thailand

Ko Pangan

2007-06-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

Now after a week in Kanchanaburi of relaxation I had decided to explore SCUBA diving. I organised some SCUBA courses on Ko Pangan which is the middl island between Ko Tao in the north and Ko Samui to the south. Well known for its full moon parties and now half and black moon parties. Where tourists come to party all night and take illegal substances.

I however had other plans. A week of diving. I planned to complete my Open Water and Advanced Open Water certificates during this time. I had booked accomodation at Chaoloklum Bay Resort which was also where the dive centre was located. Every day I was picked up and dropped off at my bungalow by the dive centre. Lotus diving became my home away from home and I was hooked on diving. My instructor was Thai and had also lived in NZ. Tauranga is where he had lived and had married a NZ lady. Kio was his name and he was awsome.

I also was fortunate to have two swedish girls as my dive masters. They were doing their last assessments for the dive master course. The poeple of the bay are really relaxed and like to speak english which really helps. There are a lot of farang that have settled here also.

Definatly one of the highlights of this trip. Take a look at the snaps and I am sure you will agree. This place is beautifull and has some of the best diving so I am told. I spent the week diving everyday and then returning to my resort to chillout and meet up with the every changing clientelle.

Kanchanaburi - Srisawat

2007-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Now I wont repeat myself by telling you about Kanchanaburi again however this time I went a little further north from Kanchanaburi. AL had a voucher for a night at a resort and we thought we would head up there for the night and on his return to Bangkok I would remain in Kan for a further few days.

We left BKK for Srisawat where the resort was. Lake Heaven was our destination. Bungalows which float on the lake. I was dreading the night stay here however it turned out to be alright. There is not much traffic on the lake so minimal movement of the bungalow. The place is beautifull. They have a great menu and is reasonably priced.

On the way to Lake Heaven we stopped off at the Srinakarin Dam which is one of the larger in Thailand commisioned by the King.

Chiang Mai - Mae Sai

2007-05-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

Now my tourist visa was not far form expiry so I thought I would take a trip to Mae Sai and jump the border. We borded the bus to Chiang Mai and then purchased tickets to Mae Sai on arrival. The bus would not leave untill the following morning so we had to stay another night in Chiang Mai (sigh) the reason for sarcasim is that every night I stay in Chiang Mai I go to a little bar on the river named La Brasserie and there I see my man "Took" play his guitar. Now I am a mega Jimi Hendrix fan and for me it is like see the legend live. Needless to say the guy can play. Not only does he whale out Jimi renditions but also great tracks from the cream, pink floyd, led zep and countless others. Dont worry he has a CD and I brought it. Only 7 tracks on the unlabelled album however it is nice. He plays every night for an hour from 12pm-1am. There is usually an opening band and they are rather good themselves.

So after a good nights sleep we were off. We had purchased VIP bus tickets for a change as we had had a rough few days. Besides its only 100baht more ($4 for those of you back home) So off we went on our 24 seater aircon bus. Sooo much leg room. After 5 hours and a few stops along the way we were in Mae Sai. After a quick 8baht songtaew ride to the border bridge we went in search of some accomodation. After walking the streets I turned around and stumbled up on Monkey Island (ha ha). Glissening tiled floors rec lounge restaurant and beautifull rooms. The ex-pat owner from England was tops also. 250baht a night free internet (wifi, laptops provided) extensive library and pool table what else would you want? Anyways we had a shower to freshen up and I headed down stairs to have a chat to the owner. Struck conversation with himself and a few buddies of his from Pattaya. Now most ex-pats have a nice little thai or equivalent wife so it is not uncommon to see a 70 year old man with a 25-30 year old girl. Anyhow, we had dinner and talked some more and drank the night away. Now there is more to this story however I will tell anyone who is interested in person.....

The next morning it was over the border to Myanmar (Burma) I spent a total of about 1 hour over the border and then I headed back to Mae Sai. I brought a tonne of DVD's and some little elephants. Now those interested in the border jumping idea heres the deal. 500baht or $10US for a day visa to burma. Then on return the Thai immagration will stamp your passport with another 30days. Kills two birds with one stone kind of thing. So back in Mae Sai I went back to the monkey island and had something to eat before I departed back to Chiang Mai (sigh). As I was chatting to sunny he informed me that another Kiwi who lives in the area was just here and that we should meet up. Nick from NZ then comes back in and we hit it off. He lives in the most amazing valley in Mae Sai directed at the border he lives with his wife who is Karen. We exchanged emails and he said anytime I wanted to stay Mi casa, su casa. So that was pretty wicked.

