the full name of the country is the lao people's democratic republic...but it's not democratic, not at all...it's communist politically, though capitalist economically...people are now able to open businesses and make money, but they're still not allowed to talk badly about the government..
after getting ourselves stamped out of thailand, we crossed the mekong river in a small longboat..i wanted to swim, it wasn't that far...but i didn't want to soak everything i had..hee hee..after we crossed the river, we got our lao visas, passports stamped, and exchanged money..we also signed ourselves up for a slow boat ride to luang prabang..it's a two day ride (7-8 hours in the boat each day) down the river..the name is slow boat, but it didn't feel slow at all..there was a constant breeze, and it was nice to just watch the landscape go by..lao is the least developed of all the countries in this part of the world, nearly 85% of the people have rural lives, living in small villages..lao has had a very turbulent past, like the rest of the countries in this part of the world..there isn't much of a lao national identity, partly because there are people of so many different ethnicities..the most well known culture and group is the lowland lao, they compromise about 50% of the country..it's their culture that is known, if any is known at all..anywho, throughout the two days on the river, we stopped several times for locals to get on or off the boat, and also to take on supplies..the first day i mostly stared at the landscape and daydreamed..layna did the same, in another area of the boat..the second day, i ended up getting to know a group of travelers who had all joined up randomly in the past week or so..one american, one aussie/american, two brits and two germans..all great fun..the first night on the boat we all stayed in pak beng..the second day, we arrived in luang prabang, a former royal capital..a fantastic town..it's at the confluence of the mekong river and the khan river..it's a UNESCO world heritage listed town, which means there is a ban on buses and trucks in town..how awesome is that?
there are a number of wats in luang prabang, as well as a night market..though it has become more touristed over the years, you can still see local traditions that have been taking place for years..one morning layna and i got up before daybreak to watch the morning alms round of the monks..the monks from eat wat walk out in a line from their respective wats, and walk around with their alms bowls to collect alms from the locals..i'm not sure, but i think the monks are only allowed to eat what they receive each morning..the locals gather in several spots to give the alms..at first, i was surprised by how much each person seemed to have..but after seeing how many monks walked by, it made a lot more sense..a little bit is put into the alms bowl of each monk in each line..the women who give alms stay on their knees the whole time, and reach up to the alms baskets/bowls..men who give alms stand at the same height as the monks..i'm not sure how i feel about that..
the first full day i was in luang prabang i went with the group i had met to a waterfall about 35km outside of town..sam and i decided to rent a motorbike, the others all hired bicycles, and pedaled the whole way..needless to say, sam and i arrived their first, nice and relaxed..the others were all covered in sweat..hee hee..anywho, the waterfall is actually a series of waterfalls, about 7 levels in all? i don't remember for sure..several of the levels are perfect for swimming..one of them has a rope swing, and you can jump off that particular level!! it turned out that one of the germans (andre) was pretty good off a rope swing, he was pulling gainers..anywho, the others decided to hire a tuk tuk and put their bikes on top for the way back, but since sam and i had the motorbike we decided to explore the countryside a bit more..lots of fun to just follow the road and see where it went..at one point we actually came to the end of the road, just after a village..i don't think i've ever come to the end of a road before!! judging by the stares we got riding through some of the villages, i don't think they ever see many foreigners..on the way back, sam and i had a little mishap, but we are both fine..
the second day layna and i wandered around town..temples, relaxing, etc..she discovered a local sauna, and loved it..with my scratches, i didn't think a sauna would feel very good..(at that point i still couldn't make a proper fist, or use my right hand to shampoo in the shower)..we both went to the night market each night in town..tons of fantastic street stall food..it's a good thing i'm on a budget, and don't have a house or flat to decorate, because there was plenty in the night market that i really liked..
