Ko Tao

Ko Samui

Khao Sok National Park

The Beach

Ko Phi Phi

Phuket

Last Night In Bangkok

Back to Bangkok - JJ Market / Siam

Chang Rai

Coming Soon...

Golden Triangle

Coming Soon...

Tha Ton

Coming Soon...

Thai Cooking School / Pizza

Coming Soon...

3 Day Hill Tribe Trek

We were each equipped with a walking stick, did some stretches and started the trek, which on the first day was about 4 hours to our overnight accommodation near a waterfall.

Our porters were from the hill tribe village we were visiting who speak a different language to Thai – their nicknames were Superman and Superboy which were easy enough to remember.

It was pretty tough going as it was mostly uphill and even worse once the rain started to come as it made the mud super slippy and I nearly went on one occasion. A few people were more unfortunate and ended up caked in mud, which I can imagine was not too pleasant.

Superman caught some big tarantula and pulled its fangs out so that It couldn't bite before proceeding to place it on us to try and scare people before placing it in a bottle to fry and have for dinner later - yummm!

They also did a bit of mushroom picking when we came across some, which we had in our dinner. I haven't got a clue what mushrooms they were but they tasted good.

It was a hard slog to our accommodation next to a waterfall in a basic hut where we had to wash in the river as we were in the middle of the jungle.

more coming soon - stay tuned!!!

Elephant Trek

Today we set of with our trekking gear for a 3 day trek through the jungle to a hill tribe village where we would meet the local people. We had arranged to meet the kids on the last night so took a trip to the market to buy some small gifts that we could give them. I bought some small figurines of some kind of robot and monster.

It was then a couple of hours in the back of a pickup to take an elephant trek which I was really looking forward to. We had to wait a little while once we got there and bought some bananas and bamboo shoots to feed the elephant I was going on.

The elephants looked awesome when they appeared from the jungle and I started getting ready to get on. It was two to an elephant and I had a bit of trouble trying to keep my long legs from touching the elephant but I managed in the end. There was a guy sitting on the elephant's head who was controlling him and he had what looked like a dowel that he was occasionally prodding the elephants head with to make him do something.

The ride was really good fun and there were a couple of times where elephant's would pull down trees or stop for a rub up against a tree which was quite amusing. I was trying to take photos which proved fairly difficult due to the movement of the elephant and trying to keep a steady hand but I managed to get a couple of good shots. Feeding the elephant was fun, it would raise it's trunk and start making sniffing noises so I would pop a banana on its trunk and before you could blink it was back up again wanting more.

I bought one of the photos that they had taken afterwards as it was really cheap and it came in a really nice frame. We then stopped for lunch before meeting our porters and guides for the jungle trek. Everyone paid 200 BHT for the porters to carry enough water for us for the three days as I certainly wasn't going to carry loads of water with me as it would way a ton and take up too much space in my bag!

Chang Mai / Glasses

We had reached our destination Chang Mai albeit being 4 hours late in the end due to the line being wet or something but it didn't matter too much as we had no plans for the day.

We got picked up from the train station and taken to the Serenity Hotel where we would be spending one night before our Hill Tribe Trek. I managed to get a room to myself again so had loads of space and the room was really nice, a bit better than the hotel I stayed at in Bangkok.

Everyone chilled out for a bit then met up later for a meeting about our Trek and more detail about what we would be doing. It was then off to the local rental shop to hire trekking gear if you needed it, I got a bag, poncho, re-hydration salts and a roll mat as I had already brought a sleeping bag with me.

Once we had sorted out our stuff we all met up to go and look around the night bazaar market where there were amazing artists, the drawings they had done looked just like photos and were so cheap! After an hour or so we met up for dinner at an outdoor restaurant just off the market. I had shrimp Pad Thai, which was really nice.

It was then onto a Reggae bar where we went for a few drinks and listened to a band who were playing quite a few Bob Marley covers. We were taking photos and I would take my glasses off so that their was no reflection, but I guess I must have forgotten to put my glasses back on at some point and not thought about it again until the next morning when I realised my glasses were missing!!!!!

Ayathaya / Overnight Train

It was a good few hours journey to Ayathaya by local bus until we reached our destination, which was Sherwood House. The room was ours for the day so we could drop off our stuff, have a shower and get some food before we set off to catch the night train to Chang Mai.

Their was a local guide who took us to the main sights in Ayathaya, which included the Buddha head in the tree next to the old temple ruins, the Wat Mahathat that had a kool wax model off an old Buddhist teacher and had bats hanging from the ceiling at the top.