Now your probably asking...."Where are the pictures!!!!"....well I left the camera at the guest house in Chiang Mai, hence me going back to Chiang Mai and not directly back to Bangkok.... :/......ahhh yeah.

Mae Hong Son

2007-05-17T23:11:00.000-07:00

Now after 2 days in Pai I had started to have enough. Losing my phone somewhere along the way I thought it was time to move on. Mae Hong Son was the next place on my list. Marie had decided to tagg along. So we packed up and headed to the bus station. Yet another little government bus.

Arriving in Mae Hong Son it was late afternoon so we booked into a guesthouse and had a nap. Went out and found a nice little pizza place was my first western food for a while, sooo good. Then it was off to my local, crossroads. Was a cool place which played uncle bob and some nice rock.

The next day I got another bike and we blasted up to the fish cave where there are huge karp which lurk around this little cave. Quite cool and you can feed the fish...not that they need feeding.

After the fish cave it was up to the waterfall. Unfortunatly there was not much water and it was a bit of an anticlimax still I could see the potential with a little imagination.

Then it was a 35km trip up to the northern most village of Mae Aw which sits directly north from mae hong son bordering Burma. We had some Tea and noodles and then headed back....now in the ciccanes there was a ute looming.....and on the hairpin it came onto my side and almost blew my lights out. However he shifted over gave me a little room and we had a mild crash with a few scrapes. Luckily it was a low speed slide (veteran now huh guys) anyway the driver stopped picked us up and appologised repeatedly. A little shaken we headed to a resort for a spa and a soak.

The next day we got up early and hiked up the hill to the temple which overlooked mae hong son.

Pai

2007-05-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

After the two days in chiang mai I thought I would jump on a government bus to Pai. Now it is spelt Pai however in Thai language there is no p sound. So it is pronounced "Bye". That sorted I was off. Ha ha now the bus ride to Pai is an experience. Small little busses are used and in addition their metric to imerial conversions or something has gone wrong as all the leg room varies and generally is better on the righthand side of the bus. We had had a decent storm the night beforehand and the road was covered in mud. Great stuff.

I was seated next to a French chick and we started to chat. She was a real tourist. Backpak and all. Arriving in Pai we had decided to stick together. An english dude looking rather lost joined the gang also. So Paul, Marie and I headed off to find a guesthouse. Mr Jans had sounded good to me while reading on the bus. So we headed there and found 3 rooms for 100baht each. With hot shower may I add. Now you may wonder why in Thailand you would want a hot shower...well you just do alright?. We then headed to find a bar for some drinks. 50 satang bar would be the place (50 cent bar, and no nothing was 50 cents well maybe the thai vodka but go fourth at your own will on that one). The owner "Pong" was a great dude. He took us up on motorbikes to see his resort that he is building which has a almost 360 degree view of the valley. He was tops. We met up with some people from Belgium...they were amazing. They both could speak 4 languages by the time they were 14. Fabrice and Mia were the couples names. We spent most nights otp with them at various places in the little town. Now the cool thing about Pai is that when one bar closes everyone goes to the next and the next and eventually we all end up at Bamboo which stays open till sunrise. Great.

Chiang Mai - Day two

2007-05-17T21:43:00.000-07:00

So after a goodnight....out I got up earlish and rented another motorbike. Deciding to take a trip up the mountain to Wat That Doi Suthep now this is apparently the specticle of tourism in Chiang Mai a must they say....and it is. It was overcast and knowing the weather in Thailand I decided to go past the temple and head toward the village at the end of the road (20km and the bottom of the mountain. Now it had started to spit and the mist was coming in which made things interesting. Arriving at the village it was pretty average, although the surroundings in which they lived in were magic. Dense bush covered the hills as far as the eye could see. Simple living.

After the village I headed back up the mountain to the Royal Winter Palace. Luckily the King was not in residence (January-Late March) so I was able to walk around the grounds and visit the palace itself and also the many other buildings. Not allowed to enter however close enough to them. Scattered with rose, fern and bamboo gardens. It is a good look if you have time. There are Giant Bamboo which stand over 100M.

After the Palace it was back to Doi Suthep, the sun was out at this stage and blistering. Now this temple has the biggest chedi which is covered in gold it is rather spectacular. Not only the Chedi the whole temple and surroundings are great. Dating back to the fourteenth century. They say taht the building site for the chedi was determined by elephant. Budist relics were loaded onto the beast of burden and where it stopped on the mountain the chedi would be built. Not only budist relics but the temple has the best view over Chaing Mai. Like all temples there are steps....this one however boasts over 300 so if your not in great shape take the chair lift.

