I had a dream last night, something about Lady-Boys having their Adam's apple removed at birth so that you can't really tell what sex they are, the dream ended with someone at Darling Towers filling the Torana up with mud and then chopping the roof of and converting it into a motorbike. I wasn't really happy about that, but that is all quite irrelevant...
When we wake up in the morning here we feel lovely and refreshed, we shower and dress for the day, then head out of our airconditioned room for the buffet breakfast. It is at about this point that the wall of heat hits you, and your forehead starts leaking sweat like a cold bottle of water in a sauna. It is under these conditions that we set out for the day with the aim of sampling a few of the local forms of public transport.
After finishing another delicious and filling brekkie we walked off toward the river looking for the local ferry, it operates similarly to the Brisbane ferry system, but unlike the gigantic Brisbane Sea Catamarans this was just a long wooden boat with a massive engine and a lack of regard for any kind of water safety, overcrowded is an understatement. The boat charges down the river as fast as it can until it is about five meters from the next mooring, where it throws reverse on full throttle and slams sideways into the dock. Then there is a scramble as people jump on at their own risk.
It was actually a nice "cruise" down the river, and interesting to see the culture of water side living from the very rich to the very not rich. After we jumped off the ferry we found ourselves in Downtown Bangkok, a completely different world to the one we'd left behind in old town. You could almost confuse the business district to Melbourne's CBD, well except the market stalls on every corner, the public liability dangers at every step and the fact that everything is written in Thai.
After getting a bit lost we found our way to the Sky rail, basically a mono rail that serves a small portion of the city, with a ticketing system similar to Melbourne's, but the trains are a lot more modern with comfortable airconditioning and televisions featuring advertisements every five meters along the train. The Sky rail took us directly to MBK Shopping centre, Bangkok's version of Chadstone, only a lot bigger and cheaper and everything is available in legit or ripoff versions.
We shopped for awhile and then jumped back on the Sky Rail to get to the Vietnam Embassy. We have to apply for our Visas for Vietnam, and the embassy has a very cold and cruel atmosphere, after all of the warm hospitality of Bangkok, I sure hope Vietnam isn't anything like its embassy portrays. We have entrusted our passports with the embassy for the next few days, and as we are heading into the jungle for a few days tomorrow, I am hoping we don't need them.
Our last mode of transport for the trip home was by another ferry, this one was down the channel and was quite obviously a more "local" form of transport. The ferry operated much the same as the river ferry, in that it charged along as fast as it could towards each new pier. Only on this ferry, it went slightly faster and only had about one or two meters clearance on either side at every point in time. Also cornered like a demon.
Eventually we have found our way home for a very well deserved swim in the pool as today was probably our hottest one yet. Think we might get a meal and retire early tonight for our trek into the jungle at 7am tomorrow, we have booked a tour featuring Tigers, Elephants, floating markets, waterfalls and death trains... yep Death Trains... Wont be another post for a few days (probably) so you'll just have to read this one again.
Enjoy the photos from the last few days HERE
Monday, October 26, 2009
sexual inuendo at the zoo!!!
Today felt hotter than any of the others so far but that didn't stop us from getting out in it. We decided to go to the zoo today and those who are big on animals getting the best in life then look away now. We got a note this time from the hotel saying how much we should pay so the tuk-tuk didn't rip us off. It actually worked too. We got to the zoo after paying 50 baht which is a pretty good price. After wandering around the zoo for ages we decided that, A. the Melbourne zoo doesn't have very many animals and B. the muddy floors and no aircon for so many of the animals had to be pretty sucky for them.
We made our way back to the arena in the middle to watch a kids acrobatic show and elephant show. Again if you're against this I'm sorry, the elephants were very cool and did all sorts of tricks. The Kenya's wild boys show was very cool too and the pics will be up on facebook soon. The overall feeling we got from the show was a massive amount of sexual innuendo was squeezed into a very short show :) The were doing the show to music that ranged from pussycat dolls to Thai pop we had never heard. But when the performers we thrusting their hips and pretending to be having sex if they landed on someone made for a laugh worthy and entertaining experience. I'm not sure the mum's in Australia would have been as cool and entertained by it as the Thai mums were though. At one point they even had the male and female elephant pretending to have sex.
Anyway after leaving the zoo we headed to the Golden Mount which is meant to hold some of Budda's remains. It was an amazing experience. At the base of the Golden Mount we had our first 'we'll have what they're having' experience of food. This shop didn't have a menu and spoke very little English. Totally cool with us but meant that we ended up eating what I think consisted of chicken, oysters, egg and bean shoots with chilli sauce. Was very good but I couldn't eat all the oysters. Very fishy!
