.
Our first night in Vientiane was spent drowning our sorrows with beerlao (only 64p a pint!) and eating a tasty burger. It was no more friendly here than it was in Huay Xai, so we started planning our escape back to Thailand.
We did however manage to find time to do some sight seeing in Vientiane, firstly the bus station (to plan our exit strategy) and then on to the main temple called Pha That Luang. Even our visit to Pha That Luang was plagued by the usual Lao graciousness. We attempted to pay the 10,000 KIP entrance fee with a 50,000 KIP note, only to be told by the grumpy man that there was no change. So off we went to try and find some change from a local shop. We returned with the correct change and this time he let us in. We did however take a quick look into his drawer, only to see it bursting with all sorts of cash! So Adam paid and thanked him very much for lying to us, he smiled and nodded, clearly not understanding the sarcasm.
Clare especially did not enjoy this temple experience, but it was a very impressive and golden monument. We did at least get some good photos of Laos and it was another temple off the checklist.
Our overall impression of Laos hasn't been a positive one, but due to flight complications, we did miss out the more famous and beautiful places to visit. At the moment we are not ready to venture back, but we have time on our hands and we may give it another go at another time.
5th Februay 2009
No such luxuries for us this morning as there were no taxis of tuk tuk's, so we had to hike a mile with our backpacks to the border crossing!
It was important that we got our departure card stamped on the Thai side, otherwise it could prove problematic later on in our travels. Bearing in mind it is not the most official looking border crossing and it could be easy to miss, or so we thought...
We arrived to see a mass of westerners lined up with their backpacks on and passports in hand! After queing for half an hour we made our way down the sandy and muddy bank to the line of longtail boats waiting to take us across the border.
After buying a ticket for ourselves and one for our backpacks (well, no ticket was given exactly, we just handed over some money) we were herded onto one of the thinnest and longest longtail boards we'd seen. To give you an idea of how narrow it was, it was a bit of tight squeeze sitting next to each other and the boat laid extremely low in the water! The crossing was quick, taking no more than a minute and we quickly had to get ourselves and our backpacks out and onto the opposite sandy bank. Wow! We're in Laos!
First stop was the immigration centre and it was utter chaos. About a hundred or so Thais and westerners were crammed in like sheep into a very small area in which we had to pay our 35USD entrance fee, get our passports stamped and leave. This small procedure only took about an hour and a half to complete and in the 40 Degree heat was pretty unpleasant.
We headed into the border town of Huay Xai to find ourselves somewhere to sleep for the night and to work out what currency was used here! The first hotel that we came across was a large pink coloured building called "Thaveesinh". We checked the room, thought it would be ok for one night and checked in. Fortunately an ATM was next door, so we managed to get ourselves some Laos Kip (which everyone takes here). Knowing that the exchange rate is around 12,000 Kip to the UK Pound, we are finally millionaires!
Our next destination in Laos is Luang Prabang, so it was important for us to find out how to get there, so we ventured out to the town to try and discover our options. This was not very straight forward as the choices were very limited and also not very appealing:
1) A 2 day boat ride (10 hours each day) on a small wooden boat with seats that resemble planks of wood, packed with as many people as they can carry. Never a good sign when all the shops sell cushions for the boat ride
2) An 8 hour speedboat ride, which is not the usual image conjured up by the word, but as the Lonely Planet describes, more like a surfboard with an outboard motor. With an apparently high accident and fatality rate.
3) A 15 hour overnight bus journey, which often breaks down and is a vomit enducing bumpy ride.
After doing all this research and none of the above appealing very much, we discovered a not very well advertised fourth option of flying to Luang Prabang. So out came the credit card and we bought our tickets for the once weekly flight leaving in two days. At 80USD it was also a pretty reasonable price.
So after booking our flight it was back to the hotel. When we got back to our room, we realized that staying two nights here, let alone one, was never going to happen. We must have been a bit weary from the immigration ordeal as it wasn't the nicest of places. So we made an executive decision to leave and find ourselves somewhere more comfortable to stay.
We donned our backpacks and handed the key in at receprion to some very confused looking staff, explaining that we were leaving immediately. A few doors down the road, we found a much more comfortable and clean hotel to stay in for the two nights.
Huay Xai is a very small town with all of the guest houses practically sitting on top of each other and the main road only stretches for 500 Metres. There is practically nothing at all to do here, even finding a defect restaurant or cafe has proved difficult, but on the brightside we do have HBO on our TV.
Bearing in mind the size of the town it came as no surprise to find the desk clerk of our previous hotel waiting for us in reception, demanding payment for our swift three hour stay! As we were pretty surprised we left without paying anything, we happily gave the man £2 and our consciences were clear.
So far our impression of Laos, gone are the smiling faces and the great value food. This isn't a friendly town by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully Luang Prabang tomorrow will be a different story.
It was important that we got our departure card stamped on the Thai side, otherwise it could prove problematic later on in our travels. Bearing in mind it is not the most official looking border crossing and it could be easy to miss, or so we thought...
We arrived to see a mass of westerners lined up with their backpacks on and passports in hand! After queing for half an hour we made our way down the sandy and muddy bank to the line of longtail boats waiting to take us across the border.