30 March 2009
26 March 2009
thailand 4
layna and i met up again in chiang mai...it's basically the second city of thailand...smaller, more laid back than bangkok...still full of temples, shopping, guesthouses, and markets...chiang mai is a great town to take a cooking course, or a thai language course, or a massage course...there are tons of tour agencies, and tons of trekking options...unlike nepal, where we did all of our trekking independently, there is very little independent trekking in thailand...treks in thailand last anywhere from 1-7 days most of the time...you can go see mountains, hill tribes, waterfalls, ride elephants, etc...there are also TONS of temples in chiang mai, most of them still in active use...something like 300 temples, which is nearly as many as in bangkok...chiang mai is also fantastic for shopping...there is a night market at which you can buy nearly anything...there is also a sunday walking market, during which a few streets are blocked off to traffic, and become crowded with stalls and people...i thought the stuff available at the sunday walking market was more unique than at the night market, but still, it was all stuff i didn't need...
chiang mai was where i had to throw away one of my pairs of capris...the first item of clothing that has bit the dust...i had thread, and had already patched them once, but they were done...sad...
one of our days we went to prison!! there is a women's prison in chiang mai, and as part of the program to help the women learn something useful for when they get out, they have the chance to become massueses...the women in the program go through a 180 hr training course for thai, and foot massages...the women working in the salon are all w/in 6 months of being released...we loved the massages, and wondered how much the women received for each massage they do...
chiang mai was where i had to throw away one of my pairs of capris...the first item of clothing that has bit the dust...i had thread, and had already patched them once, but they were done...sad...
one of our days we went to prison!! there is a women's prison in chiang mai, and as part of the program to help the women learn something useful for when they get out, they have the chance to become massueses...the women in the program go through a 180 hr training course for thai, and foot massages...the women working in the salon are all w/in 6 months of being released...we loved the massages, and wondered how much the women received for each massage they do...
after chiang mai, we went to chiang rai...the guidebook says it's a more laid back version of chiang mai, which i thought was plenty laid back to start with...we stayed in a place 23km outside the town, and the best part was the truck ride to and from town each day...standing in the back of the pickup with the wind in our faces was awesome...i could live here, but it's not a great place to visit...there is one temple worth mentioning though...called wat phra kaew...yup, the same name as the temple in bangkok...legend has it that the emerald buddha (the one living in bangkok) was actually found in the chedi of this temple in chiang rai...apparently lightning struck the chedi, and it opened up to reveal the buddha...there is now a copy of the original buddha, just .1cm smaller in all dimensions...
our last chiang was chiang khong...it's the border town on the other side of the mekong river from lao...most travelers come here for a night, maaaaayyyybe two, before crossing the border...for locals, it's an important market town for hill tribes...we ended up loving our guesthouse, and wishing we had more time to spend here...the owner of the guesthouse is a woman who said she ran away from chiang khong for 19 yrs, before returning and opening the guesthouse...she worked in chiang rai first, then went to school in bangkok...it was fun to hear how she has expanded over the years, and how her dog loves farang (foreigners)...the lives of women in thailand are MUCH better than the lives of women in nepal and india...
20 March 2009
thailand 3
after ayuthaya i went to lopburi...another historical town, with more temples/ruins...not too far from ayuthaya...i was excited when the bus dropped me off in town instead of at the bus station, saving me a 2km walk in the heat...i was not excited when the first place i wanted to see had an entrance fee WAY higher than i had expected...i had expected 50 baht, but it had increased to 150 baht...sad, but i walked away...the third place i visited was the best...as a set of ruins, it's not all that exciting, you can take all the pictures you want across the street...but you pay the entrance fee in order to hang out with the monkeys...for whateva reason, a band of monkeys hangs out at these ruins all day long...they're smart, or at least they've learned certain behaviors from being around humans so much...they know how to take food out of your hands, even if you weren't planning on giving it to them...they know how to drink out of a cup...they know how to peel the lid off a jello cup and eat the jello...they know how to take the wrappers off little lollies and eat them...they know how to eat corn on the cob...i loved it when they climbed on me...that's supposed to be dangerous, but nothing happened to me, and i loved it...they're cute:)...across the train tracks from these ruins is a shrine at which an old man gave me a fortune, which just happened to be the best fortune in the bunch...yay!! the second day at this shrine i saw a novice monk be ordained...he wasn't smiling, but everyone else was...he was dressed in a fancy white uniform, and carried on the shoulders of someone...there was even a band set up in the back of a truck!! lopburi doesnt have much to see or do, so i only stayed a day and a half...i didn't see any other westerners (well, none that i could visually identify as westerners) while i was there, which was fun...the town isn't nearly as touristy as ayuthaya, and the street stalls have GREAT food...i walked around for quite a while just checking out the food options..
