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Arriving back into Bangkok for the second time we decided to book nights in order to get a real feel for the place. We had also decided to go back to Koh Samui for a couple of days on the weekend as Courtney and Evan had a wedding to go to there, and Chris, Lucy and Tash, would also be there as part of their second trip. Kate was on the island for the weekend and it so happened to be her 35th birthday which we wanted to celebrate with her. It is very simple to get a train from Bangkok to Samui so we were in the perfect place to spend a few days.
Once we had settled into our hotel, the rather swish Viengtai, we went to visit Bangkok's most famous landmark the Grand Palace. To get to the palace we caught a long tail boat which took a detour around one of the many canal systems along the Chao Phraya River. The trip along the canals was defiantly worth doing. They are lined with houses that are half submerged under water with children happily swimming outside in the deep murky water. There are even people who paddle up to you in small canoe like boats selling bread, fruit, drinks, and crafts. We saw many lizards along the banks and were told of stories of crocodiles escaping from the many crocodile farms and terrorising locals.
We had admired the Grand Palace from afar on our previous trip to Bangkok but until we got inside we did not realise just how spectacular it is. The palace had served as the official residence of the Thai royal family from the 18th century until the mid-20th century and still holds many royal events.
Upon entering the palace we had to cover up ankles and shoulders which meant we I had to hire Thai pants and Mandy hired a sarong and wore a cardigan. This would have not been too bad had it not been absolutely scorching hot. Typically it was the only day we spent in Bangkok with no cloud! However we had a lot of water and managed to drag ourselves around and it was certainly worth the effort. The architecture, artwork and statues around the palace are phenomenal and incorporate many different styles. The Chakri Mahaprasad hall is a building in the style of the Italian Renaissance; where as the Wat Phra Kaew incorporates traditional Thai design.
The Wat Phra Kaew itself is the focal point of the Grand Palace and houses the sacred and much revered Emerald Buddha. The Buddha dates back to the 14th century and although smaller than we anticipated it to be is still impressive.The robes on the Buddha are changed with the seasons by the King of Thailand and this forms an important ritual in the Buddhist calendar. The Buddha is surrounded by many golden statues and gems covered trinkets. The doors of the building are also engraved with mother of pearl. It would be impossible to put a value on the Grand Palace and the Thai's are extremely proud of it.
In the evening we enjoyed a lovely farewell meal with Kate, Coco, Courtney, and Evan as the others had already left to commence the second half of their trip. We then went up to a rooftop bar in Khaosan Road and spent the evening listening to live bands, drinking chang and reminiscing over the events of the past week.
With everyone else now departed except for Coco, who had a flight home that evening, we decided to stay around the local area and scour the markets of Khaosan Road. Khaosan Road is one of the most vibrant areas in Bangkok and is known as the area where "backpackers" congregate. The road is littered with bars and clubs, as well as many markets stalls and shops. You can buy almost anything you want including fake DVD's, CD's, T-shirts, dresses, paintings, as well as fake driving licenses or even fake diplomas!We did some heavy bartering and got some good bargains but refrained acquiring a new passport! In the afternoon Coco and I played pool before we all had dinner, then Coco left and it was just the two of us again.
The next day we decided to take a two hour trip west to Kanchanaburi to visit the bridge on the River Kwai. Once we arrived we visited the Kanchanaburi war cemetery dedicated to the allies. The cemetery is the final resting for nearly 7000 POW's, mostly British, Dutch and Australian. The cemetery is large and very well kept and seeing how you most of the Britons who died there were made us realise just how lucky we are to be traveling the world.
We the moved on to the River Kwai war museum, which housed many artifacts from the war period, before making our way towards the bridge itself (there were in fact two bridges built but the wooden one no longer exists). Walking across the bridge, also known as the railway of death, was quite a scary experience at it is literally two planks of wood nailed together, no handrails, and a lot of people walking in opposite directions!
On the way back form the bridge we stopped off at the ill fated tiger temple. Although we enjoyed the tiger kingdom in Chiang Mai and felt the tigers were well treated, we did not feel the same about this place. The tigers had big chains around their necks and they were exhibited in a shadow less gorge and so were exposed to tremendous dry heat. The experience was one we certainly would not want to repeat again.
On our final day in Bangkok we ventured into the city centre to browse around the large Siam and MBK shopping centers. Mandy found a Toni and Guys in the Siam center and decided to get her hair cut. Whilst Mandy had this done I took a wonder around the city centre. I found the Bangkok art museum just round the corner and decided to go in for a look. Although incomparable to the Louvre, there were still some interesting works of art on display.
We said goodbye to Bangkok and boarded the train to Koh Samui hoping we would not have a repeat of our horrifically long train journey two weeks earlier. Luckily we did not have any delays but the trip turned out to be an extremely uncomfortable one.
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