9 October 2012. After an 8.5 hour flight from Addis Ababa to Bangkok we finally arrive in Thailand, about 1:30 pm. It only takes us 2 tries to get through immigration after we forgot about the yellow fever check but we eventually pass and find our lift to the hotel. The drive takes about 40 minutes in a new and quiet van. Hey, they drive on the left side of the road in Thailand! Our room at the Indra Regent is a step up from what we stayed at in Ethiopia and being on the 14th floor we are up far too high. Another day of pottering around before dinner in an adjoining restaurant and then bed.
10 October 2012. We sleep in until 9:00 am before shuffling off to breakfast. We wander about our section of Bangkok. It takes a long time to walk anywhere due to the stalls on the footpath and lots of pedestrian traffic. It's getting quite warm and we seek refuge in an air conditioned shopping mall. Lyn's eyes light up as she spots blueberry Fanta. On one of our walks around the city I see a rat that was big enough to pull a cart. Vermin aside this is a really interesting city with lots of traffic and a mixture of high and low tech. In the evening I find the Chandelier Bar in the Indra Hotel and Lyn discovers half price cocktails.
11 October 2012. We've arranged for a tour in and around Ayutthaya, a couple of hours drive from Bangkok. On this tour we visit a Palace compound called Bang Pa which has a mixture of Thai and European style buildings and has beautifully maintained gardens. After this we wander ruins at Wat Maha That and Wat Na Phra Mane. Seems we blame the Burmese Army for every destruction known to Thailand. In amongst the ruins there are many statues of Buddha including a reclining version. We travel back to Bangkok by boat and it appears that there is at least one temple on the skyline per village.
12 October 2012. We've arranged another tour for this morning so it's another early start. This time we drive to Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai, nearly 3 hours out of Bangkok. We visit a war museum, cemetery and walk the bridge over the River Kwai. There are a lot of Japanese tourists here and strangely enough I don't feel overly friendly towards them. We have lunch at a local restaurant and the Thai food is delicious. A half hour drive from Kanchanaburi is the Tiger Temple. This is run by Buddhist Monks and they have rescued and bred more than 100 tigers in the past 10 or so years. We pat, walk with and in Lyn's case feed tigers. The drive back to Bangkok is followed by some Singhas and a green thai curry. The perfect way to end our stay here.
13 October 2012. A very early start today as our lift to the airport is arranged for 5:00 am. The ride doesn't appear until 5:15 am but it doesn't matter because we drive at speeds of around 120 kph to get to the airport on time. Did I mention that the speed limit is advertised as being 80 kph? Our flight via Thai Airways leaves at 8:00 am local time and arrives, after we watch many movies, in Melbourne at 9:00 pm. Customs have changed their queuing system so that everyone goes in the same line and then after you have endured a long wait you then get directed to a further queue if you have something to declare! We eventually get out of the airport about 11:00 pm and thank goodness Rebecca is still waiting. We arrive home about 12:30 am to the sound of Ruby and Berry's greeting.
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| Bang Pa |
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| Bang Pa |
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| River Kwai |
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| Guess |
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Walking with Tigers
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