after lopburi, i headed to sukhothai...my third city in a row of ruins/history...the fourth if you count the history of kanchanaburi...sukhothai was the capital of the first true thai kingdom...waaaayyyy back when...during the time sukhothai was the capital city, the nation grew quite a bit, a specific architecture style was created, and an alphabet was created...all in just 150 yrs:) ...nowadays, most visitors stay in new sukhothai, and go visit sukhothai historical park, which is about 15km out of town...again, it's a great place to rent a bicycle...the entire area is flat, and perfect for pedaling...the park is divided into 5 sections, and you have to pay an entrance fee for three of them...again, the entrance fees had increased quite a bit from what i had expected, which was hugely disappointing, but this time i didn't walk away...the temples/ruins are pretty impressive...it's a big area, and there didn't seem to be too many tourists...the ruins here are much better preserved than in ayuthaya...
another day i took a local bus 1.5 hours down the road to si sitchanalai historical park...very similar to sukhothai historical park...but even less touristed...and i got rained on...whoops...now that i've seen the ruins in different cities, i can sorta see some architectural differences...not many, but some...
after lopburi, i headed to sukhothai...my third city in a row of ruins/history...the fourth if you count the history of kanchanaburi...sukhothai was the capital of the first true thai kingdom...waaaayyyy back when...during the time sukhothai was the capital city, the nation grew quite a bit, a specific architecture style was created, and an alphabet was created...all in just 150 yrs:) ...nowadays, most visitors stay in new sukhothai, and go visit sukhothai historical park, which is about 15km out of town...again, it's a great place to rent a bicycle...the entire area is flat, and perfect for pedaling...the park is divided into 5 sections, and you have to pay an entrance fee for three of them...again, the entrance fees had increased quite a bit from what i had expected, which was hugely disappointing, but this time i didn't walk away...the temples/ruins are pretty impressive...it's a big area, and there didn't seem to be too many tourists...the ruins here are much better preserved than in ayuthaya...
another day i took a local bus 1.5 hours down the road to si sitchanalai historical park...very similar to sukhothai historical park...but even less touristed...and i got rained on...whoops...now that i've seen the ruins in different cities, i can sorta see some architectural differences...not many, but some...
14 March 2009
thailand 2
after our short beach time, we decided to head up north...as much as we love beaches, we know we'll have plenty of opportunities to see them...and really, does it matter how beautiful it is when i'm laying out, eyes closed? don't get me wrong, i love them, but i do the same thing on each one..hee hee...