After buying a ticket for ourselves and one for our backpacks (well, no ticket was given exactly, we just handed over some money) we were herded onto one of the thinnest and longest longtail boards we'd seen. To give you an idea of how narrow it was, it was a bit of tight squeeze sitting next to each other and the boat laid extremely low in the water! The crossing was quick, taking no more than a minute and we quickly had to get ourselves and our backpacks out and onto the opposite sandy bank. Wow! We're in Laos!
First stop was the immigration centre and it was utter chaos. About a hundred or so Thais and westerners were crammed in like sheep into a very small area in which we had to pay our 35USD entrance fee, get our passports stamped and leave. This small procedure only took about an hour and a half to complete and in the 40 Degree heat was pretty unpleasant.
We headed into the border town of Huay Xai to find ourselves somewhere to sleep for the night and to work out what currency was used here! The first hotel that we came across was a large pink coloured building called "Thaveesinh". We checked the room, thought it would be ok for one night and checked in. Fortunately an ATM was next door, so we managed to get ourselves some Laos Kip (which everyone takes here). Knowing that the exchange rate is around 12,000 Kip to the UK Pound, we are finally millionaires!
Our next destination in Laos is Luang Prabang, so it was important for us to find out how to get there, so we ventured out to the town to try and discover our options. This was not very straight forward as the choices were very limited and also not very appealing:
1) A 2 day boat ride (10 hours each day) on a small wooden boat with seats that resemble planks of wood, packed with as many people as they can carry. Never a good sign when all the shops sell cushions for the boat ride
2) An 8 hour speedboat ride, which is not the usual image conjured up by the word, but as the Lonely Planet describes, more like a surfboard with an outboard motor. With an apparently high accident and fatality rate.
3) A 15 hour overnight bus journey, which often breaks down and is a vomit enducing bumpy ride.
After doing all this research and none of the above appealing very much, we discovered a not very well advertised fourth option of flying to Luang Prabang. So out came the credit card and we bought our tickets for the once weekly flight leaving in two days. At 80USD it was also a pretty reasonable price.
So after booking our flight it was back to the hotel. When we got back to our room, we realized that staying two nights here, let alone one, was never going to happen. We must have been a bit weary from the immigration ordeal as it wasn't the nicest of places. So we made an executive decision to leave and find ourselves somewhere more comfortable to stay.
We donned our backpacks and handed the key in at receprion to some very confused looking staff, explaining that we were leaving immediately. A few doors down the road, we found a much more comfortable and clean hotel to stay in for the two nights.
Huay Xai is a very small town with all of the guest houses practically sitting on top of each other and the main road only stretches for 500 Metres. There is practically nothing at all to do here, even finding a defect restaurant or cafe has proved difficult, but on the brightside we do have HBO on our TV.
Bearing in mind the size of the town it came as no surprise to find the desk clerk of our previous hotel waiting for us in reception, demanding payment for our swift three hour stay! As we were pretty surprised we left without paying anything, we happily gave the man £2 and our consciences were clear.
So far our impression of Laos, gone are the smiling faces and the great value food. This isn't a friendly town by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully Luang Prabang tomorrow will be a different story.
4th February 2009
Our only option in getting to Chiang Khong was a local ordinary bus, with no a/c or storage for our luggage. So we stored our backpacks at the back of the bus, opened the windows wide and got settled in for our two and a half hour journey.
The journey was probably one of our best, with very picturesque views of the Thai countryside, filled with sights such as, limestone cliffs, farmland and green rice fields stretching all the way to the horizon.
This all made for a pleasant journey, until after an hour the tarmac gave way to a pot holed and shingle ridden road. The bus ride from here on turned into a bit of a bone shaker, but before we knew it we had arrived at our destination of Chiang Khong.
We took a tuk tuk to our guest house called Baan Tammila, which sits overlooking the mighty Mekhong river and the town of Huay Xai in Laos. After a quick lunch in our guest house we went for a walk to locate the border crossing and find our our visa requirements. Laos deals in three currencies, the US Dollar, the Thai Baht and the Laos Kip. As you can imagine this is very confusing for the independent traveller crossing to Laos. We discovered that we needed 70 US Dollars for both of our visas and that we should use Kip for everything else in Laos. Hopefully this will be fine, but at the moment we still remain very confused!
We thought it would be a good idea to check our the ferry crossing to Laos, so we made our way to the passenger terminal. It was an important point to find the Thai immigration office, as we do need our departure card stamped before we leave. This was confusing to find, but we think we have discovers it.
To say the border crossing is quiet is a huge understatement. The ferry crossing is just a small hadful of longtail boats moored up on sleepy looking sand bank. We're sure all will become clear in the morning, but it does mean for us yet another early morning start and a crossing into Laos over the Mekhong tomorrow.
The journey was probably one of our best, with very picturesque views of the Thai countryside, filled with sights such as, limestone cliffs, farmland and green rice fields stretching all the way to the horizon.
This all made for a pleasant journey, until after an hour the tarmac gave way to a pot holed and shingle ridden road. The bus ride from here on turned into a bit of a bone shaker, but before we knew it we had arrived at our destination of Chiang Khong.