We then made our way to the top of the Golden Mount with all the locals and tourists ringing all the Buddhist bells on the way up. The top was an amazing stuppa which had been there since King Ramma II had it made. We jumped on the back of a private tour a German couple were taking and found our way out onto the roof. It was an uninterrupted view of the city and all the better because we walked up so many steps to get there.
We made our way back down and had the happy experience of realising we could walk home because we now knew our way around this part of the city. We then got back to the hotel for a swim and watching a rain storm pass and then we headed to Khaosan rd for dinner and my first 30 minute Thai massage. It was amazing and only cost 100 baht. That's about $3.30. Very happy walk home as my beaten up body finally felt good.
I promise we'll post photos soon.
We made our way back to the arena in the middle to watch a kids acrobatic show and elephant show. Again if you're against this I'm sorry, the elephants were very cool and did all sorts of tricks. The Kenya's wild boys show was very cool too and the pics will be up on facebook soon. The overall feeling we got from the show was a massive amount of sexual innuendo was squeezed into a very short show :) The were doing the show to music that ranged from pussycat dolls to Thai pop we had never heard. But when the performers we thrusting their hips and pretending to be having sex if they landed on someone made for a laugh worthy and entertaining experience. I'm not sure the mum's in Australia would have been as cool and entertained by it as the Thai mums were though. At one point they even had the male and female elephant pretending to have sex.
Anyway after leaving the zoo we headed to the Golden Mount which is meant to hold some of Budda's remains. It was an amazing experience. At the base of the Golden Mount we had our first 'we'll have what they're having' experience of food. This shop didn't have a menu and spoke very little English. Totally cool with us but meant that we ended up eating what I think consisted of chicken, oysters, egg and bean shoots with chilli sauce. Was very good but I couldn't eat all the oysters. Very fishy!
We then made our way to the top of the Golden Mount with all the locals and tourists ringing all the Buddhist bells on the way up. The top was an amazing stuppa which had been there since King Ramma II had it made. We jumped on the back of a private tour a German couple were taking and found our way out onto the roof. It was an uninterrupted view of the city and all the better because we walked up so many steps to get there.
We made our way back down and had the happy experience of realising we could walk home because we now knew our way around this part of the city. We then got back to the hotel for a swim and watching a rain storm pass and then we headed to Khaosan rd for dinner and my first 30 minute Thai massage. It was amazing and only cost 100 baht. That's about $3.30. Very happy walk home as my beaten up body finally felt good.
I promise we'll post photos soon.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
What price you pay?
Khaosan rd is crazy, loud and very alive. This is my first real chance to try to barter. I must admit that at this point I'm not great at it. I'm hoping to get better though. I never imagined that I'd own some of the knock off clothes that I now own.
The sleezy suit makers are the people the freak me out the most. They just never take no as an answer. They try and try and they might remember you from your last pass 2 mins earlier but they'll try again, picking up from the last part of the conversation you've had with them.
Almost everything and anything is available to buy in the markets in Bangkok, well touristy stuff is anyway. I had to tell Drew "No" at least a dozen times as we passed stalls full of Ninja Stars, butterfly knives, tasers and high powered laser pointers, all for sale for less than a dollart or two. Customs must have a field day with people bringing this stuff back in to Australia, not just the weapons but the ornante carvings made out of elephant tusks, or face masks made from tiger skins...
When I got back to the hotel I figured out that I'd only spent about $10 au. That's a pretty cheap shopping spree. We're currently eating dinner on khaosan rd. I'm in a bar but there's still a dog lying at my feet and it's a well fed one if I do say so. After abandoning the craziness of Khaosan rd we wandered back to our local bar (rolling r bar) and listened to a great lounge trio play song after song, some in English and some in Thai. Very chilled end to a great second day.
This was yesterday, sorry but our wireless was down this morning, have had a great day again today at the zoo but that post will have to wait awhile, photos may come later too.
The sleezy suit makers are the people the freak me out the most. They just never take no as an answer. They try and try and they might remember you from your last pass 2 mins earlier but they'll try again, picking up from the last part of the conversation you've had with them.
Almost everything and anything is available to buy in the markets in Bangkok, well touristy stuff is anyway. I had to tell Drew "No" at least a dozen times as we passed stalls full of Ninja Stars, butterfly knives, tasers and high powered laser pointers, all for sale for less than a dollart or two. Customs must have a field day with people bringing this stuff back in to Australia, not just the weapons but the ornante carvings made out of elephant tusks, or face masks made from tiger skins...