we arrived in the town of kanchanaburi next...most of you probably don't know that name, or care for that matter...but you've probably heard of the movie "bridge over the river kwai"...right? i've heard of it, even though i've never seen it...apparently i should watch it...anywho, the bridge is in kanchanaburi...kanchanaburi is a town with a fair amount of WWII historical stuff to see...the bridge of course, which is where we started...just walking over it the first day...the bridge is part of 415km (i think) of track the japanese used forced labour to build during 1942-43...in normal circumstances, that length should have taken 5 yrs to build...the japanese (and their korean guards,) made their workers get it done in 16-17 months...the way they treated the prisoners/volunteers was awful...they broke the treaties which they had said they would abide by, the hague convention, i think? (it was signed and ratified back in the early 1900s i think)...(on a side note, they signed but did not ratify the geneva conventions)...they didn't feed the prisoners enough, they didn't provide proper shelter or clothes, and the work being done was definitely helping the japanese militarily...(the track was laid in order to give the japanese another supply line to help with their planned invasion of india)...at one point, they had workers working 16 hour shifts, round the clock...around 200,000 people worked on the line...90,000 "volunteers" died...these were locals, and natives of thailand, lao, cambodia, etc who had been recruited or voluntold to work for the japanese...16,000 allied POWs died...not only were they not taken care of well, but the equipment with which they built the line was practically non existent...cutting through solid rock with just hammers, drills, and some dynamite!! one of the days in kanchanaburi i took a bus out to what's known as hellfire pass...so called because of the way the fires looked at night when they were working round the clock...there is a very tasteful museum, and you can walk through hellfire pass itself...the track isn't there anymore...there isn't much in the museum in terms of items, simply because there wasn't much leftover after the war was over...the interpretive boards had a lot of information, but it wasn't overwhelming...i also road the train back to kanchanaburi, and that included riding over the famous bridge...others on the train included a group of russians, who were all busy drinking, or taking pictures...THE ENTIRE TIME!!
kanchanaburi also has a couple allied war cemetaries...they're taken care of really really well...they're quiet places, people don't talk much...one of them is slightly out of town, you have to hire a bike to get there...it's a lot smaller, but the gravestones look the same as in the cemetary in town...there was very little talking by anyone in either cemetary...no matter what side of that war you were/are on, there is a lot of emotion..
in kanchanaburi we stayed on the river...and i mean ON the river, not next to it, on the banks...our bungalow was made of bamboo, and sat out on the water...everytime a boat went by we could feel the bungalow rock in the waves...totally awesome...so quiet and peaceful...except for the karaoke boats of course...they started up each evening, just ask dusk was coming...as everyone knows, some people are good at karaoke...some are, well, not...
layna loved kanchanaburi, and wasn't interested in the next town i wanted to visit, so she decided to stay there an extra couple days, and i moved on...my next destination was ayuthaya...for whateva reason, there are several different spellings in english...i guess it depends on who is producing the postcards...(postcards in ayuthaya were expensive, for whateva reason)...ayuthaya is at the point where three rivers come together, which was supposed to create a natural barrier as well as encourage trade...at it's height, there were over a million people living in ayuthaya...ayuthaya was a capital city for over 400 years, during which time 33 kings reigned...and apparently there was a rule that you had to build several temples while you were king, because the temples (well, their ruins anywho) are EVERYWHERE in ayuthaya...EVERYWHERE...obviously, some are in better shape than others...on two days i hired a bike and spent 6 hours each day pedaling around town, investigating the ruins...ayuthaya is completely flat, so a cruiser bike is absolutely perfect...at one set of ruins two monks even asked to take a picture with me...i was thrilled, of course...i had wanted just such a picture, but since i'm female, didn't think that was okay...women aren't even supposed to directly hand something to monks...so i put my camera on the ground, and the one taking the picture picked it up...go figure, i look awful in the picture...but i didn't feel like i could turn around and say hey, can we do that again...hee hee...i was also interviewed by thai uni students (who said they were majoring in english, buuuuuuuuut i don't know about that) as to why i was in thailand, what i like about the country, where i'm going, etc...ayutthaya is quiet at night, for the most part...except for the karaoke at one of the bars not too far from my guesthouse...i was there three nights, and heard it each night, and it sounded like the same guy...so maybe that was his job? i seriously hope he had another job as well...some of his attempts weren't awful, but some....hmmm...well, i couldn't always tell what song it was he was trying to sing...
