Back to Satun on another bus, same Thai pop but thankfully no videos. We planned to be back in time to go to the bank on Friday to get some Ringitts. On arrival at the very closed bank we discovered that it was a public holiday to celebrate the Kings Birthday and Fathers Day (where was my card kids??!!). So, plan B, change Thai Baht (not many left at this stage) and our emergency US$ for RM at an “authorised  money changer” which was a grubby desk at the back of a hardware shop! Cheryl found this “deliciously grungy and underhand”. But this is the way it is…..and his rate was much better than the hotels.

Later that afternoon we heard lots of noise and rushed out of the hotel to see what appeared to be the whole town in procession wearing yellow shirts and marching to several bands celebrating The Kings Birthday. See pics of many happy smiling faces.

We’ve had a great time here in Thailand  but it’s off to Langkawi Island in Malaysia tomorrow so watch this space although as it’s beachy don’t expect too much exciting news.

We travelled to Songkhla on a nice comfy air con bus with the usual Thai pop video showing the same old stuff — boy meets girl, girl meets other boy, jealousy, heartbreak sad ending and, of course, the happy ending (happy for us cos it’s finished!!!).

Eventually found what is probably the cleanest digs in Thailand. Spotless, maintained and bright and airy. Excellent value at 450 Baht. The town is on a peninsular with an estuary on one side and sea the other. As you can see some from some of the photos it was a tad damp when we arrived and all the next day it absolutely hissed down…..perfect beach weather and, yes Paul, very warm rain! Note the pics of the sad rain capes!! Neil was sporting a matching red version…how twee! Funnilly enough, every shop was selling capes and umbrellas in all shapes, colours and sizes.

A really pretty city with lots of well paved boulevards which explains why this is such a popular resort in season. We appreciated the lack of pot holes and open ditches and craters! There is very little beach side development which was refreshing. As it was out of season there were few eateries so the first night we ate at the night market in the dodgy part of town where Cheryl was pleased to observe a rat the size of a small Doberman running around collecting scraps. (He obviously thought the food was good).

The weather did pick up and we walked miles and miles (about 15-20 over the 3 days) seeing some interesting bits of scenery. The best bit was the serpent in 3 sections. The head (see photo) was at the headland where estuary meets sea. The others, middle and tail, were spread over the promenade about 2kms apart. We didn’t get pics of the middle and tail due to the previously mentioned inclement weather. We also saw a mermaid, just like Copenhagen, also viewed in the rain.

There is a pic of Neil on top of the hill overlooking the whole town which housed a Chedi. We visited it twice, once via the cable car and second time, foolishly, following up the Naga staircase not really knowing how steep a climb it was going to be. (No kids, not one of dads shortcuts, a joint decision made in error….).

We did find a stonking breakfast which sadly was in Farrangs Ville (tourist area containing, and I quote Cheryl, “fat ugly blokes looking for totty”!! Sorry Chloe, definitely not eye candy).

One morning at breakfast the ice delivery man arrived on his motorbike with sidecar. Neil thought he was a little simple because he had to think about everything he did for ages before carrying out the simplest task. Then he fell over and the girl at the restaurant explained that he was blind drunk (happens every morning!!). After delivering his ice he slowly climbed on his bike and drove off.

Celebrated Cheryl’s birthday in Trang with:

1. Breakfast of “real” coffee and ‘real” cake, cake and more cake….mmmmm…scrummy.

2. ‘Real’ bacon in a “real” baguette for lunch washed down with a couple of beers.

3. Dinner was an absolute ‘cheesefest’, small platter (actually a very large dinner plate full) of assorted cheeses including Danish Blue, Cheddar and Gouda. Bread was so, so “real’, German style brown bread and French bagette…..cor, it looked like a whole bakery but we did manage to scoff the lot……we even surprised ourselves. take a look at the picture. we forgot to take a ‘before’ pic but we did manage to leave a tiny peice of tomato and the olive stones. All washed down with imported Italian wine (not so “real” but a change from beer).

