Bangkok (for the 2nd time around)

When you buy a ticket on Bangkok Airways to Koh Chang the airline provides a shuttle van to pick you up at your guest house and delivers you the airport in Trat (which involves a 30 minute ferry ride). There are three flights a day out of Trat and Bangkok Airways built the airport specifically to get people to the surrounding islands.

The ferry was jam-packed and it was standing room only. I'd never ridden a ferry where so many people were standing. It kinda gave me a slight uneasy feeling and I was thinking about how similar this scenario was to ferries that sink in 3rd world countries due to overcrowding.

Arrived into Bangkok around 2:30 PM yesterday. Given my last foray on the Bangkok train system left me a bit flustered I decided I was going to spend the cash and hire a taxi. The process is to line up outside the airport, tell the clerk where you are going, the clerk tells you the price you'll pay, he writes the price on a chit which is handed to a taxi driver. This ride was going to cost me 450 BHT plus tolls, plus 50 BHT for the driver (all stipulated at the kiosk at the airport). It was around 3:00 PM by the time we departed the BKK airport. Man, what a totally different scene than my last trip into the BKK airport. Now we were in rush hour traffic. It was completely grid-locked, we're sitting in traffic and scooters are whizzing in and out between cars, switching from lane to lane. It was something to see.

I check into my guest house again and feel good that I know a bit of the lay of the land. I decide to go to the MBK Centre and check out the seven floors of mega shopping. Holy toledo! These floors totally reminded me of the night bazaar in Chiang Mai, the floors just kept going and going with aisles turning into other aisles. Each floor of MBK specializes in something. The 3rd floor is all electronics: cell phones, every kind of cell phone/IPad cover you can imagine, cameras, computers. The prices were no steal. The Samsung Galaxy 4 was about $400, not much cheaper than at home. I did buy a pair of Beats earbuds for $14... they're knock-offs (Grade A, she called them) but the sound is amazing. They came in a sealed box with the manual, spare ear pieces etc. This is the first time I've ever bought knock-off anything so we'll see how they hold up but for $14 I'm not holding my breath.

I find the food fare on the 5th floor. I'm no expert on Thai food but it certainly didn't look like "fast food" fare that we get at home. I settled on a Vietnamese salad roll. 70 BHT (just over $2 Cdn), and it was actually 3 rolls, cut into chunks. It was okay.

The popular items at MBK seem to be Thai silk scarves, luggage and knock-off purses. I believe I added another 10 scarves to the suitcase load I'm bringing home. Speaking of luggage, I had to buy another piece to get all of my purchases home. Just a small Samsonite carry-on and so many people were wheeling the same suitcase around the mall. Obviously most people are going home with much more than what they came to Thailand with.

I set the clock as I plan to go to the Grand Palace today and have no clue how to get there, how long it'll take and how long I'll need once there. I have to be back at my hotel by 3:30 as I am going on a dinner cruise and need to get to Taksin Pier for 5:30 PM.

My guest house offers a very nice complimentary breakfast. Eggs cooked to order. You make your own toast, cereal, homemade yogurt (delicious), fresh fruit and coffee. I left my hotel by 8:45 feeling a bit intimidated by the Bangkok train system. My first attempt two weeks ago kinda shook my confidence in commuting on the train. Anyways, I'm on the train before 9:00 with all the office workers. The train is freezing cold and I have to put on my long sleeved blouse that I brought along for when I go to the Grand Palace. I find my station no problem and also find my way to Taksin Pier no problem. Then I pay 40 BHT for a ticket to ride the ferry system. River travel is the #1 mode of transportation in Bangkok. I was thoroughly impressed with the "tourist boat". It was narrated and the young woman pointed out the various piers and what tourist attractions were at them. I had planned to get off the ferry at Pier N9 for the Grand Palace but at the Pier previous she mentioned that is where the Reclining Buddha was located. I had read about the Reclining Buddha and decided I'd better hop off and check it out.