Chiang Mai - Day one

2007-05-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ok so I left BKK on the night sleeper train to Chiang Mai. With advice I had purchased a upper sleeper in the AC car. However this was to be a nightmare. My body has climatised to the Thailand heat and the AC was deathly cold. Changing into my jeans and two tee's and then wrapping myself up in three blankets I was frozen. Weird I know however it is the truth. So anyways after 8 or so hours and 5 hours sleep it was time to wake up and we were not far from chiang mai around 2 hours. I struck conversation with a Thai gy who turned out to be a travelling rep for a pneumatic and hydraulic engineering place on the sukkumvit road (just around the corner from AL's) he knew a little english and with my little Thai we managed to have a few laughs. Arriving in Chiang Mai I found a nice little datsun 1200 coupe sitting on the adjasent platform. Taking a few snaps I jumped into my taxi which was labelled MR BENJAMIN, great huh. Arriving at ym guest house which is a Thai-Irish owned place I received a glass of water fresh towels and shampoo (all for 100baht a night). I had a quick shower and then headed out to look around chiang mai.

Chiang Mai being one of the ancient cities in Thailand there are crumbling remains of a time gone everywhere. Its such an amazing city. The original gates that protected the city are still on display in the inner moat area. The whole inner city is encapsulated by a moat which is a pain in the ass for mobility. Kind of like the old ring roads in Hastings. The walls of the ancient city are still standing in each of the four corners.

If you are into architecture like me then there are about 17 temples in the inner city alone. They are all similar but different.

Now it was hot and I was getting cranky, walking around chiang mai in the little back streets what did I find? Yep thats right sewing machinies and overlockers. So mum this one is for you.

easy riders @ pattaya beach

2007-05-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Now this is my 3rd time to Pattaya and I love it. Not just for the thousands of go go bars and tourist focussed activities but this is the only place that I know of where you can hire a 600-1000cc racing motorbike for $40-60nzd per 24hours. Now these are brand new bikes within a few years old. Now if your not laughing already take a look at the nice helmet they give you for protection. Either way its great fun. Blasting around pattaya beach on a pocket rocket. Another place I like to visit when here is Easy Riders. This bar is on drinking street (number 2 road) they have live music and the bands are really good. They play classic rock so its kinda like tuning into Hauraki in the middle of Pattaya. Tap beer is cheap and like all Thai establishments the service is second to none.

ko talu

2007-05-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Now this was set to be an idilic island getaway. However due to a storm heading our way (my luck) the weather brought rain and some impressive lightening and thunder. The weather asside it was still magic. No trucks nor busses for at least 30km. Set on the upper southern gulf the island is rather small so those who are trying to find it on a map would need an atlas. Look for chompon and then follow the coast up to bangsaphan just off the coast there you will see ko talu (spelt koh thalu for correct pronounciation in english). Spend most of the time kayaking and snorkling. We did manage to get out on the dive boat for a deeper free dive which was really cool. The staff are very friendly and one named Vee spent a bit of time in NZ studying. The food was great. 3 meals a day with fresh king prawns, fish and other thai dishes. Due to the rain we didnt make it to the lookout at the highest point on the island as the tracks turned to mush. The divemaster on the island (yellow shirt in pic with me, his name is Lek) also offered me the position of assistant divemaster if I get my certs.....so I might look into that.

Singapore

2007-04-26T02:55:00.000-07:00

We left for Singapore on Saturday afternoon. Taking a late flight and touching down at Changi international airport at around 8:45pm 5 armed forces greet you on patrol with mp5 and another large caliber weapon, clearly they mean business.

We had decided to take a taxi as we were new and they would be able to get us directly to the hotel and also some information. Arriving at the hotel with extra knowledge of transport also factors like the weekend being an offpeak time in the city as people tend to stay home. Also the free bus service operating on weekends and public holidays only to little India and Chinatown from the major interchange stations of the MRT (which is the company whom operates the sky and subway train service in Singapore. Now this was an experience, such a great way to get around the city. Smooth and efficient and cheap to boot. Initially we got around by foot however eventually the heat gets to you and we found out where all the people were. Entering the underground there they were not a sole but tourists in the street…underground however was a different story. It’s a maze of malls and airconditioned passageways that allow you to move between stops with ease.