I was pretty much templed out at this point but I guess it filled the time when we were there and was quite interesting as the guide was very informative – my Buddhist colour is yellow as I was born on a Monday ( I also have a specific Buddha but I forget which it is).

We then went back to the accommodation to shower and order some food to take with us as our train was at 7.20 so I just ordered a cheese and ham baguette as it was easy to carry and wouldn't go cold.

By the time we got there we had a good hour to kill before the train so I went to have a quick snack at the nearby floating restaurant for a soup, which took ages to come and in the end I had to scoff it quickly to get back to the platform. On the menu it had said the soup is served with a roll which it didn't come with, but when queried I was presented with two slices of toast and this was when i was paying!

We made a dash for the platform briefly stopping off at the 7eleven for some beer to consume on the journey. We actually thought the train was at 7.30 so turned up then, but it was apparently 7.20 and everyone else was fretting. As it turned out the train was about an hour and a half late so we were sat twiddling our thumbs for a bit.

The night train is actually quite kool as I was unsure what to expect but there was plenty of space and the beds weren't half bad! I managed to get some good sleep anyway so I was quite impressed.

Kanchanaburi / River Kwai

Today was the first day of my trip and I was reunited with my fellow trip mates that I had met the night before. As I was staying at the hotel under Intrepid the tour company my breakfast wasn't included but I just walked in, sat down and ate some food and no-one batted an eyelid - bonus!

We left for the bus station about 10.30 for our 2 hour trip to Kanchanaburi, which is west of Bangkok to stop in Sam's Floating Guest house on the River Kwai. The accommodation is pretty basic but it's not too bad, i just made sure I sprayed the room with my mozzie spray so I had no unwelcome intruders.

Our first activity was a trip on the catamaran speedboats along the river to see the sights such as JEATH museum, War Cemetery and the Bridge over the River Kwai. Walking along the bridge was dodgy as hell and i'm sure wouldn't meet safety regulations back in the UK, I seriously wonder how many people have fallen into the river off the bridge because it would be so easy.

After we were returned back to our pad we all went for a meal at a local restaurant to taste some traditional Thai food. I went for stir fry pork with rice and vegetables which was well nice topped off with a Singha beer.

When I went back to my room after the meal I was greeted by my little friend the cockroach who scurried out of sight and was never seen again. I just tried to wipe this sighting from my memory so I could get to sleep but it wasn't really helped by the strange sounds of other animals and critters.

The second day at Kanchanaburi was an early start setting off at 8.30 after my scrambled egg, bacon and toast to set me up for a hike up the Erawan waterfalls. This was definitely a highlight so far as the water was so clear and the scenery was awesome. There are 7 tiers to the waterfall and it's a bit of a trek to the top but once we got up there we all took a deserved dip in the pool where we got our feet nibbled by the fish. All the tiers on the waterfall were teeming with fish, which were a pretty decent size and very inquisitive.

I came across some monkeys in the trees at one point who came over to inspect and got really close to the camera but I was slightly worried they might try and steal it so I was trying to keep a bit of distance. On our arrival back to the bottom of the falls we had our lunch waiting for us wrapped in little bags, which I was definitely ready for.

On the way out we got stopped by some people on a stall and a plate with my picture shoved in my face! I couldn't understand where they snapped me until I was reminded about this guy sitting near a tree on our way in shooting away and we didn't know what he was doing. I of course posed for the photo anyway as I was quite used to getting photos from random people after being approached twice by people asking if they could have their photo with me ha ha!

It was then back to the Guest house which was another 2 hour trip in the back of what I can only describe as a truck with some seating in the back a bit like an old skool mini bus but there were no doors or anything. Fortunately I couldn't see the driving because from what I have seen of Thai drivers it is sketchy to say the least.

We're off to the local market this evening and then tomorrow it's over to Ayuthaya the old capital to see a few temples and stuff before boarding an overnight train to Chang Mai, which is more than likely the next time I will be able to have time to sit on a computer and type up my shenanigans.

I Have Friends!!

I took it easy this morning going down for breakfast at about 9.15 to have eggs on toast, fruit and some pancakes with honey. After I had set myself up for the day I went for a shower and watched TV until 11.45 as I had to check out by 12. The reason I hung around was I had to check back in at 12 to my new room that is arranged with Intrepid (the company who organise the tour I am going on).

This room was a grade down from the one I was in, but the only differences were no hair dryer and no safety box as far as I could see. I dropped off my bag and then headed out to the standing Buddha (Intharawithan), which was a short walk from my hotel. Adding to my expanding collection I took a few more photos of this enormous Buddha.