Tourist boat.

Many famous Wats have entrance fees. I don't recall how much I paid to enter Wat Pho, perhaps 100 BHT. It was something to see. Photos don't do justice to what you see with your eyes in person. The Reclining Buddha was absolutely massive: 46 meters long and 15 meters high! Wat Pho has the largest collection of Buddhas in all of Thailand. It was so huge that it was impossible to get a decent photo of it because it fills up the entire temple it is housed inside. Aside from the Reclining Buddha there is a lot of very interesting architecture to look at in Wat Pho. I really enjoyed it.

There is a dress code for most temples and especially the super popular temples. Modest dress is key. No tight clothing, no capris, no shorts, no tank tops, no bare midriffs, no open-back or open-toe shoes (even though you remove your shoes to enter the Temple). For the tourists who don't dress appropriately, you can purchase the ever-so-popular Thai cotton pants for 200 BHT outside the Wat, or in the case of Wat Pho they had long lime green coloured housecoats that some people had to put on.

If you show up at a Wat dressed inappropriately these pants can be purchased outside the gates.

I exit Wat Pho and it's another scorcher of a day in Bangkok, +33 C. I stop and admire the amulets... I've had my eye on them since arriving in Bangkok but being I don't know the quality of what I'm looking at, some obviously antiques by the price being quoted, I hadn't bought one yet but I was determined to own one before leaving Thailand. I found one I really liked, Buddha on one side and a Monk on the opposite side, and I buy it for 150 BHT. I also buy a bag of watermelon slices too for 20 BHT.

I go to a different ferry that crosses the river for 3 BHT each way. It goes to Wat Arun. Waiting for the ferry, I ask a lady to take my photo. I return the favour for her. We introduce ourselves. She is Monica from Indonesia and is traveling alone too. She is going to Wat Arun so we hang out together and take photos of one another and together and we connect as Facebook friends. After yesterday's facebook rant about stuck up tourists it was so wonderful to finally meet someone to converse with. 

Monica from Indonesia.

Wat Arun was mind-blowing. It was totally wicked. Gorgeous! We climbed up these majorly steep high steps to the top of the Wat. OMG! We had a slight in-trepidation in doing so. Each step was at least 14" in height, narrow and extremely steep. The railings were wrapped tightly in rope so you could hang on going up and down. We climbed to the first level and took some photos from the lookouts. Then we climbed up another level and walked around the Wat and took photos, then we climbed up as high as we could go. Oh my word. The views from up there were worth the trip. Amazing. (Gosh, I almost have tears in my eyes trying to describe it). Just breath taking and amazing. Now we've gotta come down! One lady in front of us must've been terrified as she went down the stairs step-by-step on her bum.

 Each step is at least 14" in height.

                                           Holding on - even when going up the steps.     

 View from the first level of Wat Arun.

Monica has already been to the Grand Palace. She estimates I'll need at least two hours there. I don't have enough time to take it in leisurely, get the ferry and train back to my hotel, and then make it back to Taksin Pier. I decide the Grand Palace will wait til tomorrow. Monica and I take the 3 BHT ferry back to the other side of the Choa Phraya river where we part company. She is catching a 6:30 PM bus to Chiang Rai to the see the Golden Triangle (it's an 11-hour bus ride).

I make my way back down the river on a non-tourist boat. Oh my word. We were crammed in like sardines (or like the Vancouver skytrain). What a view though. I loved it. I was supposed to pay 40 BHT to return but didn't pay. On the way to the Wat, if you did not purchase your ticket beforehand (I did), they came around and collected and checked your ticket. I asked about paying for the return fare and was told to pay on the boat but no one collected from me and no one appeared to be collecting, not that you really could with it jam-packed like it was. I really enjoyed this ferry ride with the locals and the monks.

Non-tourist boat.

