Friday 24th Feb.

After a quick breakfast it was a 20 minute ride on the metro to Phetchaburi station with a transfer to Makkasan skytrain station to take us out to Suvarnabhumi - the international airport. The fare was 75 baht each and an easy transition at the interchange. We checked our backpacks through to Vancouver and headed through immigration and security. It was just over 5 hours to Seoul and we had about an hour at Incheon, to change planes and grab a coffee before boarding our flight to Vancouver.

Landing at ICN

Next stop Canada!

The Boeing 777 isn't a favourite for either of us, the seats seemed less comfortable and the armrest was narrow and hard - it was going to be a long flight over the Pacific! Transiting through Vancouver and a short transfer to the south terminal for our Harbour Air flight - the last of seven flights this trip - back to Nanaimo, it shortened the journey home and avoided a ferry ride. It was clear and sunny with a chill in the air - winter hadn't said goodbye to the west coast yet!

Thursday 23rd Feb.

Our last full day in S.E. Asia on this trip. We moved to the Hua Lamphong Hostel, directly across from the train station. We had originally planned to stay here for our entire stay in Bangkok, but as we had arrived ahead of schedule, The Montien had been a treat at $50 / night and a sanctuary of comfort for Jordan to recover slightly from his bout of flu. The station was not the hub of bustling activity we had seen earlier, but it functioned in a very orderly manner.

The Eastern & Oriental Express had arrived that morning delivering its passengers in 5 star luxury between Singapore and Bangkok  - but for us today it was the slow local train to Ayutthaya, basic and cheap at 60 cents each round trip for the 1 hour 45 minute ride.

 

The tuk-tuks in Ayutthaya charge 120-150 baht for a one way into town, given the distance, and as we later found out there is also a passenger ferry across the river, it didn't seem like a good deal, so we rented bicycles across from the station for 50 baht each and armed with a free tourist map of the city, started to explore on our own.

Thailands most popular image

The city sits at the confluence of three rivers, and it felt like that humidity added to the 35c heat, made it the hottest day of the trip. Our destination was Wat Maha That and we took a leisurely route along the southern riverbank, then heading north into the city along a tree lined boulevard. The ruins were quite different to those we had viewed previously - exposed red bricks revealed the construction dating from the late 1300's. Grabbing a bite to eat at a vegetarian restaurant, that also seemed to be a popular after-school diner for dating teenagers, we headed back to the station and return our rental bikes.

Pa Sak river crossing

 

The train back to Bangkok was full and it was dark as we boarded. One of the Bangkok station exits is very close to the hostel, and eliminated the need to cross any streets. We regrouped before heading to the Chinatown area for supper. It had been an exhausting day and tomorrow would be a long day of travel.

Wednesday 22nd Feb.

Another hot and sticky morning. Jordan wasn't feeling too good and had a fever (37.5c), so he stayed in bed with some water and a mango/banana smoothie from the morning market. I wandered over to Lumphini Park and walked to the northeast corner and the start of the elevated walkway that connected to Benjakitti Park, a couple of kilometres away.

The walkway offered a different perspective of the city, passing over the congested highways and offering first storey views into the surrounding residential neighbourhoods. The walkway was devoid of pedestrians and cyclists at this time of day and perhaps it is used more during workday commutes as it's a great way to cut across the city.

Both of the parks are well laid out, with large ponds, lush tropical plantings and an oasis for wildlife - including what I thought was a Komodo Dragon - turns out to be a very close relative; a Monitor Lizard (Varanus salvator).

Later in the evening we ventured out to eat at a vegan restaurant - the Bonita Social Club & Café - good food and an interesting place tucked away off the busy streets. The owners are devoted bare foot runners and from their eclectic décor, seem to be quite the celebrities in the running world!



The 'Jenga" building

 

Living on a khlong

Tuesday 21st Feb.

Hotel room view

Chinatown

Just 20 minutes late arriving at Hua Lamphong, the main station for Bangkok and the end of the line for this train, we exited the station and into the thick humid air of the early morning. We hadn't encountered this type of climate yet - it had been hot, sometimes very hot, but quite dry until now. Taking the metro to Silom Station, we had coffee and looked for a hotel nearby (we were a day ahead of schedule) and hadn't booked anything for tonight. Deciding on The Montien, a reasonably priced hotel (on Agoda.com), with swimming pool and easy access to transit. After checking in and leaving out bags with the concierge until the room was ready, we set out to explore the area.

Old Customs Building

Wat Traimit Witthayaram

Wandering through Chinatown and the bustling, narrow alleys, crammed with stalls, it was an introduction to Bangkok that we weren't truly expecting. The market covered several blocks, just a short distance from the Chao Phraya River.

