Bangkok

The flight from London to Bangkok was straightforward with no hitches. We flew with Eva Airways who I have not used before. They were quite excellent and I can totally recommend them. Bangkok airport is busy to say the least and it is not that easy to work out where you are going. However we make it through immigration in record time and then try to find our driver. As we clear customs we see drivers standing outside holding name cards and expect ours to be among them. This is not the case. Apparently there are numerous meeting places along the front of the airport – each used by 20-30 operators. It would have been helpful if G Adventures had provided us with that information. Sensibly we ask someone and eventually locate our transfer. There are hoards of people and we are glad to finally escape the airport frenzy. A very comfortable vehicle takes us to our hotel – The Hotel Royal Bangkok, which is in the centre of Chinatown. The traffic is horrendous and it is better to not focus too closely on the lane changes and proximity of other vehicles. The pavement is lined with street vendors and just exiting the vehicle and making it to the hotel lobby is a bit of a feat. The hotel is fine. Nothing fancy but clean and in a great central location for sightseeing.

We dump our bags and decide to go exploring. However after the long flight I am not really in the mood or quite mentally prepared for the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. We battle the crowds and traffic for 30 minutes or so and then head for the tranquil haven of the hotel rooftop bar and a G&T.

We sleep surprisingly well despite the 7 hour time difference and nearly miss breakfast! Then we set out to explore. The streets are just as busy but it all seems very manageable after a good night’s rest and we explore the street markets. Our noses are assaulted by all manner of aromas and not always pleasant ones. The variety of items for sale is staggering and I have no idea what at least 90% of the produce is.

We make our way to a small temple…

… and then walk to the river and take a ferry to the Royal Palace. By now it is beer o’clock. We find a cafe with breezy outside tables and enjoy a leisurely lunch and beer whilst watching the world go by. Lunch is followed by some seriously delicious ice cream. Feeling refreshed we set off on the long walk back to the hotel. The heat has really built so we sensibly decide to take a tuk-tuk instead.

At 6pm we gather to meet the rest of our group. Our guide is Puna. This is not her real name. In Thailand everyone has two names – their real name which will be long and include elements of the birthday, moon phase and family details. Consequently it can be very long! Accordingly everyone has a nickname – Puna means crab because her mother ate a lot of crab when she was pregnant. There are 16 in our group – 6 Brits, 10 Canadians and 2 Americans. Apart from 2 of us we are all more mature in years and doing the gap year we never had. I think it’s going to be a fun trip. We eat dinner and explore the night street market and have to sample a fried banana pancake even though we are full from dinner.

An early start sees us in the lobby for our first adventure. We again walk through the street market and find lots of fresh fish …

…as well as the more unusual fare. This time Puna explains what a lot of the food is. Yesterday we saw loads of big bags of golden fried puffy things. Paul thought they were pork scratchings. If only! Turns out they are dried fish swim bladders that have been deep fried. Apparently the older they are the better. They develop more taste with age. I hope I never have to find out!

20 minutes later finds us at the pier where we board a long boat to take us through the klongs. The river level is high with quite a swell and boarding is challenging. The river here is tidal. It is full moon and the tide is at its peak. To prevent the land around the klongs flooding, huge lock gates have been installed …

…. and we have to wait to enter. The long boats are powered by car engines attached to the stern.

I had expected the klongs to be smelly but they were not at all.  Crocodiles and monitor lizards laze on any available raised bank.

The buildings along the klongs are largely wooden. The piles are rotting and some are leaning badly. Others have lost the battle completely. Newer buildings have concrete foundations or piles.

We stop at one point to feed the catfish. We are given bags of stale bread. There are so many fish. They boil on the surface and some are pretty large.

After the klongs we visit Wat Pho. A very impressive temple housing an enormous gold reclining Buddha some 51m long. It is the largest Buddha in the country. The site also houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand.

The soles of the Buddha’s feet are very ornate with beautiful pictures made out of mother of pearl.

We have time to wander around. There are lots of very ornate stupas around the temple. They have very intricate decorations and date from different eras.

It is now hot and we decide to go back to the hotel and have a relaxing afternoon. We spend the afternoon by the pool on the roof terrace and have time to view the Bangkok skyline and unusual buildings.

Departure is at 17.30 to take the night train for the 12 hour journey to Chiang Mai. We are not anticipating that this will be a particularly comfortable experience and sleep is likely to be limited.

Bangkok station is a pleasant surprise. It is brand new, enormous and looks very much like an airport terminal building. I hope this bodes well and that our train is going to be more pleasant than expected. Here’s hoping!