Day 225 : Kolkata walk

Woke up early (we’re 1.5 hours behind Thailand here) and discovered that the shower doesn’t work. Had a leisurely coffee / croissant at Flurry’s teashop down the road before heading back to the hotel to meet David, our guide for the day from Kali Tours. David, an Australian who has been resident in Kolkata for 15 years or so, suggested an itinerary which would take us through some of the off-the-beaten track parts of the city (so avoiding the monuments and museums that make up the main tourist sites).
We walked for almost 5 hours and covered a lot. The highlights were:

• Jewish bakery at New Market (we went back later and had some tasty rolls and cake).
• Catching the tram up to College Street and having coffee in India Coffee House.
• Visiting the Muslim quarter and the wholesale fruit market.
• Many dilapidated Raj-era mansions, palaces and boulevards.
• Walking through the maze-like streets of Barabazaar.
• Crossing the Howrah bridge and looking down to the flower market.
• Catching the ferry up to the sculpture district, where the residents build clay/straw statues of deities for religious festivals, and walking through the quiet backstreets away from the chaos of the city centre.
• Taking the Metro back to Chowringhee Road and having a delicious Masala Dhobi for lunch.

All the time David was very informative and it was really good to have an experienced non-Indian perspective on the city and Indian culture. Highly recommended for anybody visiting Kolkata!

Day 224 : Bangkok to Kolkata

 

• Arrived in Kolkata (small airport). I wasn’t quite sure who would be on the flight – a few westerners, Thai, a couple of groups of Buddhist monks and lots of Indians carrying new flatscreen TVs.
• Caught an Ambassador taxi (based on a Morris Oxford). Had to stop myself laughing at the hilarity of the journey. Surprised that we didn’t crash although we were going quite slowly so not overly worried. Kolkata is supposed to have the worst traffic in India so maybe it’s only going to get better!
• Everyone beeps there horns incessantly – it does your head in.
• On the way from the airport we saw lovely cows sitting on the pavement, men pulling rickshaws, bike rickshaws, 100-year old trams blocked by traffic, men washing on the pavement, a huge pile of rubbish/vegetables with a herd of gorgeous boar-like pigs and a couple of people rooting through it, dogs in OK condition, more cows – look quite well fed, rubble, more honking.
• Checked into the Hotel Oriental – a bit grimy and oddly mixed amongst residential apartments. The lobby is downstairs and then connects to the hotel rooms, 4 floors up, via an old-style lift which is quite fun. No other westerners staying here. Room reasonably clean and large enough. There’s a (broken) TV, hot shower and a western toilet so can’t really complain for £7 a night (cheap for the city).
• Had a walk around Sudder St (the main traveller area – not that are many westerners), walked to Chowringhee rd, saw a big herd of goats overflowing into an otherwise normal-looking street.
• Women wearing so many beautiful colours and patterns.
• Had our first north Indian curry at a little cafe on Sudder St.
• Using the steri-pen now, but only for teeth-cleaning water. We still have to buy drinking water but it’s cheap (20p for 2 litres).

Day 222 : Bangkok again and Skybar

• Took an early mini bus to Bangkok, where we’ll be spending our last few days in Thailand before we fly to India.
• Checked in at the Atlanta hotel, in its heyday one of Bangkok’s most prestigious hotels, but now a retro budget hotel near the business and shopping districts. Built in the 1950s but in the style of 1930s art deco, it was the first hotel in Thailand to have a swimming pool and also had an outdoor cinema. They make much of the fact that they have changed little over the years – the only way to make a booking here is by fax! Sadly, it looks like the rooms haven’t changed much either, but it’s comfortable enough.
• In the evening we met up with Pakorn, a Thai friend of Adam’s who used to live / work in Bristol but is now living in Bangkok. After a meal in town he took us to Skybar – a rooftop bar (recently featured in the film, The Hangover 2) with fantastic views over the city.

Day 221 : Lop Buri Monkeys

Took the train to Lop Buri, a town about an hour north of Ayutthaya where there are more historical ruins and a former palace. We met many of the cheeky macaques (Lop Buri is famous for then) which live in and around the ruins. One of the ruins had bars over the windows so we could go inside and watch the monkeys a safe distance from their teeth!

The ruins themselves were nice but we’re a bit templed-out from the last few weeks so didn’t really spend that much time looking around. After a few hours we took the train back to Ayutthaya and enjoyed the air-conditioned comfort of our hotel before we head to Bangkok tomorrow.