Midafternoon we took the gondolla across to sentosa island just off from the Singapore port. It gives the best view of the city and also the islands neighbouring. On the island we found more tourist attractions there was a snake charmer with two python which we passed on the way to the bigger statue of the merlion (it’s a half lion half mermaid….hence the name) it is apparently the symbol for Singapore. As in the picture of the Singapore skyline there is a smaller white fountain which spews into the bay on the waterfront of Singapore and also the larger which glows at night with lights dotted all over it.

After the sentosa we headed back for a spot of shopping as Singapore is deathly cheap for authentic merchandise. Unfortunatly we were too early for the annual mastercard sale as the shop attendant informed us. Spanning from the 25th of may to the 25th of june the sale is practically citywide and invokes insane discounts in all major department stores. One could spend their life away in this city.

Singapore is defiantly a nice city. I would like to live there one day I think. It is very clean in the city and the $500 fine for littering is probably the main factor for this. Maybe it was my luck however I struck nothing but kind and helpful people who were more than happy to give directions. The ability of most to speak a little if not fluent English is a big plus. Thailand is still number one on the list however as it is cheaper. Singapore is cheaper than New Zealand though about 20-30% given the exchange rate. A large bigmac combo is around $5.50SGD however at a street eatery it is around $2.50SGD for plate which is really good value and something out of the ordinary fast food. The most common drink is iced tea and coffee as there is a big middle eastern influence.

All in all it was a great trip. Sites shopping and easy to navigate.

Pattaya 2

2007-04-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

This trip was in aid of a second songkran that I talked of earlier. Before the festivities we headed to a temple, which has a huge drawing of Buddha on a mountain face. They used lasers to stencil the image and then concrete was layed to ensure its longevity.

Now once again I had decided to stay on as AL had to return to BKK for work. So I booked into a decent but cheap hotel (400Baht per night fridge, aircon and cable) very reasonable considering this was the high season in pattaya. So all settled in I set off to find a local. Easyriders was the place where I would celebrate songkran in pattaya. They have live music which it was great to hear some classic rock for a change. The bands are really good and are more than happy to have a chat between sets.
Having a day spare before songkran hit full swing I decided to had down to walking street and get onboard the submarine….that’s right a yellow submarine. Pattaya is home to Thailands only private submarine service which operates 3 times daily and for 1800baht per person. Which considering the speedboat rides and also the freebies that come with it is very reasonable….and did I mention it was a real submarine. Electronically propelled the german designed and assembled sub is very cool. Unfortuantly the pictures from the dive were not too great as there was a strong currant which was sturring up the sand. However it was a great experience. The dive takes around 30minutes from start to finish and with speedboat trips to and from the dive point the whole trip takes around 2-3 hours depending on conditions. The dive point is situated about 1.5km off the beach of koh larn which I visited earlier.

Songkran

2007-04-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

Well finally the festival I had wanted to see had arrived. Songkran is the Thai New Year. The New Year is rung in by a 5-day holiday, which everyone (and I mean everyone) is involved in a no holds barred water fight nationwide. Like any event it has its hot spots. Chang mai, pattaya and phuket are said to be the places to visit during this time. However as I launched myself into the festivities you could see unhappy tourists everywhere….lack of research clearly.

I had a blast in any case. I managed to get two songkran parties in as pattaya (being a tourist Mecca) have their songkran after the rest of the country and hence tourists flock to get another taste. Its quite a unique experience really I spoke to other tourists and they had not seen anything like it anywhere in the world. The streets become filled with utes packed with people and 40-gallon drums filled with ice water. Bowls are filled with water and chalk to make a paste which is smeared all over passing people, cars and anything that moves. I was covered head to toe when I had to walk down the road from a bar that I was partying at to get supplies. Though it’s not too bad as water is close by to wash off.

In addition to the water fight which is mainly for the younger generation. The elders have a more traditional ceremony, which I was luckily able to experience. AL’s grandmother and other respected elders of the family sit lined up and the younger children give posies of flowers and pour water over the hands of the elders while the elders give blessing. Was a great cultural experience.

Like any New Year celebration AL and I returned home and drank beer for the remainder of the day. Nice.

Ancient City

2007-04-26T01:54:00.000-07:00

Now before I get too far ahead of myself. I had forgotten (and I don’t know how) to tell you all about my experience at the ancient city in samut prakarn. Now this is not a real ancient city however it is your one stop shop for all the ruins a tourist would want to see in Thailand. Sure there are plenty of miniature Thailand (mini Siam they are generally called) scattered around the country however this is it. The city has scale models of all the major attractions some are 1:1.
If you don’t have a spare year to individually visit each of the ruins, temples, palaces I defiantly recommend coming here. It is amazing the detail this privately owned park has gone into the display of each piece. On top of this there is a floating market and also a replica village both of which double as refreshment and souvenir shops.