We took a tuk tuk to our guest house called Baan Tammila, which sits overlooking the mighty Mekhong river and the town of Huay Xai in Laos. After a quick lunch in our guest house we went for a walk to locate the border crossing and find our our visa requirements. Laos deals in three currencies, the US Dollar, the Thai Baht and the Laos Kip. As you can imagine this is very confusing for the independent traveller crossing to Laos. We discovered that we needed 70 US Dollars for both of our visas and that we should use Kip for everything else in Laos. Hopefully this will be fine, but at the moment we still remain very confused!
We thought it would be a good idea to check our the ferry crossing to Laos, so we made our way to the passenger terminal. It was an important point to find the Thai immigration office, as we do need our departure card stamped before we leave. This was confusing to find, but we think we have discovers it.
To say the border crossing is quiet is a huge understatement. The ferry crossing is just a small hadful of longtail boats moored up on sleepy looking sand bank. We're sure all will become clear in the morning, but it does mean for us yet another early morning start and a crossing into Laos over the Mekhong tomorrow.
31st January 2009
All packed and ready to go, another bleary eyed early morning bus ride awaited us. It was a short hop, our only option was a VIP bus for the three hour journey, of which we slept most of the way.
We had booked a hotel up in the hills of Chiang Rai, hoping for a relaxing time. We took a tuk tuk from the bus station and haggled on the price, only to feel a little guilty as it was a long half hour ride away. Bless him, the driver even gave us some tamarind to eat on the way.
We arrived in the middle of nowhere, at the Naga Hill Resort (www.nagahill.com), to be met by stunning views of the surrounding hills and green rice fields in the distance. We were shown to our cabin which was a rustic two storey Thai style house. Our bedroom being at the top, resting on stilts, an open-air bathroom downstairs, practically in the jungle, and a nice decking area underneath the bedroom with a hammock and Thai style cushions. We think we've done good this time! We arrived just in time for a delicious lunch and the afternoon was spent by the 25 metre pool overlooking the hills.
We spent five whole days here, relaxing by the pool, having our private hammock time and going for walks around the countryside. One afternoon we bought some fish food from the local Wat, which was perched on the edge of a huge lake near our resort and fed some enormous catfish. We have never seen fish as big or as ugly as these were!
Spending so much time by the pool enabled Adam to build up his confidence in the water and he swam 50 metres, bearing in mind the deep end was a massive depth of 12ft! Another plus point was that Clare managed to dive into the pool without her glasses on this time!
The restaurant here was amazing, with great views over the hills and the best food we had eaten so far, including Burmese curry and banana flower salad.
Naga hill was complete luxury for us and at a mere snip of £16 a night, if it was not for our Thai visa expiring soon, would have definitely stayed here for longer.
On a side note, "Naga" means a mythical serpentlike being with magical powers - which would explain all the stone serpent heads around the grounds!
Being so far up in the hills we have had our fair share of wildlife here including, toads, lizards, flying beetles and a takachan (the biggest and weirdest bug you'll ever see). All of which at one point or another seemed to take up residence in our bathroom!
In the morning another bus awaits to take us to Chiang Khong, the border between Thailand and Laos.
We had booked a hotel up in the hills of Chiang Rai, hoping for a relaxing time. We took a tuk tuk from the bus station and haggled on the price, only to feel a little guilty as it was a long half hour ride away. Bless him, the driver even gave us some tamarind to eat on the way.
We arrived in the middle of nowhere, at the Naga Hill Resort (www.nagahill.com), to be met by stunning views of the surrounding hills and green rice fields in the distance. We were shown to our cabin which was a rustic two storey Thai style house. Our bedroom being at the top, resting on stilts, an open-air bathroom downstairs, practically in the jungle, and a nice decking area underneath the bedroom with a hammock and Thai style cushions. We think we've done good this time! We arrived just in time for a delicious lunch and the afternoon was spent by the 25 metre pool overlooking the hills.
We spent five whole days here, relaxing by the pool, having our private hammock time and going for walks around the countryside. One afternoon we bought some fish food from the local Wat, which was perched on the edge of a huge lake near our resort and fed some enormous catfish. We have never seen fish as big or as ugly as these were!
Spending so much time by the pool enabled Adam to build up his confidence in the water and he swam 50 metres, bearing in mind the deep end was a massive depth of 12ft! Another plus point was that Clare managed to dive into the pool without her glasses on this time!
The restaurant here was amazing, with great views over the hills and the best food we had eaten so far, including Burmese curry and banana flower salad.
Naga hill was complete luxury for us and at a mere snip of £16 a night, if it was not for our Thai visa expiring soon, would have definitely stayed here for longer.
On a side note, "Naga" means a mythical serpentlike being with magical powers - which would explain all the stone serpent heads around the grounds!
Being so far up in the hills we have had our fair share of wildlife here including, toads, lizards, flying beetles and a takachan (the biggest and weirdest bug you'll ever see). All of which at one point or another seemed to take up residence in our bathroom!
In the morning another bus awaits to take us to Chiang Khong, the border between Thailand and Laos.
26th January 2009
Arriving in Chiang Mai bus station there was no shortage of taxi drivers and tuk tuk's hassling us for our business. Taking the cheaper option of the tuk tuk, we were surprised to find we could squeeze in the two of us, both of our backpacks and two day sacks! Cozy!