Wandered around Trang for a couple of days and then moved further south to Satun. We are now domiciled in Hotel Pinnacle (Fawlty Towers in disguise!). Rooms are OK, clean and spacious but like everything here it’s seen better days and badly needs some TLC.

This is where we realised that apart from the numerous Mosques around, our hotel room contains an arrow to point you to Mecca. There has been trouble in the south over the years but, generally, everyone here seems to be getting on.

We met a young American lad at the night market who is teaching English here in Satun. He’s been here several months into a 1 year contract. He’s really enjoying it which is so refreshing when you see some of the “insular” Americans being interviewed on TV over the problems at Bangkok Airport. One guy was incensed because he wouldn’t get back for Thanksgiving, ” a really important American holiday” over” some cockermaimy protest”. What a pr**ck!!!

Ice Station Pasty. Looking for lunch we saw the nice lady deep frying what looked like pasties. We asked what they were but couldn’t really understand so we decided to take a risk and give it a go, “Carpe Diem”!! And what a result, curried pasties containing potato and other veg….quality!! Such good quality that we had three each washed down with a compulsory beer.

Half way through our pasty lunch a lady arrived on her mobile food stall to buy ice by the kilo…..neat.

Went for breakfast this morning at The Towers. “No toast, have orange juice”. “What”, I said, “no toast”?, “This is a hotel”!! “No toast, no toast, have orange juice”.

It took me 10 minutes to nip out and buy my own bread and make my own toast….but it did make us laugh!! Just as we finished breakfast guess what? A dozen loaves of bread arrived!

Going to mill around today, maybe more pasty and beer, and tomorrow we’re going “off piste” again to the east coast where we’ve never been before and we should see something of a monsoon climate.

Paul, we are leaving our cases at “The Towers” so I hope your prediction does not come true!

Firstly, Cheryl wanted you to know that she did have “one of her headaches” in Sangkhlaburi but Neil also had an incident he failed to mention on the way there which is what has sparked this entry.

We have now come to realise that what dictates our movements around Thailand by bus and train is our own bodily movements! The bus trip to S’buri was about 2 hours. Neil was having some “minor” tummy tremors which turned into a major earthquake about 5 km from our destination. He had been doing his best to keep his sphincter in check but not far from town he had to rush to the front of the bus, wave his toilet roll at the driver and respectfully suggest that it would be in all our interests if he stopped for a few minutes. He gladly obliged and Neil shot off the bus to find an appropriate spot. It was a wall which happily provided a comfortable place for him to make himself comfortable. However, the driver reversed the bus to park it in a safer place which gave us all a superb view of Neil’s arse hanging over the wall…..not a pretty sight!! Sadly, I didn’t have the forethought to take a picture as Neil said he would have definitley done if it was me!!

Now more observations of Thailand, it’s people and it’s culture.

1. People are very friendly and apart from Bangkok taxi drivers generally like to help. When we were taking one of Neil’s shortcuts at the Hell Fire Pass to get us to the main road we found out it was actually a “long cut”….heard this before Leanne & Paul? A steep up hill, baking sunshine and little shade. Up popped a couple in a beat up old car, stopped, no ability to communicate other than by sign language and the name of Thong Pha Phum ( our destination), we got in and they took us out of their way to the nearest bus stop….so, so kind.

A second example of this is the people at VN Guesthouse. When we went of piste they looked after our cases for free and when we returned we were welcomed back like family….so nice.

2. Buses either go very fast or very slow and trains always go slow.

3. There appears to be no concept of property maintenance. Build it, make it look superb then sit back and wait for it to fall down! There is also no concept of real cleaning with bleach or chemical etc. Things look grimy even though they may not be dirty.

4. Thai’s always appear to be eating and now come in 2 different sizes. Traditional stick thin tiny and now Big Bhudda Size!