Croc farm

2007-04-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

Today was a trip to the Samut Prakarn Crocodile Farm. Here they boast the largest living croc in the world at 1.114 tonnes and 6M in length. They also have over 100,000 living crocs which is the most in the world. After feeding some rather large crocs it was time for my first croc show where the entertainers preformed tricks such as putting their hands, heads and also retrieving the tips they received from the crowd from the crocs mouth. One even opened the throat of the croc and reached the length of his arm inside the croc. Its enough to turn the stomach with over 6,000 psi of clamping pressure looming around the performer. After the show I headed around the rest of the zoo they have snakes, tigers, hippos and a few other animals. I managed to get some good snaps of the elephants too. We stopped for lunch which we had croc kebabs, hamburgers, croc-meat with garlic and AL had croc-meat fried rice, Classic.

After the farm we took a tickey tour around Samut Prakarn as AL had not been to this part of his city. Going past the museum which has the 3 headed elephant on top. We were killing time before his interview for his MBA in Logistics.

Pattaya

2007-04-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

Today we set off for pattaya beach. Was an early start as we had to catch the boat to an island at 9am and we were not sure if traffic was with or against us. After an hours drive on the new highway we were in pattaya which is home to 5 star hotels and go-go bars. The luxurious Hard Rock Hotel and Sheraton nestled in the Pattayawood hills.

Koh Larn was our destination, an island just off the coast from pattaya city. It was a nice boat ride there in just under 40mins it was the first time for both of us. We landed on the beach via a long tail boat and the coordinator informed us of the activities. Immediately the display of assault rifles and handguns in the picture of the booklet caught my eye. I asked AL to confirm that we could infact fire live rounds from real assault rifles with confirmation we were shortly on our way up the hill and over to the otherside of the island. On arrival in true Thai style was the firing range broken down and like something out of a movie. Sure enough there they were shotguns, m16’s, magnum’s, .38’s, 9mm all the colours of the rainbow. With some kind words from AL’s we were allowed to take some snaps for free with the guns.

After firing off a few rounds and playing Rambo with the guns it started to pee down. We were stuck at the firing range and had a conversation with the locals about the island. We also got some tips about some good diving spots on neighboring islands. We headed back to the beach for a feed and some beers. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining, hence the beach was dotted with bikini clad tourists. Unfortunately for me they were unable to speak English. Still I managed to get a few snaps. After a few hours we were back on the boat to pattaya. We picked up AL’s girlfriend and headed for some dinner then we checked into the resort. This was really nice, with soft bed tv and also a hot shower….now you may ask why I would want a hot shower? Well believe it or not but it was rather refreshing. The warmish cold shower for some reason just doesn’t cut it. After a dip in the lagoon pool and a good nights sleep it was back to pattaya city for some lunch on the beach and then hit the shopping mall which most sporting and label producers have an outlet store. Managing to pickup some nice threads and another visit to the markets it was goodbye to beer and back to BKK.

Als pad

2007-04-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Ok well it’s been a while since I have posted a blog so I thought the best place to start would be the palace I call home. Situated in Samut Prakarn the industrial area of Bangkok on the Bangna Trad Highway. The house has 3 levels. The first is a semi office/warehousing, second is the kitchen/dining/lounge and the third is the bedroom and breakfast area. The house was built in 1994 with a cost of only 13M baht. Constructed of solid concrete and finished with marble and teak (which is incredibly abundant here). It is a semi traditional Thai home with modern applications.

I sit here tapping out my blog in my air-conditioned room, which was a late addition to the house. Which leads me on to my next point about Thai construction, not only the lack of building codes but they are quite happy to have all the wires and plumbing to the house exposed. Which is not only cheaper but also due to the fact of the solid concrete construction. So you will see this everywhere you go in Thailand. However there are the modern Thai’s that are embracing western culture and styling with interior design and also construction.

day 7 - sunburn continued

2007-04-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

Now after my lengthy excursion into the middle of nowhere I went back to my new home for the next few days. Jolly Frog....such a neat place. My new room is more than adequate for my needs. You have to share toilets and showers however they are private and not communal. This place is definatly the one to stay in as there is a nice palm grove on a large lawn with hammocks and loungers for sun bathing.