We were staying in a hotel called The Parasol Inn (www.parasolinn.com) within the old city walls of Chiang Mai. Our hotel room was big and comfortable and this time we even had a window with a view of an ancient Wat.
After getting our bearings we plunged head first into Chiang Mai and headed for the local night bazaar. It was pretty claustrophobic at the bazaar and very busy with 2 narrow alleyways selling all the usual tourist tatt, that we have pretty much seen everywhere here in Thailand.
For our dinner we found a local indoor Market called 'Kalare'. It was strange at first as there was a row of food stalls that apparently only accepted vouchers. After hunting around and asking some westerners we worked it out and bought some of the elusive vouchers. With so much delicious looking food and not being the most decisive couple, we eventually decided upon a bowl of Khaow Sai each. This is a northern Thai speciality of spicy coconut broth with noodles, chicken, pickled cabbage, shallots and crispy fried noodles on top! It was very delicious!
On our first full day the Merrel sandals came into full use as we embarked on a walking tour of the old city of Chiang Mai. Setting off at half ten in the morning, we visited all the old temples and Wats stopping for lunch along the way. Our sight seeing also took in the womens prison where the inmates practise their newfound massage skills, but unfortunately for us they had moved it to a different area. So no well earned foot massage was found here for us!
On our way to our last temple we were accosted by a local teacher (well, that's what he said he was!). So, after a long winded conversation, while drawing all over our map, all became apparent... His family owned a tailors! As soon as we made it clear that a suit did not fit in with our backpacking style, he shook our hands and disappeared - all very surreal!
At our last temple, we were approached by a school boy asking if we had time to chat with him and his friend to help them practice their English. We were more than happy to help and followed him to his friend who turned out to be a Monk. After a fun fifteen minute chat talking about various subjects, Thailand, London and the English language we said our goodbyes and made for our hotel. What nice people they were and so eager to learn our language, even though our efforts of speaking Thai did amuse them somewhat! After our seven our walking tour an early night was definitely in order.
The next day we headed to catch a local songthaew to visit the local hill top temple of Doi Suthep. After winding our way up the hairpin bends we arrived at the base of the temple - only 306 steps to reach the top. Although it was very hot, the climb was pretty easy compared to our other efforts. The view from the top was pretty impressive although due to the heat it was fairly hazy. The temple was good to visit, but we did find it was not quite as impressive as some we had seen in the old city. I guess the fact that it was covered in scaffolding might have ruined the beauty of it somewhat. The plus point of the climb was the purchase of our seventh fridge magnet!
After wending our way back down the steps, we were surprised to see there was large elephant standing there. A great photo opportunity to see Adam feeding the great beast cucumbers!
A quick lunch was had before we set off for our next sight-seeing trip. We set off to Chinatown to catch another songthaew to a small village called Bo Sang, nicknamed 'Umbrella Village'. After much to-ing and fro-ing we managed to get on a packed songthaew, eight Thai people and us. We felt like giants compared to the locals! Somehow we managed to get off at the right stop, opposite an umbrella making factory.
The courtyard outside featured every process of the umbrella making process, from getting the bark of the Mulberry tree to hand painting the final product. This was fascinating to see and we were pursuaded by the artists to get a butterfly scene painted on Clares day sack and a golden dragon on Adams camera bag, all for £2, how cool is that! We did decline though, when they offered to paint our clothes! We had a fun and interesting time here exploring the village and at 6pm we headed off to try and find the right bus stop back to town.
Chiang Mai had some great sights to offer but we pretty much had them all covered in two days. We found the bars and restaurants a bit too westernized for us. We even found ourselves in a London style pub called 'The Queen Vic' complete with a large Buddha in the corner.
After four days we'd had enough of Chiang Mai and are heading for our final major destination in Thailand, Chiang Rai.
We were staying in a hotel called The Parasol Inn (www.parasolinn.com) within the old city walls of Chiang Mai. Our hotel room was big and comfortable and this time we even had a window with a view of an ancient Wat.
After getting our bearings we plunged head first into Chiang Mai and headed for the local night bazaar. It was pretty claustrophobic at the bazaar and very busy with 2 narrow alleyways selling all the usual tourist tatt, that we have pretty much seen everywhere here in Thailand.
For our dinner we found a local indoor Market called 'Kalare'. It was strange at first as there was a row of food stalls that apparently only accepted vouchers. After hunting around and asking some westerners we worked it out and bought some of the elusive vouchers. With so much delicious looking food and not being the most decisive couple, we eventually decided upon a bowl of Khaow Sai each. This is a northern Thai speciality of spicy coconut broth with noodles, chicken, pickled cabbage, shallots and crispy fried noodles on top! It was very delicious!
On our first full day the Merrel sandals came into full use as we embarked on a walking tour of the old city of Chiang Mai. Setting off at half ten in the morning, we visited all the old temples and Wats stopping for lunch along the way. Our sight seeing also took in the womens prison where the inmates practise their newfound massage skills, but unfortunately for us they had moved it to a different area. So no well earned foot massage was found here for us!
On our way to our last temple we were accosted by a local teacher (well, that's what he said he was!). So, after a long winded conversation, while drawing all over our map, all became apparent... His family owned a tailors! As soon as we made it clear that a suit did not fit in with our backpacking style, he shook our hands and disappeared - all very surreal!
