More Bangkok and Kwai Bridge

Hey there everyone!

Hope all is well wherever you are :) A wintery wonderland for some I hear.  I chatted with my mom and dad the other day and they said that Elmvale got a foot of snow, and that Manitoba had a bunch and was -28.  They reminded me that December 1^st is just around the corner as well…..which seems so hard to believe being in a tropical land….and hard to believe that our Thai Visa’s expire in just 2 days.  Thanks for the reminder…we may never have left.

Things here in Thailand are going great.  We both love the culture, the food (well some of it), the landscape….there is so much to love, but those stories would get repetitive, so I tend to like to tell the more interesting ones.  So here it goes:

Bangkok…

Well I have to say that I really enjoyed the little corner of Bangkok that Mark and I stayed in.  We stayed just a few streets off of Khao San Road….perhaps the most ‘famous’ of streets in the city.  It was littered with people of different nationalities, shapes, sizes, colours…you name it…. I was looking out for the infamous ‘lady boys,’ but only spotted a few debatable characters.  More of that to come in a later post.  Bangkok was lively, busy; a place where I’m sure there is never a dull moment.  We saw people drinking and singing at 6am, maybe once upon a time I could do that myself…who am I kidding, 2am is a welcome time after an evening of partying!

Some highlights/lowlights/things of note from Bangkok:

-RATS.  Perhaps my least favourite friend with four legs….at one point Mark and I were walking back to our guesthouse and we were chatting away, when Mark for some strange reason started walking several feet away from me…it seemed as though his attention waned and his focus was on something other than me.  After I pointed it out to him, he moved closer and brushed it off saying he was listening (something I’ve heard a few times before haha).  It wasn’t until the next day that Mark said he was watching a rat run along the gutter and didn’t want me to see it, which caused the distraction.   I was thankful that he didn’t point it out to me.  AND, the last encounter with a rat was when Mark and I were at a restaurant/bar having a few pints and doing some reading…I went to use the washroom with no qualms, then Mark right after.  He returned to inform me that he saw a rat run across the hall in front of him on the way back.  Officially hate those little, or not little in some cases, things!

-Mark and I wandered to a temple in the city, not far from where we were staying.  It was toasty hot out, so we were in short shorts and tanks….Mark’s were not THAT short if you were wondering.  We got to the temple to find people selling pants, sarongs, and scarves outside the gates.  We walked through the gates to see the sign “NO SHORTS, NO TANKS, etc..” no skin basically.  Well we hadn’t planned for that.  You could ‘borrow’ pants or a sarong for a deposit of 400Baht (about $13), and then the admission was another 400 Baht.  Hummm, we hummed and hawed, and in the end we looked at each other and basically said ‘meh.’  We were both not that bothered to enter, so we went back out the gates and headed back. 

Megan not up to snuff with her wardrobe.

-With this extra money that we saved on not going into the temple, the cash was burning in my pocket…(well Mark carries the cash, but it was definitely on my mind)…we needed to find something to do to compensate for not entering the temple.  How about a 30 minute foot massage?  So for about $4 Mark and I lounged out on a comfy reclining chair, and experienced heaven for 30 minutes.  This was our second massage in Thailand…and I doubt our last. 

So after lots of street meat, food stalls, Chang beers, and meandering around we were off to our next destination: Kanchanaburi, the site of the Bridge on the River Kwai.  Mark and I are both fans of the epic blockbuster, so we were all geared up for this leg of the trip.  We arrived into the city with no accommodation booked, but were headed for an area that we had intended on staying.  We walked to that area, and when we found nothing then continued in a direction that also brought us to nothing.  Hummm, guess that guesthouse is no longer.  So we continued in the opposite direction to the area which most of the guesthouses were located.  About an hour of walking later we found ‘the one.’

Upon arriving to most of the guesthouses here they offer to show you the room.  Something that I don’t think is common in Canada, but an offer that should not be passed up here in Thailand.  So we looked at the room, a little bungalow on stilts, above a river of lily pads, amongst coconut trees.  Right away, we thought ‘GREAT,’ how quaint and cute, all for about $7 a night.  We dropped our things, and headed for THE BRIDGE, which was 2km from our guesthouse.  We set off, and our energy was quickly zapped by the blazing heat along the uneven road.  We were like slugs dragging ourselves along until finally we reached THE BRIDGE.  Mark, getting a little hangry said “ok, let’s find food and drinks.”  I said, “can I have a look at the bridge for 20 seconds before we go look for that?”  I guess I had forgotten that Mark had previously visited Kanchenaburi in 2003, and when Mark gets hangry you can’t keep him from his food.  So I LOOKED at the bridge, and went and got some delicious food.  Mark got a stir fry, and I got a sweet and sour chicken dish, accompanied by 3 Chang beers which we both felt we deserved.  Mark also felt he deserved a chocolate sundae, insert pic here.

We walked along the Bridge, a pretty eerie feeling knowing the deaths that went into the building of it. 

"Blow up the Bridge!?"

