Bangkok

It is probably fair to say that both of us were a little apprehensive about what we would think of Bangkok.  It is notorious for being a city of sleaze and skyscrapers, pervaded by an air of thick exhaust fumes.  It is, however, like most cities in that it is multifaceted and alongside the above, it is a city of ancient temples, gorgeous silks and quiet soi spaces.  Bangkok sets a modern, fast and furious pace but skill maintains its links with an exotic past.

On our first day in Bangkok we went on a city tour which involved a trip down the Chao Phraya river, the Royal Palace, the Emerald Buddha and two famous wats: Wat Phra Kaeo and Wat Arun (the temple of the dawn).

Original wall engravings showing key points of anatomy
 for Thai massage as an aid to healing at Wat Phra Kaeo

Wat Arun as viewed from the river

On our second day we went on a one an half journey to Ayutthaya, which is considered by the Thai nation to be the very centre of the ancient culture of  Siam.  This site was far more spread out that the parklands at Sukothai, which indicated its importance through the enormous area that the ruins covered.  The site itself was in relatively poor condition due not only to time; but the battle that the Thais had with the Burmese in the 15th century, when the Burmese literally raised it to the ground.

Our taxi driver took us to Ayutthaya via the King's Summer Palace which he considered to be a must-see.  To speed up the tour we hired a golf buggy which Mary drove whilst Peter navigated.  We ended up having more pictures taken of us, all by giggling  women, than we took pictures of the palace, as it is very unusual for a woman to drive in Thailand.  We took in a quick temple and then had an excellent lunch in a riverside restaurant.

We had our taxi driver take us around the three main sites where we used an excellent audio tour, explaining the historical purpose and context of the buildings.  We thought that we had done a really good  job by the end of the day, since the temperature was up to the mid thirties and horribly humid.  We were absolutely shattered and the journey back took about an hour and  a half.  Imagine how delighted we were to arrive back at our hotel to find our room decorated with flowers.  The landlady has even given Mary seeds to bring home to England.    

The third trip we took whilst in Bangkok was to Katchanaburi, in the west of Thailand and this was exciting for two reasons.  Firstly we went to see the famous bridge over the river Kwai, immortalised in David Lean's film of that name, starring Sir Alec Guinness.  The bridge is as it was, except for the middle section which was destroyed by the allies in WW2 and this has been replaced.  The famous Death Railway, built by POWs and Asian labourers remains intact.  We went to visit one of several cemeteries dedicated to the many troops involved in this project.    

Secondly, we went to visit a Tiger Temple in the afternoon, founded by an abbot when villagers first took a sick and tiny tiger to him for help.  We make no apologies for what follows - our delight is quite evident to see - more about this when we get home.
     On a dive boat now for six days so more later.                         

Sukhothai - 19th - 21st March

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Once the capital city of Siam, Sukothai's old city is now laid out like an historical park, which one can cycle around and stop off to explore the various ruins as one goes.  Not everyone finds these sorts of sites interesting and for that reason, we have not overloaded the blog with pictures.  That said, we both found the ruins of these old temples awe-inspiring and majestic in their presence; not least, because most of them date from around the 13th century and it is clear that highly skilled craftsmen were responsible for their creation.  As in all of the countries that we have visited, the Thais are mainly Buddhist.  The image of Buddha is everywhere and he is most often, (not always), represented with his hands in the position as shown in the picture.  This position indicates the stage of Enlightenment, so Mary is hoping that she, too, might see the light.   Elephants also figure greatly in the historical consciousness of Thailand: they have carried emperors, kings and members of royalty for thousands of years; in ceremonies, in warfare and, as a means of transport.  Although they continue to play their part in modern day Thailand, there are now other forms of transport available, one of which is demonstrated by the ever versatile Peter; who can, of course, ride both.

Training for LeJog

On into Thailand - 15th to 19th March

We decided to move onto Thailand by river taking a boat up the Mekong from Luang Prabang to Houei Xai and then the ferry over to Chiang Khong in the north-east of Thailand. We managed to secure a late booking on the LuangSay cruise ( at ~ 50% list ) rather than the budget option we  had  intended. This was a wonderful experience despite the appalling weather; rain and cold enough to require our fleeces to be  unpacked! The boat was comfortable and only 25% full; they fed us well and the scenery was magnificent.

The journey takes two days upstream and  the package included an overnight in their own lodge at Pakbeng which was beautifully laid out on the bank above high water  level.

In an extreme wet season, in places where the river narrows,  the level can rise 20 metre or  more and 5 to 10 is common elsewhere. We were  in the dry season, (usually rain free), so we saw extensive sandbanks at the sides of the river. These were cultivated with catch crops such as peanuts and maize. We also saw the locals panning for gold which is washed down out of the hills.

Peanut plant !

The rain continued unabated during our brief one night stop overs in Chiang Khong and Chiang Mai but by the time we reached our next important stop over, Sukhothai, the sun had returned to keep us company.