After a quick dip in the river (kind of reminded me of taupo with the pontoons) I went up to bathe in the sun waiting for a phone call from NZ. While on the phone two (whom I thought to be sweddish) girls came out dressed in lovely bikinis. Heaven. After I got off the phone I headed down for a dip and guess who came with me. Vanessa and veronica it turned out to be, two Belgian girls on holiday. We got to talking and hung out for the rest of the day. unfortunatly I did not get photos as my camera battery was long gone when I had the oppourtunity. I did however manage to get some photos of the Chongkai war cemetery beforehand.

Now by this stage in the day it was incredibly hot. So when I saw the sprinklers at the cemetery I was rather relieved. After running through the sprinklers a few times I came across a tree that would make the perfect vantage point for pictures of the cemetery. Funningly enough it was a silk tree like my one at home. Making sure the caretaker was not looking I scuttled up the tree and took some snaps. Managing to hold the tears....its quite an emotional place. That or I am a blouse.

As you can see the site is maticulously maintained and is very peacefull. After another quick wet down and a lay in the grass I moved up the road on my chopper to WAT THAM THAOPOON this had another cave which was AMAZING! definatly recommend it. Unfortunaly I only got in a few snaps before the camera battery died.

Today (Tuesday) i have decided to chillout. Im rather pooped. Been running around like a chicken. Ciao Ben.

day 6 - Kanchanaburi sunburn

2007-04-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Wole up this morning after a sleepless night.....my little cottage was not so great as the river boats are passing more frequently and hence there are more waves.....even though it is on semi solid foundations and not pontoons. In any case I had been talking to an english gentlman the night before and he had informed me that the jolly frog may be more my liking that and the fact they had 70Baht rooms was the appealing factor.....so I set off on my way. First things first though a means of transport. Now Thailand is a crammed place so they all use these little scooter type things....well they look like scooters. Looks definatly deceive. For a little engine thet can definatly move. Well my one does in anycase. After the usual run around by the wanker by the guesthouse trying to make a buck I headed to the KTC (Kanchanaburi Tourist Centre) Noi who is a friend of the owner of the bluestar had been told that I was coming to see him and I ment business. Noi gave me a good deal however something else caught my eye. All manual bikes are generally 100cc which are zippy however the 125cc is just that bit more. Now i had found not just a 125cc manual but a new honda wave racing which is like a bently round town. Noi had just got it and I wanted it. After a bit of a chat he accepted. 150Baht per day was the price a steal as it was new.

After that it was a zip through the back streets of Kan to get to WAT THAM MUNGKORNTHONG now this is one of many temples in Thailand that have caves however these were used to store ordinance by the Japanese during the war. After a quick race with a local on a similar wave I got to the highway. On the road again. Well so I thought. It took me 1 temple and around 15 trips up and down the road to find this WAT (temple) In anycase I found it. Walking up to the steps (now all temples have steps...well most do so prepare for a walk) I was looking back over Kan and could see to the lime works which was interesting. after a small 5baht donation I was in through the tight tight caves and out again. A little boy assiting with the photo. Little blury but he did well for the conditions.

Now.......after climbing back down the steps....I can to yet another little shack with ice and pepsi...so i thought I would document the ice bag coke/pepsii thing for you all now once and for all. Mainstream coke and pepsi products are still bottled in glass. Hence they get a rebate for bottles on pickup/delivery....and so it is cheaper as a bottle is 5baht to the owner. So what they do is give you a bag of ice with a straw and empty your drinkinto it....nifty huh...there you go new zealand and the world.

After this I thought it a good idea that I find my own way to my next stop. Which was the CHONGKAI War cemetery. However instead I ended up in the middle of nowhere 3 times. After a while I got tired of it and backtracked. I did find a working sawmill with bandsaws and everything in the middle of the sticks I thought it appropriate along the way and saw a nice backdrop for a photo shoot.

Unfortunatly the computer is going to crap out....so I will leave the belgian girls for tomorrows rant. Ciao.