we arrived in the town of kanchanaburi next...most of you probably don't know that name, or care for that matter...but you've probably heard of the movie "bridge over the river kwai"...right? i've heard of it, even though i've never seen it...apparently i should watch it...anywho, the bridge is in kanchanaburi...kanchanaburi is a town with a fair amount of WWII historical stuff to see...the bridge of course, which is where we started...just walking over it the first day...the bridge is part of 415km (i think) of track the japanese used forced labour to build during 1942-43...in normal circumstances, that length should have taken 5 yrs to build...the japanese (and their korean guards,) made their workers get it done in 16-17 months...the way they treated the prisoners/volunteers was awful...they broke the treaties which they had said they would abide by, the hague convention, i think? (it was signed and ratified back in the early 1900s i think)...(on a side note, they signed but did not ratify the geneva conventions)...they didn't feed the prisoners enough, they didn't provide proper shelter or clothes, and the work being done was definitely helping the japanese militarily...(the track was laid in order to give the japanese another supply line to help with their planned invasion of india)...at one point, they had workers working 16 hour shifts, round the clock...around 200,000 people worked on the line...90,000 "volunteers" died...these were locals, and natives of thailand, lao, cambodia, etc who had been recruited or voluntold to work for the japanese...16,000 allied POWs died...not only were they not taken care of well, but the equipment with which they built the line was practically non existent...cutting through solid rock with just hammers, drills, and some dynamite!! one of the days in kanchanaburi i took a bus out to what's known as hellfire pass...so called because of the way the fires looked at night when they were working round the clock...there is a very tasteful museum, and you can walk through hellfire pass itself...the track isn't there anymore...there isn't much in the museum in terms of items, simply because there wasn't much leftover after the war was over...the interpretive boards had a lot of information, but it wasn't overwhelming...i also road the train back to kanchanaburi, and that included riding over the famous bridge...others on the train included a group of russians, who were all busy drinking, or taking pictures...THE ENTIRE TIME!!
kanchanaburi also has a couple allied war cemetaries...they're taken care of really really well...they're quiet places, people don't talk much...one of them is slightly out of town, you have to hire a bike to get there...it's a lot smaller, but the gravestones look the same as in the cemetary in town...there was very little talking by anyone in either cemetary...no matter what side of that war you were/are on, there is a lot of emotion..
in kanchanaburi we stayed on the river...and i mean ON the river, not next to it, on the banks...our bungalow was made of bamboo, and sat out on the water...everytime a boat went by we could feel the bungalow rock in the waves...totally awesome...so quiet and peaceful...except for the karaoke boats of course...they started up each evening, just ask dusk was coming...as everyone knows, some people are good at karaoke...some are, well, not...
layna loved kanchanaburi, and wasn't interested in the next town i wanted to visit, so she decided to stay there an extra couple days, and i moved on...my next destination was ayuthaya...for whateva reason, there are several different spellings in english...i guess it depends on who is producing the postcards...(postcards in ayuthaya were expensive, for whateva reason)...ayuthaya is at the point where three rivers come together, which was supposed to create a natural barrier as well as encourage trade...at it's height, there were over a million people living in ayuthaya...ayuthaya was a capital city for over 400 years, during which time 33 kings reigned...and apparently there was a rule that you had to build several temples while you were king, because the temples (well, their ruins anywho) are EVERYWHERE in ayuthaya...EVERYWHERE...obviously, some are in better shape than others...on two days i hired a bike and spent 6 hours each day pedaling around town, investigating the ruins...ayuthaya is completely flat, so a cruiser bike is absolutely perfect...at one set of ruins two monks even asked to take a picture with me...i was thrilled, of course...i had wanted just such a picture, but since i'm female, didn't think that was okay...women aren't even supposed to directly hand something to monks...so i put my camera on the ground, and the one taking the picture picked it up...go figure, i look awful in the picture...but i didn't feel like i could turn around and say hey, can we do that again...hee hee...i was also interviewed by thai uni students (who said they were majoring in english, buuuuuuuuut i don't know about that) as to why i was in thailand, what i like about the country, where i'm going, etc...ayutthaya is quiet at night, for the most part...except for the karaoke at one of the bars not too far from my guesthouse...i was there three nights, and heard it each night, and it sounded like the same guy...so maybe that was his job? i seriously hope he had another job as well...some of his attempts weren't awful, but some....hmmm...well, i couldn't always tell what song it was he was trying to sing...