My back cracked this morning. I was already babying it because it felt like it wanted to go out... it didn't really go out, it just cracked. I thought I'd best get a massage to extend the life of my back before it does go out fully. I went to the massage studio across from my guest house. I told the lady that my back was sore as I was unsure which type of massage I should have. I decided a 90-minute Thai massage. Sa was my massage lady. Oh my word. She left me totally impressed. Thai massage is not a fluffy massage by any means. They give you cotton pants & shirt to put on and you lay on a mat on the floor. It's not that dissimilar to Shiatsu and Yoga mixed together. It's really a stretching of all your body parts. She put some ointment on my back and gave me the most amazing shoulder and neck massage. She put her knees on my sacrum and pulled back on my shoulders. Oh geez! I'll never forget it. It totally impressed me and I wished I had her techniques. I've booked a repeat for tomorrow night at 8:00 PM and hope to go back on Saturday for a head, neck and shoulder massage if my lower back is feeling pretty good by then. When I asked when she was working again I was told she works every day. Yes, 7 days a week! Her hours tomorrow are from 11:00 AM to midnight! I can't imagine massaging for 13 hours. Thais are definitely hard working people.

After the massage I head back exactly to where I came from a few hours earlier: Taksin Pier. I am having dinner on the Loy Nava rice barge which cruises the Chao Phraya river. It came highly recommended on Trip Advisor. The boat isn't even 1/2 full of patrons. But they do two sailings every evening and I chose the sunset dinner cruise. Perhaps the later cruise would be busier.

It is assigned seating. Everyone is seated along the outer edges of the boat. It's a lovely ambiance. Red & gold table cloths. I chose 1/2 seafood and 1/2 Thai food. I paid for this many months ago... long before I could've guessed I would be sick of Thai food by now. In hindsight I wished I had gone with 100% seafood. Oh well... I did eat most of the green and red curry! So much food... it just kept coming but it was served in such a way, with non-English speaking waiters, that I didn't really understand how or in what order I should be eating. I proceeded to eat my rice, not knowing the curry was coming. Thankfully they served two small steamers full of rice so I still had some left in which to soak up the curry.

The cruise gave us a souvenir booklet pointing out all the areas of interest that we sailed past. We also got a small garland that I've admired all over Thailand. It smells like Jasmine flowers and then has two red flowers attached to it. It's common to see them hanging from rear view mirrors. I hope mine dries okay and that I can transport it home okay. If it makes it to Vancouver in one piece mine will be hanging from my rear view mirror too.

Garlands are hung from rear view mirrors, 

on Spirit Houses and all things you wish to have protected.

I saw the Bangkok protesters up on one of the bridges we sailed under. Man, what a massive noisy crowd... blowing whistles and waving flags. I'm grateful that seeing them from a distance is as near to them as I've come thus far. A bit saddened by all the tourists who cancelled their Thai vacations out of fear that the news stations were reporting. Bangkok is such a huge city it's been really easy to never cross the paths of the protesters.

The cruise is worth it for the views, or at least I thought so. I chatted up two Germans after the cruise. They weren't impressed but I was. They were comparing it to Singapore and said it just didn't measure up. I have nothing to compare it to so I enjoyed it and thought it was worth it. I think it was around $50 for two hours.

The alarm is set for 6:30 AM on Monica's suggestion that I be at the Grand Palace at 9:00 AM before it gets overly crowded and hot.

I only have two full days remaining in Bangkok. I made a list of each day and what I hope to do on those days. I sure wish I had more days in Bangkok. I don't understand those people who say "fly into Bangkok and then get out". I'm really enjoying this city and keep comparing it to New York - simply because of how large it is. I will have to read up and compare the two for size. I'm thinking Bangkok must be larger but I don't know for certain yet.