Day 220 : Chinese New Year

Pottered around the hotel most of the day. In the evening we visited the Chinese New Year celebrations in town – lots of folk dancing, singing, some kind of Chinese theatre and lanterns. With help from a local, we tried some interesting food at the market (tasty sausage dumplings and not-so-tasty frankfurter crepe on-a-stick; they seem to really love frankfurters here!).

Day 219 : Ayutthaya

We hired some bikes from the hotel and cycled a route around the old town as suggested by the Lonely Planet. The ruins are more spread out and not as impressive as Sukhothai (or maybe we’ve just seen enough ruins that it takes more to be impressed). It’s also much busier here – it’s a big town with ruins dotted amongst the houses and shops unlike Sukhothai where there was nothing else. As a town it feels quite different to other places in Thailand – it doesn’t feel as cosmopolitan as Bangkok or Chiang Mai and there seems to be more poverty here. They also bore the brunt of the flood damage at the end of last year – many of the ruins are closed while they repair them.

Our hotel arranged a (free!) boat tour in the early evening so we got to see the temples from the river (Ayutthaya old town is an island surrounded by canals) and visit some of those which were only easily accessible by boat. The boat dropped us off at a night market and so we ate at a food stall by the river with another English couple from the boat.

Day 218 : Sukhothai to Ayutthaya

Took an early coach from Sukhothai to Ayutthaya, about 60km north of Bangkok. Checked in to our home for the next 4 nights, Prom Tong Mansion - really nice little hotel and a bit more luxurious than anywhere we've stayed for a while. Nice to have a/c and en-suite bathroom for a change! The hotel has lots of beautiful wood carvings (see pic) around the hallways.

Day 217 : Lazy day

Having pretty much exhausted the Sukhothai ruins yesterday, we just had a lazy day today - mostly just hanging around in "The Coffee Cup" and planning parts of our India trip (we fly next week!). 

We also visited the small museum about Sukhothai - it was good to see the before / after photos of the restoration and read about the kingdom that used to be here.

Day 216 : Cycling around the old city

We planned to watch sunrise over the part of the old city near our guest house but we didn’t know what time sunrise was – it wasn’t at 5.30 as we discovered walking around in pitch black but it eventually made it at about 6.45.

We hired bikes and cycled around the old city and also out to some temples around the outskirts of the city wall. The ruins are stunning and the giant Buddhas seem as if they might come alive like something out of “The Mummy”.

Day 215 : Sukhothai

Took a coach to Sukhothai old city south of Chaing Mai, checked into an ok, cheap guesthouse. The old city is made up of a 1km squared ancient city full of the most impressive ruins (also in the surrounding area) dating back from the 13th century. We walked around some of the ruins at sunset it was beautiful. Despite the park being full of hundreds of children cycling like maniacs around the park being around the ruins gave me such as sense of serenity. Had a nice dinner in “the coffee house”.

Day 214 : Biking down the mountain

Today we went mountain biking with on an organised tour. We went in a pick-up van 5400 feet into the Chaingmai mountains then cycled down to a beautiful coffee plantation where we had freshly ground coffee. We then split off into a group with a guide and a lovely Canadian couple.

We took a steep dirt and rock track through fruit and vegetable plantations (bananas, herbs, corn, mandarins – all previously opium before a plan by the King). We went past small farm shacks and met some children and some cockerels. The views all the way down were stunning and we could see in the distance at 1200 feet where we were to stop for lunch. We made it down in one piece and sat in a hut over the lake to eat a lovely lunch.

In the evening we had a thai massage which is kind off cross between and normal massage and a chiropractor.

Day 213 : Temple on the hill

(Yesterday I was too hungover. Will did some India planning).

Today took a pickup to Wat Suthep temple which on top of a mountain overlooking Chaing Mai. Spectacular views and a very gold temple. Saw some cool lizards with funny neck flaps and a giant scary centipede.

Revisited the “saloon” bar where we had too many drinks the other night and had some amazing western style food.

Day 211 : Elephant Nature Park

Had one of the best day trips ever today. We visited an elephant sanctuary which has 36 elephants, 200 rescue dogs and some other animals. Some of the elephants are blind from the abuse they had, some have broken hips and scars. A couple are from Cambodia that have stood on land mines when logging.

The elephants are all free range but hang out in unrelated “families”. When a new elephant comes to the park it usually gets adopted and looked after by another elephant who has had similar experiences. The blind elephants have got friends that look after them and guide them around.