An afternoon swim in the hotel pool was welcome refreshment from the stickiness of the day, before heading out to Silom St to find somewhere to eat and a beer. We tried "Brothers" but it was empty at 7:00pm - we shared spring rolls and an unsatisfying Singha beer before heading to Soi 4 where there was more nightlife. The Telphone Bar (named for it formerly having a telephone on each table for patrons to call each other) was a good choice to sit on the patio and watch the activity of the street. After some pad thai, stir-fried morning glory and a couple of Chang beers, we called it a night.

Monday 20th Feb.

Traveling through Northern Thailand by train as I write this, we have reached Ban Phal. We opted to splurge on first class accommodation for this journey, a cost of $83 US for the two of us, train fare and a private compartment with bunk-beds - it's very much worth it.

Overnight train to Bangkok

Starting the day at Chez Mango, we made our way into town with our packs, stopping for breakfast and coffee along the way;  street-made pancakes and Hally's coffee had almost become routine. The ticket office hadn't opened yet when we got there - and, as it turned out another great transportation dis-connect - we were both sure we were told to be at the office at 8:30am and our ticket receipt said we were connecting to the 9:20am bus. A tuk-tuk arrived around 9:20am and we were whisked away to a meeting point in town to board an air-conditioned coach. It was a bit chaotic to say the least - but we  managed to confirm with other passengers aboard that this was indeed heading for Vientiane!

Commuter train

Sleeping compartment

Snack bar

Arriving in Vientiane (the Romanised spelling of Viang Chan) just after 1:00pm, we checked in with the ticket agent to confirm our train reservation and then headed across the street to Dhaka - 'the best Indian and Banglideshi food in Vientaine' - it was delicious and lunch took up most of our waiting time before the 3:00pm pickup. Of course, true to form, our contact, Mr Per showed up at 3:15pm telling us that no confirmation had been given to him. It took another 20 minutes or so before he was able to get a tuk-tuk at the office to take us to the train station at Nam Khai. It was rush hour traffic and not sure of what lay ahead in the way of customs, immigration, and transiting the border, the one hour trip was a little bit of a nail-biter! We had expected to be dropped off at The Friendship Bridge and cross over on foot into Thailand after exiting Laos immigration. But instead we were put on a two car commuter train in Thanaleng and rode over the bridge instead, changing trains in Nong Khai. Thai customs/immigration was very slow - with only one agent on duty, but we had got this far with lots of time until our departure. It was then we decided to upgrade from an upper and lower sleeping berth to a compartment - the extra cost being about $30.

Bangkok train station (Hua Lamphong)

Now halfway across Northern Thailand , just pasing Bua Yal Junction at 11:07pm, it's time to catch some sleep, being lulled into slumber with the gentle rocking of the carriages.

Sunday 19th Feb.

A leisurely morning of coffee, breakfast and watching the sights of Vang Vieng until our tubing tour at noon. We met at the office and headed south in a open truck to the drop off location, launching ourselves into the Nam Som River.

We floated a couple of hundred metres and had a stop at a riverside bar for refreshments - most of the group seemed to favour carrying on with the float, so the stop was shorter than the tour guides had planned, we got back in the water and continued to be carried along by the slow flowing river for the next two hours.

It was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon, drifting by the riverbanks, children playing, fisherman casting their nets and a herd of water buffalo drinking and bathing. The exit point was another river bar and an chance to we enjoy more refreshments before our ride back into town.

We ate Tofu Larp and Pad Thai at Sakura 2 restaurant, followed by a visit to out now favourite dessert vendor. Meeting up again with Ramona and her friend Judith at Sakura Bar which uses the tag line: "Drink Triple, See Double, Act Single" - we had a blast dancing part of the night, mostly with exuberant young Koreans; this place still partied like the old Vang Vieng!!!

Saturday 18th Feb.

While out in search of breakfast and coffee, we rented a scooter and returned to the hotel to collect our packs and head over to see Noë, check-in and get settled into our cabin.

We dropped our bags and headed north out of town to Pha Thao Cave. On the way back, stopping at Vang Vieng Organic Farm for a tour, we met Wong over lunch and talked with him about the project. We loved what he was trying to achieve and gave him the other half of our West Coast seeds we had brought from home - which he enthusiastically received.

Star fruit

Vang Vieng view

The afternoon took us west of town and we visited the Blue Lagoon 1, a swimming hole that was much too 'theme park' for both of us, so we hiked up the short distance to Pou Kham Cave, then headed back towards town and Silver Mountain.

The hike up Silver Mtn. was a bit of a challenge, thankfully the trail had been recently cleared and improved, which made the 10,000 kip fee very worthwhile. The view from the summit at House #1 is spectacular and we stayed at the top watching the hot air balloons float over Vang Vieng and decided to start our descent before the sun set completely. It was, by far, a highlight of this area.

Recreational roulette!

Showered and changed, we wandered into town and stopped at Rasta Bar which had an interesting 'bar menu' and great reggae music, but decided to eat at the Bamboo Tree Restaurant; Pad Thai and Sweet & Sour fish - followed by a banana/coconut pancake from our favourite street vendor for dessert - these are just too delicious!!