When I got back to the hotel I figured out that I'd only spent about $10 au. That's a pretty cheap shopping spree. We're currently eating dinner on khaosan rd. I'm in a bar but there's still a dog lying at my feet and it's a well fed one if I do say so. After abandoning the craziness of Khaosan rd we wandered back to our local bar (rolling r bar) and listened to a great lounge trio play song after song, some in English and some in Thai. Very chilled end to a great second day.
This was yesterday, sorry but our wireless was down this morning, have had a great day again today at the zoo but that post will have to wait awhile, photos may come later too.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thailand, More like Tuk-Tuk land. (And cats)
Today we woke up and we became immediately impressed by our hotel when we were reminded that our $50 per night rate includes a full buffet breakfast... I had three different kinds of eggs and Banana Pancakes!!!
Leaving the hotel we set out to explore the local streets but at the very first corner we were approached by a guy who asked us where we were from, upon hearing us say "Australia" he quickly said "Aaagh, SYDNEY!" and hopped around like a Kangaroo, this exact experience happened to us no less than three more times later the same day. The man then gave us a list of all of the places needed to go and then hailed a Tuk-Tuk for us and told the driver not to charge us anymore than 20 Baht (About 66 cents AU).
I was proud of Prue as she threw caution to the wind and rolled with it as we jumped in the Tuk-Tuk on a whirlwind tour of Bangkok. Firstly, everything they say about the crazy traffic is completely true, as we found ourselves regularly travelling on the wrong side of the road and even on the footpath at one point. Secondly everything they say about Tuk-Tuk drivers taking tourists to local sales traps is true. But one thing must be said, the Tuk-Tuk driver gets given fuel for taking tourists to the local sales places, so long as we were able to say "No Thank you" it was absolutely no harm and we got a fantastic tour of some of the local sites, while the driver waited patiently for us.
After a couple of hours of roaring though the streets of Bangkok visiting attractions, temples, tailors, statues, travel agents, more temples, more tailors, more attractions and a jewelery store (at which Prue ALMOST bought a $150 ring) we finally said goodbye to our Tuk-Tuk driver as he dropped us off at the King's Palace, we even gave him an extra 20 Baht as we felt bad after doing the currency conversion.
At the kings palace we found out two things, the first was that (like some Bendigo nightclubs) you can't get in wearing shorts, this led to me being lent a pair of ugly Pants to wear over the top of my shorts, adding to the amount of sweatiness and tripling my ugliness. Secondly the King is fully pimped out. The palace is.. umm... well... Palatial. An absolutely amazing place which can not be described in words (So I wont). After the Palace we hit our first market stalls and passing through stalls full of unrecognisable meats skewered on sticks, we settled down for food that was cooked while we waited and was reasonable recognisably, very yummy and even had a unsecured wireless internet connection nearby.
Getting back to the hotel we had a swim in the pool and have been relaxing with a drink ever since. Probably a long winded post today, but it really was a truly epic day, a wonderful experience that has been possibly the best way to start our epic journey. You can see some of the photos from our day Here.
Leaving the hotel we set out to explore the local streets but at the very first corner we were approached by a guy who asked us where we were from, upon hearing us say "Australia" he quickly said "Aaagh, SYDNEY!" and hopped around like a Kangaroo, this exact experience happened to us no less than three more times later the same day. The man then gave us a list of all of the places needed to go and then hailed a Tuk-Tuk for us and told the driver not to charge us anymore than 20 Baht (About 66 cents AU).
I was proud of Prue as she threw caution to the wind and rolled with it as we jumped in the Tuk-Tuk on a whirlwind tour of Bangkok. Firstly, everything they say about the crazy traffic is completely true, as we found ourselves regularly travelling on the wrong side of the road and even on the footpath at one point. Secondly everything they say about Tuk-Tuk drivers taking tourists to local sales traps is true. But one thing must be said, the Tuk-Tuk driver gets given fuel for taking tourists to the local sales places, so long as we were able to say "No Thank you" it was absolutely no harm and we got a fantastic tour of some of the local sites, while the driver waited patiently for us.
After a couple of hours of roaring though the streets of Bangkok visiting attractions, temples, tailors, statues, travel agents, more temples, more tailors, more attractions and a jewelery store (at which Prue ALMOST bought a $150 ring) we finally said goodbye to our Tuk-Tuk driver as he dropped us off at the King's Palace, we even gave him an extra 20 Baht as we felt bad after doing the currency conversion.