5. Thai’s, young and old, are very much in tune with their religion and their culture…..so different to the youth of the UK. Their respect for the Royal Family is unprecedented. The funeral of the kings sister was watched on TV by the whole nation and went on for days and days.

6. Now in Trang and it’s wet!! However, it is warm rain. It seems that the monsoon is hanging on later this year and there has been some flooding and some people killed. Gladly, we haven’t seen any of this, just swollen rivers.

7. Despite the news reports, we have seen nothing of the bombs and riots….long may this continue.

8. The Thai people have little respect for health and safety. Motor bikes go everywhere, on pavements and through markets. The whole family will ride on a motor bike with no helmets including the 3 month old baby in mothers arms.

9. Thai’s have TV’s swiched on from dawn until dusk even if they aren’t watching….which isn’t often! Most annoying when you want to have a conversation or a quiet meal.

More to come as we go along.

Visited the floating market at Damnoen Saduak about 90 km outside Bangkok.  Its a sleepy town and we stayed at the town’s top (only) hotel!  How to describe it? hmmmm think old NHS hospital corridor, huge, souless concrete room, no maintenance, no other guests, that’s about it.  It was cheap and it was clean.  No restaurants in town apart from the traditional Thai fuelling stations – street cart vendors and rows of plastic tables & chairs.  Food was great and cost JS & was supplemented with beer & coke from the Seven Eleven.

Got up before sunrise to be at the boat station, about 2km walk, for 7am to pick up our slow boat for 2.  Despite reservations that this might be touristy, which it was, it was thoroughly enjoyable and our 2 hour ‘cruise’ took in a few back canals to explore everyday life as well as the tourist market.  Take a look at the photos to see the range of ‘shops’, produce, services and food on offer.  We even had a floating breakfast of coconut pancakes followed by the best Pad Thai so far.

Paul – we took a slow rowboat, but we thought you might like to see some pictures of a longtail and the size of the engine which gives them the speed (and noise!!). 

Alex – please note in the pics the floating butcher with nothing but meat, meat & meat – your kind of shopping!

Walking back to the luxurious ‘Nok Noi’ hotel we found a shop selling real ground coffee – bliss. When Neil gestured to the proprietor how good his coffee was he was really pleased as I guess they don’t get many foreigners in his establishment as most people visit the markets on organised rip off day trips from Bangkok.

Got the bus – getting used to local transport now – to Nakhon Pathom to get to the train station.  Spent a lazy afternoon strolling around the markets & shops and visiting the Chedi in the centre of town.  The Chedi was an amazing structure, currently having a facelift and the scaffolding surrounding it was just as amazing, with unguarded ladders going all the way to the top – 127m high!

We saw our first street elephant – with a red tail light on his tail, because it was night time.  Got some snacks & booze for the 14 hour overnight train to Trang in the South.  Most of the ‘meaty’ treats were not really ‘treats’ and dubious they were also meat.  Leanne you will be pleased that we had some storming deep fried pigs in blankets on a stick which were excellent.

We decided to park the large bags for a few days and go off piste with just small back packs to Sangkhlaburi, passing through Nam Tok and Thong Pha Phum. S’buri is not far from the border with Burma (Myanmar as it’s now known).

First stop was Nam Tok which Neil decided means “nothing”. Why? Because there is nothing there!! That is apart from the grungiest room in the world for 100 Baht. They could have paid us 1m Baht and we still wouldn’t have slept there. We do it an injustice really as there are several stalls next to the bus stop selling more types of fried banana than you could imagine. Lot’s of flavours and, actually, really nice providing you like banana and Nam Tok!

We then moved on to T P P where we had a really great time, well Neil did, Cheryl had “one of her heads”!! Found the only guy in town to speak any English and he cooked a “great meal for one” for 55 Baht including a can of beer! We also visited the hill top temple with it’s staggering views across the town and surrounding countryside. One drawback, 281 steps up and 281 steps down!