06 March 2009
thailand...again
this is my third time in thailand...the first time was 5 yrs ago exactly, the second a year and a half ago...the first time i was by myself, and that 7 week trip in southeast asia trip was my first extended trip...the second time was with my rugby team...i wasn't in control of that trip, so it doesn't relate to anything i did before, or am doing now...
when we arrived in bangkok, i was surprised by how much it had changed in five years...(during the trip with the rugby team we didn't stay in the backpacker area, i didn't see it at all)...prices have doubled, and it's become a lot more western...and i think it's more crowded with travelers...though i don't really know...my first time in bangkok i remember being rather overwhelmed, and now i realize i hardly saw anything...i was so worried i'd get lost, or get sick...this time around we just walked around the first day, without any real direction, and no need to see anything...this is layna's first time in thailand, and one of the things we have done regularly when we arrive in a new city/town is to just walk...get the feel of things...at one point we stepped into a kfc in order to use the loo, (yes, it's western, but we knew it would have a loo) and i ended up talking to another foreigner while waiting...i was really excited that i figured out he was canadian without asking him first...he seemed surprised that i knew, but the "eh" was a dead giveaway...only canadians say it that way...hee hee...and he thought i was aussie...i have no idea why...i know i say some words aussies and kiwis use, but i certainly don't say them the same way!!
bangkok is the initial entry point into southeast asia for nearly everyone...so it's super easy to get started...thai food is found everywhere, but so is western food...(which i think is sad)...mcd's, starbucks, kfc and bk have all shown up in the last five years...there are travel shops all over the place, as well as stalls selling everything from batteries to clothes to every knick knack you do not need...according to the guidebook, thais call bangkok krung thep, which means city of angels...apparently, that's a shortened version of the full, official name...i don't feel like copying the full name, it's ridiculously LONG...
our second day we started by seeing wat phra keow (sp?)...better known to most as the temple of the emerald buddha...it's not actually emerald at all, it's jade...it's not all that big either...it sits pretty high up though, and each season gets new clothes from the king himself...most people seem to pay no attention to the "silence please" sign, i wish they would...this temple is probably one of the most well known sights in thailand/bangkok, everyone goes there...i've gotta admit though, it is pretty fantastic...(though the entrance price was half our daily budget!!!)...the temples are wonderfully coloured, and there are quite a few...our second temple was across the street, wat pho i think?...it's not nearly as crowded, layna and i both liked it better...that's where we got to see the largest reclining buddha in thailand...46m long, and 15m high...it's HUGE...there were a number of temples in this complex, we enjoyed wandering around...it's bigger than wat phra keow...this complex also has quite a number of buddhas, over 100 i think...our third and final full day in bangkok we went to a huge market, the weekend market...the guidebook makes it sound great, but we were rather disappointed...it's true, you can find just about anything there, but it's totally touristy...locals don't go there to find anything...we weren't in the mood to shop, but we loved the food stalls...hee hee...i'd never before seen yellow watermelon...
after bangkok we went down south, to one of the beaches...we opted for the phuket area, choosing kata/karon beach...it's not very party oriented, and is rather similar to the beach we stayed at in goa, india...again, there were upper class european tourists...before boxing day, 2004, kata/karon had more backpackers, more young people...they haven't really come back since the disaster...at least, not that i could see...nearly all the menus in town have a combination of swedish/german/russian options...it's amazing to see how DARK some people get...i know i like sun too much for my own good, but i look like a ghost compared to some of the people we saw!!! if you look the colour of an overcooked sausage, the last thing you need to be doing is laying out on a thai beach!!! yes, i laid out, yes i wore suncream, and yes i covered my face...there isn't much to write about the time we spend on beaches...i could do it for ages and ages, i never seem to get bored...but we moved on after just three full days...(one of which it rained, i only got two days of sunning myself!!)
