road. I also noticed that there were considerably less motorbikes on the road and more cars on the road instead. The roads are also in great condition and it was a smooth ride to Bangkok.
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| The girls at the Fort in Bangkok |
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| Susan keeping dry any which way! |
We arrived in Bangkok and the guys immediately started preparing for their lads night out, it was the girl's night out the next day, so we dumped our bags and went out to investigate the Khao San Road which wasn't too far from where we were staying.
The weather was a bit dodgy as well and we kept getting rained on, not good when you haven't got a brolly.
The next day Aoife and I went to the local hairdressers to us and got our hair highlighted in preparation for our girl's night out, I can honestly say I have never had so much attentiveness at the hairdressers, and just like the hairdresser
I had in China, I walked in with curly hair and left with straight hair, and not because of any request from me! So the girl finished of my hair do after 5 hours in the chair and only 10 minutes for me to get ready for the night out. All the girls gathered in the lobby and waited for our mini bus to take us across town to the Vertigo Bar at the Banyan Tree Hotel. We all looked lovely in our new clothes, and arrived at the roof top bar and grabbed a cocktail from the
waiter and had our photos taken before we got too wind swept. The views were incredible and after slowly sipping the expensive cocktails as there was no way we were buying another one!! After a civilized start to the evening, it went
downhill fast as we headed to the Pat Pong district and had dinner at a restaurant nearby. Afterwards the rain came down again and we were herded into a club called 'Super Pussy' and this is where we all got an education in how to use a ping pong balls and other objects in a different way from their original purpose.......needless to say we didn't around long as it was a pretty dodgy place and they were trying to rip us off left right and centre, and I nearly ended up in a fight with a lady boy. We decided we would head back to our end of town and finish the night off with a few drinks down Khao San Road.
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| Girls night on the town |
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| Me and Susan at the Vertigo Bar |
Whilst in Bangkok we also visited the floating market and the Palace, and all of a sudden it was time to leave, this time via the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai. That was an experience in itself with very camp guys and lady boys
attending to us and amusing us as they did so in their over-the-top manner.
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| Zoe in the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai |
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| Playing cards to while away the hours on the train |
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| Floating Market |
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| Guards at the Bangkok Palace |
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| Floating market |
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| Bangkok Palace |
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| Aoife in the fetching skirt that we had to wear |
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| Looking great in our skirts! |
We arrived in Chiang Mai and headed straight out to a bar as it was the start of the Rugby World Cup and as there is a varied amount of representatives from different countries amongst our group, there was bound to be a lot of banter
amongst us.
I will always remember Chiang Mai for the great day some of us spent with the elephants. We travelled about an hour outside of Chiang Mai and firstly fed the elephants a whole heap of bananas, either placing them straight into their
mouths or them taking them by their trunks. I nearly lost a hand as one tried to swallow it thinking it was a banana! After feeding them a mammoth amount of bananas and sugar cane, we learnt how to be Mahouts, and spent the next
couple of hours taking it in turns to sit on their necks and direct them by giving commands and tapping their ears. After lunch we paired up and took it in turns to be either the 'driver' sitting on the elephants neck, or passenger sitting
on the back. We then went on a trek through the jungle, then ended the day washing the elephants in the muddy pool, scrubbing them and generally getting very wet ourselves. They certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves!
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| Getting a 'kiss' from a baby elephant |
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| Me with the two elephant we rode |
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| Me learning to be a Mahout |
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| Washing our elephants |
Ben, Aoife and I also had a night out to watch the Thai kickboxing, it was brilliant and looked like a lot of hard work! Some of us also got to have a fun night out ten pin bowling, and I would just like to remind everyone that, yes, I was the winner!!
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| Bowling! |
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| Ben and Aoife with the kick boxing ring in the background |
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| Thai Kick boxers |
After such a magical experience like that, it was soon marred by the next drama which happened in Katchanaburi, which is where the bridge over the River Kwai is. After visiting the bridge and the 'death railway', we went out for dinner and
past us, turned around and drove past me, and as they passed they grabbed my bag which was strapped across my
body, and before I knew it, they were gone.
I was absolutely raging and we all couldn't believe what had just happened, a passer-by stopped and called the police who arrived and took me to the police station, during which time a man came in with a purse he had found at the side
of the road - my purse no less, but with nothing in it apart from my driving license.
The very next day, Aoife my room mate had her bag snatched off her whilst she was cycling along, so we were both pissed off and could wait to leave the now re-named Snatchanaburi.
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| Bridge over the river Kwai - near the scene of the Crimes |
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| Aoife, Emily and Mandy on the bridge |
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| Aoife and Emily |
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| Death Railway |
We headed for some rest and recuperation on Koh Phangan, and were all looking forward to spending 7 nights in one place without moving on. It was our beach week where we could choose our own resort, some went to koh Samui, but the majority heading to Koh Phangan, and to the resort of Sandy Bay. We all decided to get our own beach huts as they were so cheap, and by this stage everyone needed their own space for their own sanity!
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| View from my beach side bungalow....heaven |
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| View from another bungalow |
We spent a great week chilling out in the sea or the pool, and we also did a Thai cooking course with the one and only Chef Tummy. We learnt four different dishes, all of which I will be trying to re-enact when I get home.
After a leisurely week spent by the beach, we all met up again headed in the truck to Khao Sok National Park, staying in huts on stilts and endured a rainy two days with not much to do other than dodge the rain. It was at this stage we couldn't face another national park that was planned for the next week, and the group came to a decision that we would spend extra time in Kuala Lumpa and Malacca instead.
As we headed away from the national park and from Thailand towards the border, we spotted a MacDonalds and descended upon it like a pack of wolves, tired, damp and looking forward to a new country. I for one will not think of
Thailand without thinking of that horrible night and those thieving bastards!! Malaysia here we come!!
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