Thailand Trip Image Dump

2007-04-02T04:34:00.000-07:00

Here are some snaps that I should have uploaded in my initial blog:

My view from my friends palace on the mae khlong noi (kwai river runs into it):

Kanchanaburi WWII Memorial Cemetery:

My little river cottage $8NZD per night, no aircon but big fan:

For you Mum, Pic from the side of my porch:

That will do for now.

day 5 Kanchanaburi - Namtok - Saiyok Noi Namtok - Kanchanaburi

2007-04-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

Waking up to another beautifull day in Kanchanaburi I got up and sat on my little porch before setting off to the train station. After a short walk and a stop for some food I was there. To my surprise I found a small que of farang (tourists/foreigners).....Great, still a minority though. Why this was surprising was that tourist dont usually move off the beaten track and are hearded like sheep by their guides....Listening to the chatter of the farang in the line I could hear them saying what a good deal it was they had found (300Baht for the train ride to Namtok and a free ice cold drink) laughing to myself I paid my 100Baht for my ticket on the same train and sat down waiting for the train to leave on a seat in the breeze, instead of sitting in the carriage like a oven. As they roasted they got thirsty (their ice cold drink not being served untill the train left) they moved over to the drink stand and orderd some drinks 25baht for a coke or water. 10mins later the train whistle blew and was time to board I walked over and brought that same bottle of water for 10baht (simple with a few fraises, Lonley planet to thailand). On the journey there were people coming and going. The train officers were just that....anything official in thailand is very official with neat uniforms and strappy things draiped over the shoulder. I met up with two naive dutch tourists a young couple whom i had seen at tha kanchanaburi station....they were on holiday and had bitten off more than they could chew so it seemed by taking the train (they were part of the 300Baht crew, I didnt inform them to their faux pars).

En route there is still alot of the death railway that remains other than the obvious attraction shown above (Bridge on the river Kwai). Amazing that it still stands today after numerous bombing attempts.

Once getting to the Namtok station us (my two dutch companions and I) marched through the oncoming "taxi, taxi u want taxi" and I found a nice ute transporter (these are everywhere and are dirt cheap good only for short journeys) seeing as we were only heading 2km down the road to the waterfall it was ideal. Managing to get us a good deal (5baht each way as my friends were returning to Kan on the train) we were off to the namtok (waterfall). The waterfall was better than I thought as this is just the beginning of several falls linked in what is called the sai yok national park. However this waterfall is better as saiyok national park in accordance to thailand government has a 200-300baht entry fee nationwide for all national parks to farang. Saiyok noi on the otherhand does not have this charge....and conincidently is as shown above is the last of the remaining death railway shown by the locomotive donated in 1995.

Now you may be wondering where th water fall is? well I would be visiting the region in the hot season and hence water evapourates does it not? but I am sure you can just imagine. They tell me that in the monsoon season it is a bit better. Well, I think its shit hot now to be honest. Best waterfall I have seen with my own eyes and is a refreshing dip from the 42 degree heat.

Now it was a short walk down the hill to get a coke in a bag (I will tell you all about this part of Thailand culture in due time and take a picture folks back home will crack up however smart I have to say). I found a nice little spot (one of the 30 stalls on this hill, which are everywhere in thailand) With coke in had and a quick chat to the english speaking thai girl and I was off to the bus stop. Nowit was 1:30pm and the busses run from Kanchanaburi to Saiyok Yai and return via Saiyok noi and back to kanchanaburi every 30mins....or so the itinerary said. However this being thailand with its heat and lack of preventative maintenance (well thats what I put it down to) the bus finally arrived 2:15pm just enough time for me to finish my coke melt my ice and mash it into my hair (nice). Then it was on the bus and back to Kan (once again because I can handle the heat of the wind conditioned bus, it was a mere 35Baht) where I wrote most of this blog while talking to an old thai drunk good times :D.

This is travel thai style ;). TINT

Day 4 - Kanchanaburi and District

2007-04-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

Well its I am now day 4 into my journey. Started off at 6am Wednesday morning (Thanks AJ) to a bumpy start had some qantus issues however managed to sort these out and get on the flight thanks to the lovely ladies whom too a shine to me an unshaven benjamin at the wellington international terminal.

WELLINGTON - SYDNEY

Now on the flight it was a smoothish ride to SYDNEY international. 3 and a bit hours later I had arrived at my destination. Managing to pass through customs for the day I thought I would have a look around. 0930 passed and I had managed to look through the entire airport......surely not. Sadly it seemed I had. Meaning to continue as I had started I found a nice bar (LAMORE like the song sort-of) hence the name there were two italian guys who owned the establishment. They were great and gave me a few freebies as I had told them my situation. With that i settled in for a long wait, plugging the lappy into the near power socket and slouching into my leather couch :D . A few movies later I began to get stiff had another walk around phoned home and then it was time to depart.....(FINALLY).