Luang Prabang - 9th -15th March

Luang Prabang was just a wonderful place to be and to relax after the relative bustle of Vientiane. Neither of us really feel like city lovers although we have enjoyed all the ones visited on this trip. LP is very much a tourism town although still retaining its charming and gentle manner, reinforced by an 10.30p.m. curfew on bars etc..
We flew up from Vientiane with Joe and Pip who were to stay a couple of days before returning to Thailand. We had booked ourselves into a charming guesthouse with our room opening into the garden where we took breakfast each day.

 The room came with complimentary bicycles, which were to prove extremely useful during our time in this delightful little town which seemed to be packed with Temples, Wats and markets.

Before a sale

After we bought something

Our guesthouse was adjacent to a temple and the monks were to wake us by beating drums for five minutes at 5.00am on our first morning there: it marked the beginning of a two day festival (yes, it was to happen again the next day), which also included their melodious chanting at 5.00pm on both evenings.  The monks only eat twice a day and their second and last meal must be eaten before 11.00am in the morning, after which, they may not eat again until the next day.  To make matters even more taxing for them, they have to go out each morning to the people in the town with a covered bowl and ask for their food for that day.  Well it is one way of using up the leftovers; although one would need quite a lot to feed some 200 monks every day.  Many of them are quite young lads and it was refreshing to see them using up some laddish energy on the odd occasion.

Young monks playing in the river

  The temples in the town were really quite stunning architecturally.

Temple at Wat Xieng Thong

Mosaic of Tree of Life at Wat
Xieng Thong

The town exhibits a great deal of old colonial French architecture in its shops, cafes and schools.

Vientiane - 5th to 9th March

After leaving the Kingfisher Eco-lodge we returned to Pakse, where we were due to pick up the overnight bus to Vientiane, which is the capital of Laos; the journey would take some 10 hours.  We were advised to book the VIP bus since this would be far more comfortable, with beds which allowed one to lie down.  When we got to the bus station, there were a number of these very swish looking buses that promised a very comfortable journey.  However, (there is always a 'however' at this point), our bus turned out to be the veteran of the fleet, with beds which were fitted out with timber bunks, which were part flat and part sloping.  On the positive side, the bus was only half full and instead of having to share a rather narrow double, we were able to have one each. Sleep refused to keep us company on this journey, which ended at 7.00am the next morning with both of us having slept for roughly 2 hours at best.

There is always an upside though and despite the early hour, upon arriving at our hotel, we were able to check in and have a shower before setting off to enjoy a hearty breakfast.  The next few days were to be shared with some good friends, Pip and Joe, who were holidaying in Thailand and who had popped over the border to spend some time with us in Laos.  We could post several more photos of temples and wats but we won't because there are some more to come and we don't want you to be 'watted' out.  What was unique was the Garden of The Buddhas or Xieng Khuan, which was rather like a theme park filled with Buddhist and Hindu sculptures created in the mid C20th by an artist monk.

We were extremely fortunate when visiting Wat Sisaket to witness part of a ceremony to mark the promotion of a senior monk. There was a substantial attendance of monks and lay people and no concerns about tourists and photo taking. We had held back from leaning over the canvas screen for some of the photos until we saw that several monks as well as Laos lay people were doing so.

The procession  made several circuits around the Wat (monastery)

Lay people were part of the procession and some carried a small pavilion bearing gifts
 at the back of the procession. Also they had prepared and layed out a celebratory meal  

Two young monks beating the temple drum and gong throughout the procession.

The ceremony culminated in the ritual cleansing of the promoted monk
with water poured through a carved naga that had an internal water channel.
The water  was poured in to the tail section outside the canvas screen. 

Xe Pian NPA - 28th February - 4th March

Xe Pian National Protected Area is in the south of Laos and a large area of mixed terrain from wetlands to forested hillsides. We went there to with the primary purpose of fulfilling Mary's passion to ride an elephant and ride elephants we duly did. We signed up for a one day taster of training and a trek as a mahout. We had a two hour training session in the morning learning the basic commands including go, stop, left and right but also trample down obstruction! After lunch we went on a two hour trek up a forest road to the  ancient temple / fortress of Wat Phou Asa on the top of the nearby mountain. The mahouts rode in the baskets to make sure we did nothing too rash. Needless to say after four hours of bare-back riding an elephant we had aches and bruises in unmentionable places but well worth it.

There were times when both of us felt quite precarious, we were some 9 feet up, astride their necks and wobbling around quite a bit until we got the hang of it.  They are immensely gentle creatures, who are surprisingly adept at moving through quite tricky spaces. This was evident on the day that we went on a jungle safari where they moved through some very tight tracks between the trees.  On that day, we had a picnic in the jungle and the guide had brought bananas with him; needless to say, Peter only managed to get his hands on one, the rest of them went to the elephants.

Whilst accomplishing these amazing feats of skill and dexterity, (never to be repeated again), we were staying at a truly lovely place called the Kingfisher Eco-lodge. When we had some times to rest we were able to enjoy some wonderful views from the balcony of our stilted bungalow.

Bungalow                    

View from bungalow