Pai to Mae Hong Son, Thailand

Sutthi picks me up promptly at 9:00 AM. I tell him that my throat is very sore and I hope we can stop at a pharmacy so I can get some ointment or something to rub on it. My throat has been sore since I came to Thailand. It started, of course, with the recycled air on the plane but it has been getting worse every day. There is a constant scent to the air everywhere in Thailand: incense mixed with burning fires that they use to cook over and to keep warm. As well, now is the season where the farmers burn their corn fields to ready the soil for a different crop. Asthma sufferers would find it difficult here, I'm sure. Looking out from a high vantage point you could make a game of counting how many plooms of smoke you spot.

We stopped at Chinatown in Pai. Sutthi told me how the Chinese came to settle in Thailand and why they came here. We enter the "tourist trap" area and are greeted by dozens of cements roosters atop the cement fence. Sutthi says the King of Siam was a fan of cock fighting and thus the homage to the bird. We visited the temple and I got to see locals purchasing baskets of gifts for the Monks. The baskets ranged in price from 200 BHT to 300 BHT ($9.00). The baskets contain items that the Monks would need for the months and year ahead: saffron coloured towels for bathing; soap; personal care items; food items, etc. In any event, I thought we were going to Chinatown to look for an ointment for my throat but it became apparent very quickly that this was another tourist trap, but still interesting. We stopped in at a tea house and tasted a couple varieties of Chinese tea. I asked Sutthi how come we didn't pay for the tea and he said it’s the custom to offer complimentary tea to guests. Mind you, it was just a mere taste. Probably 1-2 oz. at best. 

Baskets for purchase to gift to the Monks

We are heading northwest towards Mae Hong Son today.

First stop of the day is at a lookout some 3500 meters up the curvy mountain. It’s extremely windy up here. We are immediately greeted by a group of little kids dressed in their native village dress asking if you’d like a photo with them (for money, of course). I declined. We had a coffee at the ever present coffee shop that you see in the strangest of places, and here it was on top of this mountain. Sutthi asked if I needed the toilet. Didn't really need it but thought I should take advantage of the opportunity. A woman was collecting 3 BHT to use the facility. I gave her a 20 BHT note and had no clue how to count the coins she gave me in return. Timely that Sutthi appeared. Well wouldn't you know it, she was short changing me. When I asked for toilet paper that was another 2 BHT. I had read how you need to pack your own toilet paper when you're further away from larger towns and I had done that but it was in the car. Imagine my surprise when I enter the room to see a bucket of water and a white porcelain square thing about 10" off the ground. What the heck was I supposed to do? I call out for Sutthi and he has a chuckle at my question. He steps up on the porcelain straddling one foot on each side and he squats. Oh that's how you use it. But what's the water for? Well it's to scoop out some water to throw inside the toilet so everything flushes down the hole! So glad I wasn't on my own the first time I faced that dilemma.

I had no clue how I was supposed to use these facilities!

Next stop is one I had been anticipating for months: Kam Nam Lot Cave. Stalagmites and stalactites that would blow your mind. Thing is, I wasn't prepared to take a raft into the cave. Yikes! We're talking a narrow bamboo raft, not a boat in any way, shape or form. (One of the many things I appreciate here in Thailand is that because I have hired Sutthi and he is guiding me, anything we do is just him and I and a guide from whatever it is we are seeing -- they don't cram a ton of tourists into a van, a taxi, or a boat... it's just Sutthi and I).

We enter the park area and Sutthi pays for our entrance fee which includes a young guide with a gas lantern. We hike about 10 minutes to the entrance area to the cave where Sutthi and I take our seats on the raft. Our guide sits in the front of the raft and the raft is pushed through the water by an elderly gentleman using a long, long pole. In some areas the water is shallow enough that the old man gets out and pulls our raft through the water. There are thousands and thousands of large fish in this blackened water. I thought they would make for easy catching but because they live in the cave they are considered "holy" fish and you are not allowed to catch them.

Bamboo raft through the cave

Pulling the rafts through the shallow parts.
The ripples in the water are thousands of 'holy' fish. (No fishing allowed!)