We got to feed to them from huge buckets of bananas, pineapple and melon. We washed them in the river and cuddled them. They are the most amazing animals, so strong but so gentle and sensitive.

Made friends with an english / irish couple and went for drinks and food. They knew a place that sold cheap wine (hard to come by) and we had a really fun night chatting.

Day 210: Temple spotting

Walked around the old town and visited a few of the 300 temples in the area. They are beautiful and display a variety of architectural styles. One of the most impressive is Wat Chiang Man and was built in the 1200s.
I like Chaing Mai. It's chilled out, I love watching all the monks walking around and it’s cool that dogs are allowed in the temples.

Had some good cheap food. It gets weirdly cold at night.

Day 209 : Chiang Mai

Arrived in Chiang Mai. Nice guest house in the old town. Had a wander, Will has a cold. Chilled out. Had a burger and then later a banana split in a cafe with a cute poodle.

Day 208 : Jim Thompson & C+C

• Checked out of guesthouse, hung around a bit then dropped bags at train station.
• Visited Jim Thompson's house which is very beautiful.
• Had an early dinner at Cabbages and Condoms which is a restaurant, shop and hotel that supports various AIDS and community support charities. It has lots of condom themed sculptures.
• Took the night train to Chiang Mai which I love because its so fun having a little bed with a curtain and that you wake up somewhere different!

Day 207 : Chatuchak Weekend Market

Went to Chatuchak market (took a taxi with a random American women who was slightly crazy) which is one of the biggest markets in the world with an estimated 9000+ stalls. It wasn't too crazy to walk around though. It sold a lot of home furnishings, antiques, plants, pets, fashionable clothes – all sorts. Bought a few little things to send home.

Day 206 : The Grand Palace / Afternoon tea

Up early to beat the crowds at the grand palace. Got the hang of getting a taxi (they are so cheap but you might have to try 2 or 3 before you get one to go on the meter).

The Grand Palace is sprawling and full of stunning buildings and temples – a mix of Thai, Sri Lankan and Cambodian architecture, a lot of real gold, coloured glass and mirror fragments and a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu symbolism. It is the former official residence of the King (now used as a guesthouse for visiting heads of state) and also houses a 15th century beautiful jade Buddha. We took a free tour and had an very enthusiastic guide.

Took a boat to the Mandarin Oriental and had high tea in the Authors’ lounge.

Had some drinks and watched some an amazing blues band on Khao San road.

Day 205 : Giant Reclining Buddha

Went to see the giant reclining Buddha – at the Wat Pho temple. It was absolutely beautiful and massive (46 metres long, 15 metres high), only just fitting inside its house.

Had a wander on Khao San road to see all the tourist bars then didn’t feel great so had relaxing afternoon.

Day 204 : Arrival in Bangkok

• Arrived on the train at 8am – taxi to Sivarin Guesthouse – very clean and comfortable, although it seems a bit out of the way from downtown.
• Took a boat along the river and then the SkyTrain into town. They seem to have forgotten to take their Christmas decorations down.
• Feeling tired from the train, we went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 at the cinema – we wanted to go for the full VIP cinema but they were only showing rubbish films but we still got a sofa seat. Before each film the whole cinema stands for the national anthem.
• Bit of a nightmare getting back to the hostel because of the traffic – none of the taxis would take us!

Day 203 : Koh Pa Ngan to Bangkok

• Took a ferry back to the mainland. Choppy seas and a full, tall and narrow ferry made for an interesting crossing and it rook some time to disembark safely – you had to wait for a gap in the chop and then 4 or 5 people would be ushered along the gangplank to the jetty in the few seconds that it was stable!
• Took an uncomfortable bus to Surat Thani train station – overcrowded as usual. Just when you think there is nowhere left for anybody to sit, they always manage to squeeze another 10 people on, often sitting in the aisle or 3 or 4 people on two seats!
• Train station is in the middle of nowhere and we arrived about 5 hours early (we gave ourselves lots of contingency time as our experience so far has been that we might arrive several hours later than promised by the bus company). Parked ourselves in a cafe for a few hours before catching our overnight train to Bangkok.
• Overnight train was fun – it’s arranged so you have two seats facing one another and they fold together to form a bottom bunk at night. The top bunk folds down from the ceiling and curtains give you privacy from the aisle. A man comes around and makes up the bunks with mattresses / linen.

