Back with our Travel Friends
1 Feb 2019
Back to the 3Seasons hotel for a total reorganization and repack of our gear for the trip to Bangkok. Of course as it is the first official day of the flower festival we stopped for a walk through the beautiful stands. We had lunch at our favorite local restaurant before finishing the repacking. As evening settled we headed back to see some more flowers at the festival, including the parklands we couldn’t access earlier. Street food was enjoyed before we headed home for a great nights sleep.
2 Feb 2019
Up at 6am for a 10am flight to Bangkok. Dropped the car off at Budget before getting a lift to the airport. After the flight into Bangkok, we took a taxi into the Eastern Grand Hotel Sathorn where were staying. After settling in, we took a walk over to Cafe Bangkok, where we had lunch… very yummy!
Over the last few years we have been seeing the IconSiam shopping Centre be built, down next to the Hilton Millennium Hotel where we have previously stayed. The construction is now complete, so today we decided to see what the shopping centre had to offer. Of course first stop was to see what the Rolls Royce, BMW and Porsche dealership shop fronts had on offer. Then it was off to explore the Apple Store and other shops on the 8 levels. Just amazing. From here we headed back to the ground level and found some Thai entertainment to watch. Umbrella dancing, band and other forms of entertainment were amazing. By now it was time to walk back through the markets to our hotel.
3 Feb 2019
Today after a wonderful breakfast it was off to Chatuchak markets. So onto the BTS train and away we went. Neil and Connie in the mean time arrived at their hotel and called to arrange a catch-up time for later in the afternoon. The markets are just so full on, everything and anything is for sale. By mid afternoon we had caught up with the guys and were having coffee on the west floor of their hotel overlooking the river. We all decided to head out to cafe Bangkok for dinner and a few beers.
4 Feb 2019
After another yummy breakfast Alison went for a morning walk. By 11am the gang was together and we went off for coffee before the cooking school. The cooking school was a lot of fun and we also had rides in tuk tuks to where we would cook up traditional Thai meals. We also got to eat the fruits of our labours. A lot of fun and very full tummies.
From here we took an orange line boat up the river for an hour or so before heading back into Sathorn on dusk. Our next stop for the day was a couple of quiet beers before we all headed off for a well earned sleep.
5 Feb 2019
Happy New Year. It’s the year of the pig! Neil and Connie found a large number of dragon performers in their hotel foyer and grounds this morning, looks like they had a lot of fun.
First job for today was a trip to Hertz to organize the rental car, before making our way to China Town. Here things started to go a little wayward. We stood behind the barricades at 2.30pm for the parade to happen at 3pm. The streets we swept clean and cleared by police in preparation for the parade, but then nothing happened. 4.30pm came and the barricades were removed, everyone looked confused. Oh well, that’s Thailand. So we headed to the river to catch a boat back to Sathorn. As we headed down the river, a wave splashed over the edge of the boat completely soaking Alison. This put an end to the day for everyone. So we went out separate ways back to our hotels. Dinner was from a local street food vendor.
6 Feb 2019
Today our road trip towards Krabi and Phuket got started. We set our sights on Kanchanaburi and the River Kwai for the night, stopping at a temple and a huge Chedi along the way.
We researched a hotel, choosing the Bamboo Hotel for the night. As the sun set we arrived at the famous Bridge on the River Kwai, before finding a cafe for dinner and 7-Eleven for an ice cream.
7 Feb 2019
Awoke this morning to the sounds of music, gun shots and the train as it made its way over the bridge. Our first stop for the morning was the war memorial where many Australians and Dutch are buried. It is truly sobering when you see the loss of life. From here we headed to what is known as Hellfire pass. This is part of the Japanese constructed railway where many POWs gave their life. The interpretive Centre is funded by the Australian government and is very well done.
Our next stop of the day was Amazon Cafe for afternoon tea. We decided to head back to Kanchanaburi for a hotel and detoured via a large golden Buddha on a hill. This temple and the next temple we visited were celebrating their first year anniveristy. The locals were so very friendly and as we were leaving wanted to show us a holy place. Next thing we know we are decending a steep set of stairs into a large cave. Just incredible! The second temple we visited was also celebrating. The locals there were just as friendly as the last and eagerly wanted to show us their cave. The entire cave floor was tiled and had been decorated in many religious artifacts. Tung, a local, spoke excellent English and explained as he took us on a tour. Our map marked this as a Buddha temple, but Tung explained it was a Buddhakanchanamuni Temple. We all enjoyed some food and music before we bid goodbye to our lovely hosts. We stayed the night at the BY Hotel, in Kanchanaburi.
