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And back to Bangkok.......
A definite improvement bus wise - clean, cool and quicker than we were expecting, with the now familiar cola and cake too!
Our first day back was spent finding accomodation, which is suprisingly difficult when there are so many to chose from. We opted for the sensible tactic of dumping the bags with one of us whilst the other looked around. Although the weather was definitely cooler, still torturous with rucksacks on! Rich hunted us out a bargain in the Rambutri Road, just behind the Khao San, called Green House Guesthouse. After lugging our stuff up 6, yes 6, flights off stairs we headed to their bar to chill out only to find that Friends plays on loop all day - yey for Hayley!
Our first full day back and we were determined to get into the now infamous Grand Palace. With our heads down and full of determination we bypassed the scams and tuk tuks and made our way in. The Grand Palace was originally home to the late King, it is now used for official ceremonies, housing Royal guests to Thailand and most importantly home to the Emerald Buddha. Although the most sacred buddha in Thailand it is also tiny (75cm), and actually made of Jade, not Emerald. The whole grounds are impressive and must definitely be seen if visiting Bangkok. Next stop from here was a place called Monks Bowl Village. This was not quite what we were expecting having read the Lonely Planet. Firstly it is not within walking distance of the Khao San Road and secondly it is most definitely not a village, but a back street alley. Once there although impressive to see made you feel obliged to purchase one - needless to say we didn't and hastily made our excuses and left! From here we headed to the Skytrain, to see above the smog of Bangkok. Although we picked our time badly (rush hour!) it was a great way to see the sights, and all in a clean and air conditioned carriage. We swapped the air for the river and made our way back via the river taxi. Another great way to see Bangkok, and amazingly cheap too. Dusk was looming so we got an illuminated view of everything.
Day 2 and more sightseeing, this time to the famous River Kwai Bridge. We booked a full on day excursion as we didn't have time to go there and stay overnight. So, our first stop was the Jeath Museum, which tells the story of the prisoners of war held by the Japanese during the Second World War. It contains much memorabilia from the era and a strong insight into the conditions and torture that they endured. From here you also get a great view of the actual bridge, and can walk around and cross it too. Our next stop was yet another waterfall. Apparently some people knew we were stopping here and brought swimming stuff, we didn't, so sat at the side! Also a feeling of "not another waterfall!". Lunch was a bumpy business as we ate in a floating house, buffet style as always. The most off putting factor being the toilet which flushed straight into the river that the local children were swimming in, lovely! After lunch came the moment that would be our most surreal to date - tiger temple. This is literally a temple run by monks who take in orphaned animals, particularly tigers. This may not sound anything that out of the ordinary, until you reach tiger canyon where you can literally walk around a dozen tigers and STROKE them!!!!!!! A complete once in a life time opportunity, and a tad scary at the same time. The tigers are absolutely huge and sitting to stroke a 350kg killer cat is not exactly a run of the mill day! Once we'd let the whole experience sink in we continued to walk around the rest of the grounds. Here we saw a bear, an eagle and many horses and pigs - kind of like doctor doolittle! As amazing as the tigers were, to actually see pigs rolling around in mud was also quite amusing. When we eventually dragged ourselves away we were taken for a train ride along the death railway - so called due to the amount of people that died building it. Our final stop of the day was an Allied War Cemetary. A touching end to an enlightening day. Having made some new friends on the trip we met up that evening at a pink VW Camper Van Cocktail Bar with deckchairs in the middle of Bangkok! Several buckets (yes literally) later we embarked on a late night tourist attraction - what a random day!
Our final day was spent doing some last minute shopping in the ever tempting markets. And then off for another epic journey.........
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