Day 202 : Beach day

• Tried snorkelling again but the sea was very choppy and the visibility was close to 0.
• Had a lazy day, reading on the beach. Sampled some of the European food at the hotel restaurant – the owners are Belgian so they do a much better job of it than any Thai restaurants we’ve tried. Service is a bit sketchy but the food was always great.
• Louise gave me a haircut.

Day 201 : Full Moon Party!

• Went snorkelling in the morning. Coral was about 100m off the beach (after lots of sea-grass) and not a huge amount to see compared to other places we’ve been on this trip. We saw sea-cucumbers, stripy friendly fish (we don’t know the name), rock cod, parrot fish.
• Headed over to Hat Rin early (5ish) before the crowds descended. Had dinner in a bar and watched about 5 episodes of Family Guy over a Sang Som bucket – lots of the bars are set up like cinemas, presumably so people can take time out from the party later on. Lots of buzz around town before the party starts.
• The town is on the beach and mainly full of shops selling buckets of drink (usually a small bottle of Sang Som rum, a bottle of Red Bull and a can of Coke), fluorescent full-moon themed T-shirts and cheap food.
• Got some free UV body paint with another bucket on the beach.
• Watched some Thai people doing fire-tricks (throwing fire-sticks and poi) – they could teach the drunk hippies at Glastonbury a thing or two!
• The moon had an eerie halo around it – maybe just because of the full moon and clear sky?
• Music was mostly pop / dance – sometimes good but mostly not!
• Took a crazy taxi ride (all the taxis are of the open pick-up truck style) home – the roads to Hat Rin are like a rollercoaster!

Day 200 : Khao Sok to Koh Pa Ngan

Another long-winded journey in various minibuses / coaches from Khao Sok to Surat Thani and then a ferry to Koh Pa Ngan on in the Gulf of Thailand. Lots of waiting around and dubious driving so relieved to arrive to a nice bungalow on a beautiful beach.

Day 198 / 199 : Giant flowers

On the 5th we took a very steep trek up a hill in the jungle to see some giant flowers (Rafflesia kerri) that flower at the moment. Rest of the day and on the 6th we just chilled out and did some planning / reading.

Day 197 : Bat cave

Set off in the morning by boat to bat cave. Walked through the jungle for 2 hours to the cave, picking the leeches off our legs as we went. The cave is stunning and the ceiling is covered with thousands of bats that feed of the crickets on the floor. We also saw some cool frogs, fish and not so cool giant unspeakable thing.

We went through tunnels and clambered across crevices (with one ok torch and a few rubbish torches between us and no safety equipment plus the possibility of flooding if it rained). We walked through a lot of water varying from knee high to so deep you had to swim!

After about 50 min we made it to the other side in one piece (and the camera – in a dry bag) feeling good but very soggy – our trainers have a lot of drying out to do! Saw a cool monkey from the boat – black and furry with white “sunglasses”.

Chilled out in the afternoon before getting back to dry land – back to our bungalow. Had dinner with the Norwegian guys. Bumped into the German couple we spent new year with – they decided to stay here as we told them about it so that’s cool.

Day 196 : Chiew Lan Lake

Took a van then longtail boat to Smiley’s raft house in the middle of no where on Chiew Lan lake in Khao Sok rainforest. We went with a couple of French girls and Norwegian boys who were lovely.The area is stunning and looks like it belongs in Jurassic park. The raft house was cool – a series of huts on a floating platform surrounded by the lake, rainforest and dramatic limestone mountains. We had a lovely lunch then went kayaking on the lake – we saw some monkeys and fish. We then went on two further longtail boats – one at night. We found a bit of wildlife - mainly monkeys but it’s cool to see them in their natural habitat and not just scrounging at temples!

Day 195 : Khao Sok

• Had a restless last night at Sonya’s – I don’t think I could take any more of the roll-mat bed and we also had a rat running around the gutter by our heads (we like rats so it's OK)! We got up early to catch a minibus to Krabi and then on to Khao Sak a bit further north and inland. 
• Mini-bus journey took forever, again, and was overcrowded so we had to sit on the uncomfortable front seats while our bags on the roof got soaked in the torrential rain!
• Eventually arrived at Khao Sok and thankfully our bungalow is really nice, with large glass doors overlooking the spectacular jungle.

Day 194 : New Year's Day

A predictably lazy day – not a lot open on the island and it’s rained all day. Watched a few films at Sonya’s with the other guests.