At our last temple, we were approached by a school boy asking if we had time to chat with him and his friend to help them practice their English. We were more than happy to help and followed him to his friend who turned out to be a Monk. After a fun fifteen minute chat talking about various subjects, Thailand, London and the English language we said our goodbyes and made for our hotel. What nice people they were and so eager to learn our language, even though our efforts of speaking Thai did amuse them somewhat! After our seven our walking tour an early night was definitely in order.
The next day we headed to catch a local songthaew to visit the local hill top temple of Doi Suthep. After winding our way up the hairpin bends we arrived at the base of the temple - only 306 steps to reach the top. Although it was very hot, the climb was pretty easy compared to our other efforts. The view from the top was pretty impressive although due to the heat it was fairly hazy. The temple was good to visit, but we did find it was not quite as impressive as some we had seen in the old city. I guess the fact that it was covered in scaffolding might have ruined the beauty of it somewhat. The plus point of the climb was the purchase of our seventh fridge magnet!
After wending our way back down the steps, we were surprised to see there was large elephant standing there. A great photo opportunity to see Adam feeding the great beast cucumbers!
A quick lunch was had before we set off for our next sight-seeing trip. We set off to Chinatown to catch another songthaew to a small village called Bo Sang, nicknamed 'Umbrella Village'. After much to-ing and fro-ing we managed to get on a packed songthaew, eight Thai people and us. We felt like giants compared to the locals! Somehow we managed to get off at the right stop, opposite an umbrella making factory.
The courtyard outside featured every process of the umbrella making process, from getting the bark of the Mulberry tree to hand painting the final product. This was fascinating to see and we were pursuaded by the artists to get a butterfly scene painted on Clares day sack and a golden dragon on Adams camera bag, all for £2, how cool is that! We did decline though, when they offered to paint our clothes! We had a fun and interesting time here exploring the village and at 6pm we headed off to try and find the right bus stop back to town.
Chiang Mai had some great sights to offer but we pretty much had them all covered in two days. We found the bars and restaurants a bit too westernized for us. We even found ourselves in a London style pub called 'The Queen Vic' complete with a large Buddha in the corner.
After four days we'd had enough of Chiang Mai and are heading for our final major destination in Thailand, Chiang Rai.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
23rd January 2009
Up bright and early thanks to the cockerels in the yard, we made our way to the bus station in Ayutthaya. We are getting pretty used to the bus travel here in Thailand and have now learnt the difference in 1st and 2nd class buses. There is no toilet on the 2nd class buses which can also be a blessing thanks to our previous experiences. So needless to say we opted for the 2nd class option.
After a reasonable 6 hour journey we arrived in Sukhothai and hopped on a songthaew to our new hotel, J & J Guest House (http://www.jj-guesthouse.com/). We were a little nervous arriving, as we turned down a quiet side street full of run down shacks and our guest house was in front of a canal, which was a lovely shade of green and a little fragrant! We need not have worried as our resort was very nice, we even had a swimming pool! After 10 minutes in our room, we decided to upgrade to a bungalow which was practically next to the pool, as the mattress in the previous room felt a little wooden. Our new bungalow was very comfortable with a soft mattress and cable TV.
As we arrived late in the day and it was very hot, we decided a dip in the pool was needed. As the swimming pool was deep for its modest size, Clare decided to dive straight in, whilst Adam tentatively made his way down the steps. We cooled off and spent an enjoyable hour chatting to 2 English guys from the midlands, Craig and Jay. Beer o'clock was calling, so off we went to get showered and to explore the town. Calamity struck after our showers, Clares new glasses were missing! Clare was convinced she had left them in the room and not taken them to the pool, so after searching the bungalow from floor to ceiling, we headed to the poolside armed with a torch to search around the sun loungers. After 3 circuits, upturning all the chairs, there was no sign of her glasses. We even asked reception and no-one had seen them anywhere! Clare was very upset that her new glasses were lost, and the only thing we could do was to go out for dinner and drown our sorrows. We ended up in a place called "Poo Restaurant", again the clue was in the name and the food wasn't brilliant but the beer was cheap! Craig and Jay joined us for a couple of drinks and confirmed our suspicions that Clare WAS wearing her glasses when we got to the pool. The swimming pool opens at 9am, so decided on an early start and that a daylight inspection was needed.
We woke up at 6.30am the following morning and found a way into the locked pool area. After a good search we decided to write them off as lost, that is until Adam spotted something glistening in the deep end of the pool. Surely no-one could be so stupid as to dive into a pool wearing their glasses, can they??? Well, there they were, untouched, so Clares punishment was to put on her swimming costume and dive into the freezing cold pool and retrieve her specs! No damage done, they were fine, only a slight bruising to Clares ego!