Moving on to S’buri by the slowest driver in the world, average speed 22.5 MPH and also the smallest driver in the world (or the biggest steering wheel). Great picture of him as he grapples with the bus at breakneck speeds….ha, hardly.

S’buri is lovely, a beautiful lake, peaceful and very laid back. Cabin had a great view of the lake and the longest wooden bridge in Thailand, just over 400 meters long. Bit dodgy though, one heavy fart  and we’re sure it would have collapsed.

On the way back we moved from the slowest driver in the world to Lewis Hamilton on ACID!!

We’ve been in K’buri for a few days lazing on a river raft and watching the River Kwai flow by. We’ve got a local Monitor Lizard that swims by on a daily basis in the later after noon. Reckon he’s about 1-2 meters long from head to tail. Can’t get any decent pics as he’s pretty canny.

VN Guesthouse is great at 300baht a night , about 6 pounds. Nice bar for lounging in with great bacon and interesting walls between some rooms that don’t leave much to the imagination when an excitable Thai lady mves in next door….know what I mean!!

Had an annual viewing of an outdoor cinema showing a really crazy film. Sound was so loud. Cinema up one day gone the next!

The serious side of K’buri is the Burma railway. Went to the museum and then to Hell Fire Pass. Conditions must have been terrible and it really makes you think how dreadfully wasteful war is.

On our trip up to H F Pass we got to go on The Oriental and Eastern Express, well for about 10 seconds on our way through to the platform behind to catch our 3rd class train on the other side. Still, we’ve been on it and you haven’t!!!

Loi Krathong is an annual festival that takes place in November at the full moon. Thailand goes bonkers for around 3/4 days resulting in the floating of flowers with candles and incense on a banana leaf and various other options.

There is also a carnival on the river which is meant to celebrate the life blood of the city,The Chao Praya River. For those of you who have seen the Somerset Carnivals, it’s very similar.

On the night itself, it was just heaving with people eating all sort of good and dodgy things, hence the picture of bugs that Neil is going to sample……one day when he feels a tad braver!

Off to Kanchanaburi next to the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai.

Well, the flight was great….what we remembered of it. We both went to sleep after dinner and woke up for breakfast. Must have slept for 6-7 hours….bliss.

Bangkok is almost same same after 6 years with just a few exceptions. True, the traffic is still bad, in fact, it’s a whole lot worse. However, the air is cleaner!!!! All the cabs and tuk tuks are now on LPG so the air is so much better.

When we thought about this over breakfast we couldn’t remember all that we had done over the last few days. The trip is already a blur. Of course, there are a few highlights:

1. A long walk around China Town was fascinating. Whatever tat you want you can get it. Lots of Hello Kitty, pink everything, gold, gold and more gold.

2. Streets devoted to one thing. Car Part Street, Gold Street, Buddha Image Street (see photo) and Amulet Street just to name a few.

3. Walking along the side of a canal we seemed to enter somebody’s house (slum really but don’t want to be cruel here) and we were stopped to ask “how you say this”, ‘that’s body lotion”, motioning how you might rub it on. “Sawadee krup” he said and so we walked on leaving a beaming man sitting in his living room.

4. “How you spell hot dog” said the lady from the little restaurant. So we wrote it out for her and “sawadee kah” came the response from the smiling lady as she ran back inside her little business.

5. Tesco getting it’s hooks into religion in Bangkok.

6. Fast food for Thai drunks

Went to Wat Pho yesterday to see our old friend the reclining Buddha (see photo above). Really relaxing place with lots to see with amazing colours and architecture.

This week is Loy Krathong, a festival to celebrate the river, amongst other things. Lots of Thai food to sample and a Somerset type carnival but this time on the river. More to come later on this as the highlight is tomorrow.

Lowlight? Yup, Khosan Road. Horrid backpacker hell or maybe it’s because we’re too old and don’t want to see things involving ping pong balls and drink buckets of cocktails. We much prefer our own private show and a nice G & T on the balcony!!!! See, we do know how to have fun.

Off to the food fest now….yum!