At the kings palace we found out two things, the first was that (like some Bendigo nightclubs) you can't get in wearing shorts, this led to me being lent a pair of ugly Pants to wear over the top of my shorts, adding to the amount of sweatiness and tripling my ugliness. Secondly the King is fully pimped out. The palace is.. umm... well... Palatial. An absolutely amazing place which can not be described in words (So I wont). After the Palace we hit our first market stalls and passing through stalls full of unrecognisable meats skewered on sticks, we settled down for food that was cooked while we waited and was reasonable recognisably, very yummy and even had a unsecured wireless internet connection nearby.
Getting back to the hotel we had a swim in the pool and have been relaxing with a drink ever since. Probably a long winded post today, but it really was a truly epic day, a wonderful experience that has been possibly the best way to start our epic journey. You can see some of the photos from our day Here.
Chapter 1: Long ass plane ride and a Crazy Taxi...
After 8 hours and three shit movies on our Thai Airways flight we finally made it to Bangkok. The airport is a concrete and steel labyrinth which seemed to stretch on forever but we made out into the Bangkok air without any hiccups, customs didn't even bother scanning our bags, we just got pushed right through the door. And my god was the air a blast to the senses, similar to walking out the aircon doors at Darwin airport but we were hit by a very warm thick air. No poo and flowers smell though...
Got a Taxi to the hotel and quickly realised why everyone remarks about the chaotic traffic in Bangkok as the taxi driver sped us along at full pace (Averaging about 120km/hr) while making left hand turns from the right hand lane. The taxi driver managed to rip us off 200 Baht, but his driving was a bit of an experience and he was a very friendly guy so we didn't mind as we parted ways without actually knowing that whether or not we were in the right place.
But after walking around the next corner we found our sanctuary of the hotel, settled in then we have grabbed a quick drink why we write this, and now off to bed... In THAILAND??!!
Got a Taxi to the hotel and quickly realised why everyone remarks about the chaotic traffic in Bangkok as the taxi driver sped us along at full pace (Averaging about 120km/hr) while making left hand turns from the right hand lane. The taxi driver managed to rip us off 200 Baht, but his driving was a bit of an experience and he was a very friendly guy so we didn't mind as we parted ways without actually knowing that whether or not we were in the right place.
But after walking around the next corner we found our sanctuary of the hotel, settled in then we have grabbed a quick drink why we write this, and now off to bed... In THAILAND??!!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A whole new world!!
Wow, that couldn't have been easier. After a mountain of running and screaming and trying to pack for two years and get it into a backpack we're through the magic gates and into the international world. Thanks to everyone for the sms's and missed phone calls. We've had no phone credit to call anyone back for days and there's no point in getting a $20 recharge when you're leaving your sim in Australia.
Drew is in awe of the $50 cartons of PJ's, but was strong and didn't buy any. I'm in awe of the fact that they still make those shitty colourful woolen jumpers. Eat your heart out 80's fans, that's the real 80's for Australia!!!
Hugs all, chat soon.
Drew is in awe of the $50 cartons of PJ's, but was strong and didn't buy any. I'm in awe of the fact that they still make those shitty colourful woolen jumpers. Eat your heart out 80's fans, that's the real 80's for Australia!!!
Hugs all, chat soon.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Inside 48 hours, two sleeps left...
We are done. The bags are packed, we are ready to go. Time to relax and say goodbye to our friends and loved ones. The weight of the world has been lifted from our shoulders since finishing our work and moving out of our home in Melbourne. Prue has unpacked and repacked her backpack for (what she says is..) the last time. There are no more last minute must have purchases to be made and no more boxes of crap to be discreetly hidden in our parents wardrobes. We finalised all of our affairs, and set the mobile phone voicemail to deliver a message of our absence. Even the cat has settled into its new home.
I cant emphasise enough how much of a relief it is to finally switch over to "holiday mode", sure we still have a healthy dose of anxiety when faced with so much uncertainty ahead, but a strong sense of freedom and adventure has started to pump in our blood, and a slightly larger than expected payout from our work has added a bit of excitement about the endless possibilities ahead.
But for the moment we are just going to enjoy our last 48 hours in Australia with our friends, our family and maybe a few of our favorite beverages.
I cant emphasise enough how much of a relief it is to finally switch over to "holiday mode", sure we still have a healthy dose of anxiety when faced with so much uncertainty ahead, but a strong sense of freedom and adventure has started to pump in our blood, and a slightly larger than expected payout from our work has added a bit of excitement about the endless possibilities ahead.
But for the moment we are just going to enjoy our last 48 hours in Australia with our friends, our family and maybe a few of our favorite beverages.
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