We reach our first of two landing points and our guide leads us by lantern up many stairs and through the cave so we come out the other side (still in the dark), and in the meantime our boat has been brought over to the side where we’ve walked to. The trek through the cave to admire the stalagmites and stalactites has been the hi-lite of my trip thus far. Indescribable really. To think of how many tens of thousands of years one rock has been dripping down to make the rock at the bottom grow up to meet it, it simply boggles the mind. We get on our raft and go to our second landing point. This is the area where Sutthi told me that it could smell bad because of bat poop. YES, bat poop! It did smell and the ground was as white as white could be because of the bajillion bat droppings. We ascended some stairs which required holding on to a hand railing.... it looked to be a very long climb up and with my size 10 feet and the fact that Thai people make their stairs very narrow it's been common for me that I need to descend the stairs sideways. Well the thought started to cross my mind that what the hell was I going to hold on to coming down because the railings were coated in bat droppings. We only went up about 30 steps and I called Sutthi over and told him that I did not want to go any further. Not only would I have nothing to hold on to coming down but I am also deathly afraid of bats (I put them in the same category as mice and rats).  Sutthi had earlier assured me we would not see any bats in the daytime hours but still, it's dark in there and I didn't want to take a chance. So Sutthi spoke to our guide and we headed back to the raft. I never got to see what was inside the second cave but honestly I am happy with my choice to turn back. We went to the far end of the cave where it exits out the other side of the mountain. What a spectacular view to see. We rafted back in the direction we had come in. This time the older man took the lead and I could see him jumping off and on the boat. Such hard work for a man that looked to be in his 70's.

This cave is revered as a holy site, thus the string that lead from the very back end of the cave into the village  (we never saw the village as it is a couple of miles away).

We hiked back to the park entrance and this is where we ate lunch. You can tell Sutthi brings many guests to these tourist places as the workers all seem to know who he is and greet him fondly. He ordered our lunch as he always does. Today we are eating Pad Thai and Cashew Chicken. Delicious as always! Sutthi goes and grabs a bunch of bananas and brings them to the table. You just eat what you want, return the rest and are charged for what you eat. We each ate one. Mine was full of seeds though. I had no clue bananas could have seeds in them.

We now head out on the road again towards Mae Hon Son. Well I can attest to the fact that I have NEVER in my life been on roads like this stretch of road. Switchbacks every few feet, up hills, down hills, and more switchbacks. After an hour or two of this I thought that if I didn't close my eyes he would have to pull over so I could throw up. I closed my eyes and just relaxed. What a hairy ride and if I never see a stretch of road like that again it'll be just fine by me.

We come in to Mae Hong Son and as Sutthi has done in every town we are going to overnight in he gives me the lay of the land by driving down the main streets and explaining things before we head to the hotel. We drive through town and in the middle is a lovely little lake. We get out and enjoy the Wat on the lake. Sutthi explains that the evening night market will surround the entire lake and he drives me down the roads it will encompass as well. He points to a Wat on a mountain top and says that will be our next stop today.

Night market around the lake in Mae Hong Son.

Mae Hong Son was my favourite small town that I visited in Thailand.

We drive up another switchback mountainous road on the way to the Wat. Thankfully it's only a couple of miles at most. This was an amazing Wat. Perched high on the mountain top overlooking the town and airport. 

Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu

We sat for a long while and watched people with their floral center pieces walk around the chedi three times. They purchase these floral pieces from the Monks (who make them). After you circle three times, you place your centre piece at the opening in the cement structure (inside the opening is a deity  which represents the day of the week you were born on. Thursday only had one floral piece but as were chatting and eventually looked towards Thursday, it had about 8 floral center pieces in front of it.

Circling the Chedi & placing a floral arrangement in the opening of the Chedi 

that corresponds to the day of the week you were born on.

Sunset over Mae Hong Son

The layers upon layers of mountains were really something to see.