when we arrived in bangkok, i was surprised by how much it had changed in five years...(during the trip with the rugby team we didn't stay in the backpacker area, i didn't see it at all)...prices have doubled, and it's become a lot more western...and i think it's more crowded with travelers...though i don't really know...my first time in bangkok i remember being rather overwhelmed, and now i realize i hardly saw anything...i was so worried i'd get lost, or get sick...this time around we just walked around the first day, without any real direction, and no need to see anything...this is layna's first time in thailand, and one of the things we have done regularly when we arrive in a new city/town is to just walk...get the feel of things...at one point we stepped into a kfc in order to use the loo, (yes, it's western, but we knew it would have a loo) and i ended up talking to another foreigner while waiting...i was really excited that i figured out he was canadian without asking him first...he seemed surprised that i knew, but the "eh" was a dead giveaway...only canadians say it that way...hee hee...and he thought i was aussie...i have no idea why...i know i say some words aussies and kiwis use, but i certainly don't say them the same way!!
bangkok is the initial entry point into southeast asia for nearly everyone...so it's super easy to get started...thai food is found everywhere, but so is western food...(which i think is sad)...mcd's, starbucks, kfc and bk have all shown up in the last five years...there are travel shops all over the place, as well as stalls selling everything from batteries to clothes to every knick knack you do not need...according to the guidebook, thais call bangkok krung thep, which means city of angels...apparently, that's a shortened version of the full, official name...i don't feel like copying the full name, it's ridiculously LONG...
our second day we started by seeing wat phra keow (sp?)...better known to most as the temple of the emerald buddha...it's not actually emerald at all, it's jade...it's not all that big either...it sits pretty high up though, and each season gets new clothes from the king himself...most people seem to pay no attention to the "silence please" sign, i wish they would...this temple is probably one of the most well known sights in thailand/bangkok, everyone goes there...i've gotta admit though, it is pretty fantastic...(though the entrance price was half our daily budget!!!)...the temples are wonderfully coloured, and there are quite a few...our second temple was across the street, wat pho i think?...it's not nearly as crowded, layna and i both liked it better...that's where we got to see the largest reclining buddha in thailand...46m long, and 15m high...it's HUGE...there were a number of temples in this complex, we enjoyed wandering around...it's bigger than wat phra keow...this complex also has quite a number of buddhas, over 100 i think...our third and final full day in bangkok we went to a huge market, the weekend market...the guidebook makes it sound great, but we were rather disappointed...it's true, you can find just about anything there, but it's totally touristy...locals don't go there to find anything...we weren't in the mood to shop, but we loved the food stalls...hee hee...i'd never before seen yellow watermelon...
after bangkok we went down south, to one of the beaches...we opted for the phuket area, choosing kata/karon beach...it's not very party oriented, and is rather similar to the beach we stayed at in goa, india...again, there were upper class european tourists...before boxing day, 2004, kata/karon had more backpackers, more young people...they haven't really come back since the disaster...at least, not that i could see...nearly all the menus in town have a combination of swedish/german/russian options...it's amazing to see how DARK some people get...i know i like sun too much for my own good, but i look like a ghost compared to some of the people we saw!!! if you look the colour of an overcooked sausage, the last thing you need to be doing is laying out on a thai beach!!! yes, i laid out, yes i wore suncream, and yes i covered my face...there isn't much to write about the time we spend on beaches...i could do it for ages and ages, i never seem to get bored...but we moved on after just three full days...(one of which it rained, i only got two days of sunning myself!!)
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