Thailand: Bangkok (ish!) // Day three: a magical day.

On the morning of our third (and last!) day in Bangkok, we rose before dawn, sleepily pulled on some clothes and headed out of our hotel for the day of our itinerary I had most been looking forward to.

We left the deserted, slumbering streets of Bangkok and drove two hours through the rolling Thai countryside until we reached our first destination, the bridge over the river Kwai.
I have to be honest here, I've never seen the film or apparently paid much attention in history so I did not know too much about tragic history of the real railroad which snakes through Thailand. Built during WWII, the real railroad that the film is based on was built by prisoners of war. The film only depicts a portion of the terrible atrocities that the prisoners endured whilst building the 258 mile railroad and it is estimated that around 90,000 people died in the sixteen months it took to complete.

After our sombre visit, we drove off past rice fields towards the Tiger temple. This is a controversial place with allegations of drugging the tigers and mistreatment. I can honestly say that in our time there, we did not see docile tigers. In fact, they were frighteningly alert and active which was actually pretty scary when left with them in a cage. We saw many staff who cared and clearly respected the tigers, although there will always be a tinge of sadness to any animals in captivity. Over all, we were pretty impressed with the conditions the tigers were kept in and found it an enjoyable experience.

Our morning at the temple started with offering breakfast to the resident monks. We happened to visit on a national Buddhist holiday so were joined by lots of worshipping public and took part in an interesting but long two hour chanting ceremony.

After a very full morning with the tigers, we headed off to our next adventure and another tick off our bucket list: a bareback elephant ride through the Thai jungle.

Our time in the river with the elephants was probably the most hilarious forty-five minutes of my life. We were tossed around, sprayed with water and laughed our way through it. A truly huge highlight in a month of incredible experiences.

Thailand: Bangkok // Day two: Chinatown, fried scorpions and KhaoSan Road

Our second day in Bangkok was much, much shorter than the the first. Our little jet-lagged bodies didn't wake up until the morning was almost gone and so we decided to catch yet another river taxi to Chinatown to seek out some of the notorious street food in the area. 

Bangkok's chinatown was nothing like our very own Soho's delights. It was crammed full of chinese markets, offering every possible type of goods you could imagine - from towels to live animals. The pricey chinese restaurants you find on London's streets are replaced by street stalls with questionable hygiene ratings and interesting looking foods. I was feeling brave at the beginning of the day and so tried a few different offerings, the best of which being a marinated chicken skewer thing. Then, we wandered for ages before chickening out of eating at the stalls and finding an air conditioned cafe instead!! 

With our feet throbbing, we headed back. This time we opted for the more expensive (and luxurious) boat. 85p bought us an empty boat with seats and a TV - sooo worth it after an afternoon traipsing round the city.
Steve decided to flag down the boat before taking a running jump. This naive move nearly saw him taking an unexpected trip into the dirty river, much to my amusement and the horror of a pair of dutch tourists behind us!

That evening, we gave each-other a pep talk, committed to being braver and headed out on to KhaoSan road determined to try the street food. It was delicious and pretty much sealed the deal for the rest of our food exploits for the following month.

Steve posing with our hotel

Now feeling like locals, we 'enjoyed' an extremely painful street massage (I wish we had photos of Steve's face!) and found the nearest insect seller before washing the rotten things down with yet more cocktails - we were on holiday after all!

Thailand: Bangkok // Day one: River taxis, temples and chaos

I am finally getting around to uploading some of the thousands of photos we took on Asia trip this summer. For the first time in my life, I was unpacked from this trip on the day we got back (a minor miracle, Steve will tell you!) and my photos were quickly edited. However, since then the madness of rainy camping and the start of term has meant the photos have sat on my computer waiting to be shown.

South East Asia is one of the most photogenic places I've ever been. Around every corner, there is a new sight or strange happening. It's such an alien culture from my own and I LOVED soaking it in and trying to capture it. I'm not going to pretend that I've done a great or even sufficient job at that- far too many days we left my camera at the hotel, throwing ourselves into just 'experiencing'. From those adventures, we only have a few rather rubbish go-pro pictures to show you a tiny glimpse of what we saw. However enjoy!

We started our adventure by flying into Bangkok. After a short moment where we were convinced our luggage hadn't made the trip (that's what you get for checking in five hours early on the departure side!) and the most terrifying taxi drive of my life, we arrived on a deceptively quiet KhaoSan road. It seems that at 6am, this road is peaceful. As you'll see, this is not the case later on where it becomes a metropolis for the rowdy, eccentric and eclectic side of Asian tourism.

We quickly dumped our big bags at the hotel and jumped on a river taxi toward a couple Bangkok's infamous temples. In my opinion, river taxis are the best way to travel in Bangkok. They are cheap and pretty much everywhere you need to be is on the river. You do become very familiar with the other people on the boat. Read: you're squished like sardines. But it's awesome seeing the sights of Bangkok from the river. Added bonus: I avoided another awful taxi journey.

After a minor detour (my fault!), we found the Royal Palace. This place is a must visit when in Bangkok. The workmanship on the building is incredible and SO extravagant. It is touristy and it will be busy. You will be fighting selfie sticks and will inevitably be blocking someone's photo but I found it so interesting to see the Buddhists worshipping in the temples and it was worth the huge crowds and overpriced ticket.

After the royal palace, we headed to see the reclining Buddha which is a short walk from the palace. This is far cheaper to get into and less busy. As with many of the temples in Bangkok, it is a current place of worship and so it is important to follow the dress codes (modest clothing, no legs or arms showing for Ladies) and take off your shoes. I think this adds to the sense of sacredness in the place.

By this time, we had been awake (aside from sort naps on the plane) for over 36 hours so we headed back to our hotel to enjoy the rooftop pool - such a God-send in the centre of the muggy, stuffy city. Before heading out in the evening monsoon rain for awesome padthai and cocktails.