Now that we were up early, we had a day of sightseeing ahead. We boarded a local bus to the old city of Sukhothai which was the old capital of Thailand before Ayutthaya. This is a world heritage site, full of ancient ruins and temples and was the size of a large town, surrounded by a moat. We grabbed some lunch, hired a bicycle each and set about exploring the city. The grounds were beautifully kept which made for a relaxing ride around the city, stopping now and again to walk around the ancient ruins of a bygone era. We spent over 3 hours in the city resting from the sun, much needed water stops and the obligatory photo opportunity's. For such a large tourist place, it was very quiet and for the most part felt that we had this ancient city all to ourselves. After retuning our bikes and a quick stop for a cold drink, we hopped on the local bus back to our guest house, for a much needed cool down in the pool.
We spent our last day in Sukhothai relaxing by the pool, as we were feeling a bit templed out! Our last night out in Sukhothai proved interesting. We found a nice Thai restaurant a little way from the guest house and decided to have a delicious Massaman curry each. Our food arrived and our jaws practically hit the floor! It looked like Massaman, but didn't smell like Massaman, in actual fact it tasted of nothing. To top it off it even had raw potato floating in it! Needless to say we did not eat it and promptly paid and left. I do not think we will be ordering that dish for a while.
Sukhothai was an interesting place to while away a few days. Full on ancient history and with the added bonus of a swimming pool it made for a good few days. As always and early start was needed in preparation for our next destination - Chiang Mai.
After a reasonable 6 hour journey we arrived in Sukhothai and hopped on a songthaew to our new hotel, J & J Guest House (http://www.jj-guesthouse.com/). We were a little nervous arriving, as we turned down a quiet side street full of run down shacks and our guest house was in front of a canal, which was a lovely shade of green and a little fragrant! We need not have worried as our resort was very nice, we even had a swimming pool! After 10 minutes in our room, we decided to upgrade to a bungalow which was practically next to the pool, as the mattress in the previous room felt a little wooden. Our new bungalow was very comfortable with a soft mattress and cable TV.
As we arrived late in the day and it was very hot, we decided a dip in the pool was needed. As the swimming pool was deep for its modest size, Clare decided to dive straight in, whilst Adam tentatively made his way down the steps. We cooled off and spent an enjoyable hour chatting to 2 English guys from the midlands, Craig and Jay. Beer o'clock was calling, so off we went to get showered and to explore the town. Calamity struck after our showers, Clares new glasses were missing! Clare was convinced she had left them in the room and not taken them to the pool, so after searching the bungalow from floor to ceiling, we headed to the poolside armed with a torch to search around the sun loungers. After 3 circuits, upturning all the chairs, there was no sign of her glasses. We even asked reception and no-one had seen them anywhere! Clare was very upset that her new glasses were lost, and the only thing we could do was to go out for dinner and drown our sorrows. We ended up in a place called "Poo Restaurant", again the clue was in the name and the food wasn't brilliant but the beer was cheap! Craig and Jay joined us for a couple of drinks and confirmed our suspicions that Clare WAS wearing her glasses when we got to the pool. The swimming pool opens at 9am, so decided on an early start and that a daylight inspection was needed.
We woke up at 6.30am the following morning and found a way into the locked pool area. After a good search we decided to write them off as lost, that is until Adam spotted something glistening in the deep end of the pool. Surely no-one could be so stupid as to dive into a pool wearing their glasses, can they??? Well, there they were, untouched, so Clares punishment was to put on her swimming costume and dive into the freezing cold pool and retrieve her specs! No damage done, they were fine, only a slight bruising to Clares ego!
Now that we were up early, we had a day of sightseeing ahead. We boarded a local bus to the old city of Sukhothai which was the old capital of Thailand before Ayutthaya. This is a world heritage site, full of ancient ruins and temples and was the size of a large town, surrounded by a moat. We grabbed some lunch, hired a bicycle each and set about exploring the city. The grounds were beautifully kept which made for a relaxing ride around the city, stopping now and again to walk around the ancient ruins of a bygone era. We spent over 3 hours in the city resting from the sun, much needed water stops and the obligatory photo opportunity's. For such a large tourist place, it was very quiet and for the most part felt that we had this ancient city all to ourselves. After retuning our bikes and a quick stop for a cold drink, we hopped on the local bus back to our guest house, for a much needed cool down in the pool.
We spent our last day in Sukhothai relaxing by the pool, as we were feeling a bit templed out! Our last night out in Sukhothai proved interesting. We found a nice Thai restaurant a little way from the guest house and decided to have a delicious Massaman curry each. Our food arrived and our jaws practically hit the floor! It looked like Massaman, but didn't smell like Massaman, in actual fact it tasted of nothing. To top it off it even had raw potato floating in it! Needless to say we did not eat it and promptly paid and left. I do not think we will be ordering that dish for a while.
Sukhothai was an interesting place to while away a few days. Full on ancient history and with the added bonus of a swimming pool it made for a good few days. As always and early start was needed in preparation for our next destination - Chiang Mai.
22nd January 2009
Kanchanaburi was not an easy place to move on from. Ayutthaya was only 100km away, but using the local bus services we were faced with a 7 hour journey on ordinary buses. This did not appeal to us, so we decided on our own route, 3 hours to Bangkok then change bus stations and catch another bus for only a one and a half hour journey. All in all the journey was straight forward, the only sticking point was the journey between bus stations in Bangkok. You would think getting from the southern to the northern terminal would be fairly straight forward but we did not want to get hit with a 500 Baht cab fare. So we hunted down a minibus transfer which involved asking 3 different people, walking around aimlessly and eventually not getting ripped off by the ticket seller who was maintaining that we needed 3 tickets rather than 2.