After a nice day at the bridge we wandered back to the guesthouse, only now it was getting dark.  The cute, cozy guesthouse was now not so cute and cozy in my mind.  The attached bathroom was a real highlight to this gem….do you remember the lily pads below us?  Well after using the toilet, or taking a shower guess where the drain emptied into?  Yes, you are correct….the swampy space directly below us.  Peachy.  We also decided to save some cash and get the ‘fan’ room vs. the air conditioned room (for about $1 more), so as the fan oscillated around the room the sheets for curtains on the meshed in windows flew around.  To me this wasn’t all that comforting, knowing that we were in the hut with lights on, and anyone could just walk on by and clearly see in as the ‘curtains’ were blown around.  So a creepy setting was now upon us…on top of that imagine an animal running on the roof, loud enough to wake me up, and coconuts falling like bombs all around us.

No-Name Street Meat

We did break up the evening with a walk to the night market, which was fantastic.  Lots of crafts, dvd’s, clothing and tasty treats.  Treats so tasty that we bought 4 skewers of ‘chicken’ to put on a few slices of bread.  When we arrived back to the guesthouse we were both hungry, so I whipped up our meal, handing Mark his and then assembling mine.  As I assembled mine I started to question the so called chicken that we had just purchased.  I do think it was probably chicken, but upon inspection it was far too rare for my liking, and just as I was to say to Mark that I wasn’t sure about eating it, he goes “that was delicious,” and took his last gulp.  OKKKK, well, I threw mine out and Mark must have an iron stomach. 

So with Kanchanaburi behind us, we set off for Chang Mai.  Here’s Mark to fill you in:

Hey there, groupies.

So, destination for this day was Chiang Mai far to the north. Our goal: take a 2 hour bus to Suphanaburi, then a 3 hour one to Lopburi; in Lopburi, we’d catch an overnight train or bus to Chiang Mai, which is a 10 hour journey. That was the plan. By day’s end, the result was slightly different.

First, the buses. They were about 50 years old with planks of wood composing the floor. I could see through the cracks to the road below. No fans or air con, just open window.

The first 2 hours to Suphanaburi went off without a hitch. Once there, we looked for the transfer to Lopburi. “Lopburi? Lopburi?” Everyone we met confirmed this was the bus to Lopburi. Lopburi is the town of the monkeys. Last time I was in Thailand, I had intended on visiting the monkeys who roam freely around the town, but for some reason I didn’t. I can’t remember why. We got on board the bus and settled down to a 3 hour drive. Oh yes, we were only travelling 50 kms or so.

As we travelled, I repeatedly saw signs to Lopburi. “Lopburi: 36 kms”. Oh good, that’s not so far. Next sign, “Lopburi: 39 kms.” Huh? The following sign: “Lopbury: 46 kms” It was a literal interpretation of those scenes in movies where a character anxious for the time to go by quickly actually sees the hands of the clock go backwards in time. A similar feeling was upon me. Other signs to Lopburi popped up: “Lopburi: turn left.” Of course, we would turn right. Eventually, we arrived in a city. Both the bus driver and the bus conductor informed us this was Lopburi.

“No, this isn’t Lopburi,” says I.

“Yes, this Lopburi,” says they.

I point at a sign that says Serraburi.

“We’re in Serraburi,” says I. (There is no Serraburi on my map.)

“Yes, Lopburi.”

“No, Serraburi.”

“Yes, Lopburi.”

It was as if Godot had never shown up, but had already came and went, you know what I mean?

We were sent to a man who spoke more English.

“We’re looking for Lopburi.”

“Yes, this is Lopburi.”

“I think we’re in Serraburi according to those signs.”  I point to the name Lopburi in my book.

“Oh! Lopburi! Lopburi!? Lopburi is not here. Why are you here if you want to go to Lopburi? You must take bus to Lopburi.” 

“Oh really? How far?”

“45 minute bus. Take this bus.”

“This bus? The bus to Lopburi.”

“Yes, Lopburi.”

Eventually, we get to Lopburi. If I hear the name Lopburi one more time….! However, we are later than we planned, so we have to scrap the visit to the actual town to visit the monkeys. AGAIN. Some tricky hands of fate are keeping me away from those damn dirty apes.

New dilemma:  no overnight buses to Chiang Mai. The overnight train may be sold out, but no way to be sure unless we travel for a bit to the train station. There is a bus that leaves at 7pm for Chiang Mai from some town 30 minutes away. It’s 4:30pm. This company will provide another bus to this other town. Okay, we’ll take this other bus. We hop on; there is only one seat; I give it to Megan. The bus starts to leave. Then it stops. Then it doesn’t move and… it doesn’t move. We don’t move for an hour as I stand in the cramped aisle; apparently there’s a parade. The bus finally leaves at 5:30 to take us to the connecting bus. I check the time of the connecting bus.

“They said we catch the bus at 7:00pm right?” asks I.

“Yeah, that’s what they said,” says Megan.

“This ticket says 17:30.”

“Oh.”

We eventually get to this town at 6:00, where they tell us there will be an overnight bus coming at 8:30.  We sit down in the open air bus stop… dirty, tired, stray dogs barking all around. For food, we’ve had custard buns, chip sandwiches and Mr. Noodles. Where are we? I don’t know the name of this town and I don’t know what we’re going to do if the bus doesn’t come for us. Maybe sleep outside? I am definitely not looking for a bus back to Lopburi, that’s for dang sure. We have lost ourselves.

Finally, a bus comes. It’s bound for Chiang Mai. We have seats. We get in and go to sleep. We are awakened throughout the night by people getting off at specific stops. Everytime this happens, all of the lights on the completely darkened bus turn on and music starts blaring. WTFSA? At 6 in the morning, in the dark, we make it Chiang Mai: the great northern Thai city.

More on that later.