While having a look around I met a Canadian girl called Kat who invited me to join her as she had a tuk tuk waiting and it was taking her to the Marble Temple (Wat Benchamabopnit) next, which is where I was heading. As soon as I got in the tuk tuk I knew this guy was taking us on a wild goose case as he wanted to take us to the 'Lucky Buddha', which I knew from previous experience was the place they tell you how good the Thai factory is and you can get cheap suit in the sale etc etc. I told the driver I had already been and wanted to go the the Marble temple as I knew he wasn't going in the right direction but he still took us to this Buddha anyway. We both sat in the tuk tuk and said we did not want to go here as I had already seen it and to take us to the Marble Temple, which is when on cue he started to say he would take us to the 'Thai Factory' first and then to the Marble Temple - we just refused and as before the tuk tuk driver just walked off.

It was another free ride anyway but we were a bit out of the way from where we wanted to go so we decided to walk there though we did start walking in the wrong direction to start with and ended up at a market which was quite funny. There was one stall where i swear the guy must have been a TV control thief as his stall was just TV remote controls, all random and for different makes and models.

Once we got back on track it started to pour down, I was well prepared though and whipped out my umbrella, which kept me dry until I could dive under some cover. It didn't rain for long and we were just across the road from the Marble Temple anyway so went to check it out. It was still a bit wet, but the grounds that it was set in were really nice to walk around and I got a photo of me standing at the doorway to the Temple, which had to be done.

We decided to take another route back but it turned out to be pretty un-scenic so we waved down a tuk tuk driver and bargained a price for him to take us back to Kao San road, which was a good call as I was starting to feel the miles of walking I had done in my legs.

I met up with my fellow travelers on my trip at 6pm for a meeting and to ask any questions about the trip. We then all went out for dinner, but I only had a salad as I had scoffed a banana pancake at about 5. Most people went back to the hotel but a group of us decided to go for a drink before going back.

We stopped off in a bar on the Kao San road and ordered a 4 litre tower of Sangha (Thai Beer) for the four of us to share, which was kool. We watched 6the penalty shoot out for the Man U / Chelsea match then called it a night and headed back to the Hotel.

We leave in the morning at 10am for 2 hour bus trip for our first point of call.

Temples, Boats and Subways

Today I decided to head for the Amulet Market first thing as my plan was to go and look at The Temple of Dawn, which is across the river from the market.

The Amulet Market is as the name suggests a market with hundreds of stalls selling Buddha amulets, I guess these are popular in Thailand as I have seen quite a few people with them hanging around their necks. There must be levels of quality as i spotted a few people with magnifying glasses out to inspect the carvings and intricate detail on them.

It wasn't too long before I got fed up of looking at amulets and made my way to the nearest pier to get the ferry (they call it a ferry but it only holds about 30 people) over to the Temple of Dawn.

The good thing about this temple was that you could take steps up really high and it gave a brilliant view over the river and surrounding areas. I managed to get a Japanese guy to take a photo of me then impressed him with some Japanese words ha ha! I went for the backwards method to get back down as these steps were steep and their were a few people having trouble, especially the women who were wearing skirts as there was a bit of a breeze!

Next was onto the boat down the river so I could get off at a stop nearer to the Golden Buddha temple where i was off to next. I'm pretty sure you had to pay a fee on the boat but i just got on and off and no-one noticed so it was a cheap ride for me.

When i reached the golden Buddha, there was a monk sitting on the floor in the middle doing some kind of blessing to the Thai people who entered and I was unsure about taking any photos at this point so I just sat on the nice comfy chairs and relaxed for a while. When the Thai people left i took my chance and started to snap away at the Buddha, which looked quite nice as Buddha's go.

My next planned destination was Jim Thompson's house, so I though I would give the MRT and BTS a go (both like subway lines) to get there and it was really cheap too! Fortunately for me I had my ISIC card on me (Youth Travel Card), which had my age on it as I got in for half price at 500 BHT. I had to wait a few minutes before they started a guided tour, which was the only way you could view to house so I spent that time having a look around the garden and fish pond, which had a huge stingray in?

The guide was good and explained a lot of information about the house, which was quite interesting and the house was quite nice. Once I was done i hopped on the river taxi next door and shot up the river closer to the vicinity of my hotel. I then shared a tuk tuk which a couple of Ozzie guys i met on the boat to Kao San Road and strolled back to my Hotel to freshen up.

I then went back to Kao San later to get some food and a beer and took my time to have a look at all the stalls and shops who love to get you in for a look around and promise a special price for you, but i declined.

I've found an Internet place which has Skype for I can phone home for tuppence woohoo!