We arrived in Ayutthaya, which was the old Capital of Thailand before Bangkok, around lunchtime and made our way to our guest house for the night. Unfortunately somebody had impersonated Adam and stolen our A/C room, luckily for us they had a fan room available which was just as comfortable. We were staying in a place called Baan Lotus Guest House, which was in the style of a typical Thai teak house with a large lotus pond in the garden.
We arrived just in time to arrange a night time tour, taking in all the historical temples of the city. At 4:15pm we jumped on a tuk tuk with 3 other westerners. Over the 3 hour trip we were taken to all the major temples which were beautifully lit up in the night time, although the mosquito's seemed to have joined us somewhere along the way! We also visited the local elephant camp where we got up close and personal to some baby elephants and avoided being trampled by the bigger ones that were being ridden by 5 year old children! The tour ended with a visit to the night market where we had a nice meal by the river and the company of an American girl that we had met on the tour. We spent the remainder of the evening with a cold beer in our hands, sitting on the decking overlooking the lotus pond.
Ayutthaya was a nice sleepy town with much history and many temples. We reckon we managed to see pretty much all the best points on our tour and really only one night was needed here.
Another bright and early start is needed as we are off to Sukhothai in the morning.
We arrived in Ayutthaya, which was the old Capital of Thailand before Bangkok, around lunchtime and made our way to our guest house for the night. Unfortunately somebody had impersonated Adam and stolen our A/C room, luckily for us they had a fan room available which was just as comfortable. We were staying in a place called Baan Lotus Guest House, which was in the style of a typical Thai teak house with a large lotus pond in the garden.
We arrived just in time to arrange a night time tour, taking in all the historical temples of the city. At 4:15pm we jumped on a tuk tuk with 3 other westerners. Over the 3 hour trip we were taken to all the major temples which were beautifully lit up in the night time, although the mosquito's seemed to have joined us somewhere along the way! We also visited the local elephant camp where we got up close and personal to some baby elephants and avoided being trampled by the bigger ones that were being ridden by 5 year old children! The tour ended with a visit to the night market where we had a nice meal by the river and the company of an American girl that we had met on the tour. We spent the remainder of the evening with a cold beer in our hands, sitting on the decking overlooking the lotus pond.
Ayutthaya was a nice sleepy town with much history and many temples. We reckon we managed to see pretty much all the best points on our tour and really only one night was needed here.
Another bright and early start is needed as we are off to Sukhothai in the morning.
18th January 2009
After a quick bus journey from Bangkok we arrived in Kanchanaburi. We had already booked our accommodation at Ploy Guest House (http://www.ploygh.com/) and they kindly collected us from outside the 7-11 next to the bus terminal. As always, it was a three wheeled form of transport and not four! So, on we piled, with Adam riding pillion again, but mind you he's getting a bit of an Evel Knievel on them now!
Nervously we pulled into our guest house and as always had our check list at the ready and asked to see the room first. Wow! Finally luxury met our eyes. The room was absolutely amazing, teak furniture and a very comfortable bed with 2 pillows each! We also had floor to ceiling windows which revealed our very own miniature jungle and an outside shower as well. After a well earned rest we decided to explore the grounds, each bungalow was in a garden setting and we also had a shared roof top terrace with amazing views over the river Kwai. Back to reality, due to the wonderful aroma of our Bangkok hotel, laundry was top of our priority list, so we dropped our laundry off at reception.
We knew we were within walking distance of the famous bridge over the river Kwai, so we thought it would be a great idea to visit the local museum to gain some history of the bridge. So we spent our first afternoon in the museum learning the very sad history that built the famous bridge, which was a very moving and poignant story. We then finished off with a visit to the Allied War Cemetery which showed the massive loss to many nations. We made it back to our guest house just in time to enjoy the sunset over the river Kwai, with a cold beer in our hands.
After enjoying our shower in the outdoors we decided to get exploring and find the local night market. We enjoyed ourselves here, with many things to look at and lots of good food to enjoy. Our first meal here cost us only 50 Baht for the both of us, including a delicious platter of fruit.
After a good nights sleep was enjoyed by both, we headed off to the famous bridge. We arrived in possibly one of the hottest days so far and enjoyed great views of the bridge, amazed that we were actually there. The great part being that you can actually walk across the bridge, but as the railway line is still in use this did entail walking on the actual rails, considering our new found knowledge of the construction and previous bombings, this left us feeling a little nervous! After talking our many photo's (which will be in Volume V of our travel log upon return!) we were lucky to find we had timed our visit perfectly to see a working train cross the bridge.
The following day we went to collect our laundry from reception, to be surprised that there was only one of the two bags that we had given them. After the usual sign language and pigeon English we git our point across, so we were invited to go to the Mother of the owners house to search for the missing items. Adam hopped on the back of the girls moped and was taken to the family home. After saying hello to the whole family he managed to identify Clares PJ's, then all was good as they realised we had given them two bags! So no troops will be parachuting over the river Kwai using Clares knickers!
The afternoon was spent blogging and beautifying ourselves with a haircut for Adam and a pedicure for Clare.