SYDNEY - BANGKOK

In the departure lounge I struck conversation with two (conincidently) striking females from the UK. They were luckily on the same flight as me en route to London. Awsome two good looking girls to talk to what more....well a lot more....the plane began to fill with more and more. If there is a heaven...and I am not religeous....then this is mine if only I had a camera. Anyways we had a good time free booze and all......whatever they say about British Airlines being crap on the booze sector is complete BS they were like a 24/7 bar. This being my first long fight I got around half way and could not sit down any longer. So I walked down to my english girls and stayed with them for the remainder. Shortly after.....5 hours in fact.....we touched down at the new BKK international airport the captain informed us it was a mild 32 degrees.....nice for 11pm at night I thought. Walking straight through the gates without question and a mega hand full of duty free it was a gauntlet of "taxi, taxi u want taxi la?" untill I found an alert AL standing there....as I walked toward him he glanced at me and on second look he noticed it was me....we had a manly hug and that was nice. Went outside and it was a trip up and down escalators to find where he had parked his car.....typical. After that we were off to his house......and mum its twice the size it looks in the pictures. We had a beer and crashed out. In the morning ALs mum had brought me some cakes and stuff to eat as I have learnt is the thai way for bfast. Then I was asked if I wanted to go to Kanchanaburi for the weekend and that we were leaving at 2pm. Not wanting to miss out on the oppourtunity off we went. I packed a bag and set off on the 2 hour trip.

BKK - KANCHANABURI

Sitting in the back of the landcruiser I was reading my lonely planet guide to Thailand and found that Kanchanaburi is in fact the city which lies on the bank of the mae klong river which the bridge on the river kwai crosses. Primo killing two birds with one stone.....eventually we got there as Charn's driving is to be expected on a 65 year old asian man. Note: yes it is true all asians are crap at driving. It was late at night however I had managed to get AL's camera although it was no use now. So I had a dip in the river after charn had eased my concerns of aligators by going first. This is something I will always remember swimming at 8pm in the river kwai with the sound of monkeys and such in the distance. In the morning I managed to grab some snaps of my river pad after another dip naturaly.

The next few days would be interesting as I found it hard with the language barrier that I thought would not be there as AL had not come on this trip due to work....however I kept on. We went to a wood furniture manufactureer which was about 60km north of kanchanaburi in a small town called ban khao. This proved to be a shock to me as saftey in the workplace was and is not excercised in thailand on majority.

Then it was a few days of hanging around as I had suspected with Charn and his wife. I had been invited to a party at his good friends house. Noi was nice and his wife and family were very good to me. On the night of the party I became rather popular with the girls as I was prepared to dance and being foreign (farang) was an added touch. Many bottles of whiskey later and 3 mariage proposals later it was time to leave. The next day would prove to be the funniest. We headed out on another journey across central thailand from kanchanaburi with my 3 70, 70 and 65 year old escorts. Finally we came to our destination....in the middle of no where....to look at?.........you guessed it...more hand crafted wood. So armed with my lonely planet guide.....and plenty of water (naam) I was settled into a small heat escape on the side of the road outside the shack office. After which (an hour in the 39 degree heat) we were off again....or were we Charn and his mate (something or rather) were jumping up and down about some furniture they didnt see on the way which to my and loaad (Charns right hand man) we looked at each other and without words rolled our eyes. however it looked like a short trip as i think charn had sensed our frustration in the heat. However I could not help but laugh at somehting or rather as he ( a 70 year old man) tried to get door unlocked in the landcruiser obviously new to modern technolgy he put the window up and down several times with quick bursts of annoyance in thai. Me wetting myself laughing did not help the situation however I think loaad laughing also made it alright for me to do so.

Kanchanaburi sites:

Now to the good stuff. Heremy experience begins as I launch myself in the deep end.....well kinda. Charn has hooked me up with a guest house called the bluestar...looking in my travel guide it got a good rating and the english speaking host is very helpfull and has been told to look after me very well. So armed with my travel guide and various other little maps and things I went off to the bridge.

Then of course it was off to the thailand-burma railway centre. lonely planet tells me that this is the best place to start your experience to kanchanaburi. Which it was great models are to scale and video help you really see the traumatic events that took place. The power went out half way through which is not uncommon with thailand. After waiting around with the swedish girls that I had been talking to earlier we were offered a free drink and that we could come back tomorrow free of charge. With that I was pleased (ha ha ha tiny ben once again) we set off and went to the memorial cemetary across the road.....After a few minutes walking I started to sob (yes me, I admit its rather heavy feeling walking through the graves of so many POW's) anyways the girls gave me a hug and I returned back to my new home. The bluestar nong ( the owner) was washing his car and after chatting to him he handed me a 25% discount at the internet place across the road...so with that here I am.

Tune in next time......love to all....ben.