For our last day in Kanchanaburi we head a treat planned for ourselves, a journey to the seven tiered waterfall called Erawan (http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/asp/style1/default.asp?npid=107&lg=2). Of course, this can be organised for you, but us being independent travelers hopped on the local bus for our one and a half hour journey. Being a local bus there were no luxuries such as A/C or comfy seats, instead they leave the doors open and the floor is made of wood. You could even watch the road passing beneath you, but hey, this only cost us 80p each! Erawan is a national park so you have to pay a 200 Baht entrance fee, unless you are Thai, then it is a mere 50 Baht! No matter how brown we get we are still never mistaken as Thai! Maybe this is due to us being three foot taller!
Erawan was in a gorgeous setting and thankfully nice and shaded for our trek that awaited us. Generally the climb was easy although at some points it was pretty rocky and steep. Every level of the falls were well worth the climb affording great views at each tier and waterfall. We had bought our swimming costumes to take a dip to cool down, but after seeing fish the size of sharks we decided to stay on dry land! We made it to five out of the seven tiers which we were very proud of as it was extremely hot and each level got a progressively steeper climb. Going down the falls was much easier and we rewarded ourselves with an ice lolly before catching the 4pm bus.
Kanchanaburi is a fantastic place, not only is it full of history, it was a very relaxing place to spend a few days. We would and maybe will return here one day.
As we have lots still to see in Thailand and have constraints on our visa we had to move on to our next destination - Ayutthaya.
Nervously we pulled into our guest house and as always had our check list at the ready and asked to see the room first. Wow! Finally luxury met our eyes. The room was absolutely amazing, teak furniture and a very comfortable bed with 2 pillows each! We also had floor to ceiling windows which revealed our very own miniature jungle and an outside shower as well. After a well earned rest we decided to explore the grounds, each bungalow was in a garden setting and we also had a shared roof top terrace with amazing views over the river Kwai. Back to reality, due to the wonderful aroma of our Bangkok hotel, laundry was top of our priority list, so we dropped our laundry off at reception.
We knew we were within walking distance of the famous bridge over the river Kwai, so we thought it would be a great idea to visit the local museum to gain some history of the bridge. So we spent our first afternoon in the museum learning the very sad history that built the famous bridge, which was a very moving and poignant story. We then finished off with a visit to the Allied War Cemetery which showed the massive loss to many nations. We made it back to our guest house just in time to enjoy the sunset over the river Kwai, with a cold beer in our hands.
After enjoying our shower in the outdoors we decided to get exploring and find the local night market. We enjoyed ourselves here, with many things to look at and lots of good food to enjoy. Our first meal here cost us only 50 Baht for the both of us, including a delicious platter of fruit.
After a good nights sleep was enjoyed by both, we headed off to the famous bridge. We arrived in possibly one of the hottest days so far and enjoyed great views of the bridge, amazed that we were actually there. The great part being that you can actually walk across the bridge, but as the railway line is still in use this did entail walking on the actual rails, considering our new found knowledge of the construction and previous bombings, this left us feeling a little nervous! After talking our many photo's (which will be in Volume V of our travel log upon return!) we were lucky to find we had timed our visit perfectly to see a working train cross the bridge.
The following day we went to collect our laundry from reception, to be surprised that there was only one of the two bags that we had given them. After the usual sign language and pigeon English we git our point across, so we were invited to go to the Mother of the owners house to search for the missing items. Adam hopped on the back of the girls moped and was taken to the family home. After saying hello to the whole family he managed to identify Clares PJ's, then all was good as they realised we had given them two bags! So no troops will be parachuting over the river Kwai using Clares knickers!
The afternoon was spent blogging and beautifying ourselves with a haircut for Adam and a pedicure for Clare.
For our last day in Kanchanaburi we head a treat planned for ourselves, a journey to the seven tiered waterfall called Erawan (http://www.dnp.go.th/parkreserve/asp/style1/default.asp?npid=107&lg=2). Of course, this can be organised for you, but us being independent travelers hopped on the local bus for our one and a half hour journey. Being a local bus there were no luxuries such as A/C or comfy seats, instead they leave the doors open and the floor is made of wood. You could even watch the road passing beneath you, but hey, this only cost us 80p each! Erawan is a national park so you have to pay a 200 Baht entrance fee, unless you are Thai, then it is a mere 50 Baht! No matter how brown we get we are still never mistaken as Thai! Maybe this is due to us being three foot taller!
Erawan was in a gorgeous setting and thankfully nice and shaded for our trek that awaited us. Generally the climb was easy although at some points it was pretty rocky and steep. Every level of the falls were well worth the climb affording great views at each tier and waterfall. We had bought our swimming costumes to take a dip to cool down, but after seeing fish the size of sharks we decided to stay on dry land! We made it to five out of the seven tiers which we were very proud of as it was extremely hot and each level got a progressively steeper climb. Going down the falls was much easier and we rewarded ourselves with an ice lolly before catching the 4pm bus.
Kanchanaburi is a fantastic place, not only is it full of history, it was a very relaxing place to spend a few days. We would and maybe will return here one day.
As we have lots still to see in Thailand and have constraints on our visa we had to move on to our next destination - Ayutthaya.
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