Old Delhi & Safdarjang's Tomb

I love to wake around old Delhi, looking at all there is to see.

Maeklong market, Amphawa floating market & Wat Baan Kung

For some time I have wanted to visit the famous Maeklong market in Samut Songkram, which is about 40 miles outside of Bangkok.

The market is famous because it has spread over the railway tracks, just by the station.  If you look closely at the photo you can see that the goods are right up to the tracks, the stall's awnings cover the track area and the customers walk along the tracks.

Samchuk Market

Wonderful Boonchi has been taking me out and about this week and yesterday's outing was with Sue and Pat to Samchuk Market (also known as the 100 year market) in Suphanburi.

AKHA CEREMONY - APPEASING THE SPIRITS

The day before we visited this village, a bamboo had fallen onto the spirit gate, which is a bad omen to the Akha.  They believe that this signifies a spirit's displeasure with them and that bad luck is about to befall them.

WITHOUT A SOLE IN KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK

Well, it is official, I am indeed soulless, or should I say soleless!  Alan and I spent the long holiday weekend in Khao Yai national park.  I took along to wear a pair of trainers that I last wore about 6 years ago.  They have probably only been worn three times.  Okay, I didn't like them, so sue me!

Alan and I set off for a long walk around our lodge area at a merry pace, with a couple of Jack Russell dogs in tow (yes!).   After a while my shoe felt funny, and on looking down we noticed that the black tread had come unstuck slightly from both shoes.  I walked a few more paces and the shoes felt even stranger.  We then noticed that not only had the tread come loose, but also the whole of the base of both trainers.  We decided to head on back, but my shoes were soon a-flipping and a-flopping all over the place until first one and then the other just fell apart, leaving me wearing the fabric upper, which was still attached to the fabric inner sole.  We were away from the hotel and so the only recourse was to tie the bottoms to the tops with the shoelaces.  I then walked (or should I say flopped) back to the hotel, with my feet flapping like someone wearing diving flippers!

I have experienced catastrophic shoe failure before, but in an area where I could quickly change my shoes.  I think the heat just melts the glue, or it disintegrates after a few years.

Belt Up Big Boy!

 OMG, what is about the people I know, they are always trying to take their trousers off?

This recent visitor is seen here, (caught with my 002 1/2) was seen trying to get this young girl to take his trousers off for him.

Last Days in Thailand

With Kim and Alan heading off on their holiday, I have been left to finish up our Chiang Mai blog. Just a few items left and I have to leave Thailand behind. As I doubt I will be back, at least in the near future, it's been fun reliving my trip through the blog entries. Thanks Kim for all you did it make it memorable.

After we left Susan's home and almost right around the corner, we came across the parade for the Umbrella Festival held every year during the end of January. Now that was timing! Thai dancers with their long fingernails, floats and beauty queens greeted us. Poor Khun Chiaya did not get an early end to his day.

Caves, Cattle and Flowers

After lunch (and a very fine lunch it was , diet coke and all) we set out for the Phra Non Cave at Wat Tum Chiang Dao. Luckily, I had saved my entrance ticket or I couldn't have told you that! I've been to quite a few caves throughout Thailand and they normally include a short walk and a few large caverns where Buddha images had been placed. This one still included Buddha images, but the walkway was much longer with exits from time to time that would take you into total darkness. During times of flooding, water rises and the cave becomes part of an underground river. Kim will have to add here, since these two and maybe one more were the only ones I took that were semi in focus.

A Lovely Lunch

If you have never travelled with Janice, then you may not know this but...

On To The Next Village:

OK, before we start this narrative, remember that EVERYTHING Kim says must be taken with a huge "grain of salt" and the fact that she got eaten alive and I didn't get a bite, says quite a bit!!!

A Bit Ticked Off!

Yeah, yeah, wonderful trek, blissful afternoon, great sharing experience.  Now let ME tell it like it really was Janice!

Janice didn't quite get that the trek was to be of short duration.  Apart from her well stocked handbag (where was she going to need all that make-up in her bag?), she had two, yes TWO cameras that she was snapping away on.

Let's Go Trekking

We had so much fun on our holiday to Chiang Rai, that we wanted the same type of experience on our days out of Chiang Mai. We called up Khun Chiaya, who contacted Khun Donut and we were off. After lunch, Donut dropped us off for the trek (hike) down to the White Karen village. It was supposed to take 1 1/2 hours by Khun Chiaya's estimation. Sadly he hadn't figured Kim and myself into the equation. We did, however, enjoy, almost, every minute of the 2 1/2 hour trek.

A Mountain, A Guide And A Donut!

We hired the same guide to take us around as we had used in Chiang Rai.  Funny how the passage of time removes from your memory a person's more irritating habits.  In this case it was our guide's (and to a lesser extent the driver's) usage of the phrase "Ooh la la".  Let me tell you, I was ready to stuff this phrase down his throat after three days of hearing it when we were in Chiang Rai, and it hadn't grown on me in the interim period!

Here is Khum Chiaya, whom if you can ignore his verbal Tourettes, is a very useful guide.  Standing with our driver.

Chiang Mai Continued:

Our Hotel, the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel was just outside of the Old City which originally had been surrounded by a large brick wall, five gates, and a moat. All that is left of the wall now are bits and pieces, mostly at the four edges and a couple of gate entrances. We walked a lot (yes, on my poor swollen feet) and negotiated with Tuk Tuk drivers to get us, usually, back to the hotel when we'd done all we could for the day. I love taking photos of brooms, doors, gates, spirit houses, etc. and so I couldn't resist this one of colorful mops on our way in to the city proper.

Travels With My Fat Footed Friend!

It was like a lover's reunion.  Janice stepped into the room and I flew into her arms.  We shed a few tears as Alan discretely merged into the background.  It was really lovely.  Then we got back to the normal business of insults!!!  

Back to Bangkok

OK Kim, right off the bat, I need to apologize for not sticking with the new format for writing up the blog. I got on and froze when I couldn't find all my old familiar buttons to push. That will take a few (10-12) hours to figure out, so I thought I would get my first one out and then.....

So to start - I had been planning this return trip for over six months, anticipation high, and I can not believe how quickly these past two weeks have flown by. They were literally the best of the best thanks to Kim (and Alan who graciously gave up his office for me and his wife for a good part of that time). I'm home now after a 24 hour flight door to door and trying to collect my thoughts through the haze of jet lag. I thought I had that one covered by sleeping roughly twelve hours through the first night home. As it's 3:00 a.m. on the second night it's obvious that didn't work.

Right place, right time

Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  On Monday, Alan and I were sitting in a pub in Hua Hin, reading our books, when we heard a band starting to play.  As we watched from the veranda  of the pub, people came dancing along the road by the fishing pier.

A rather discordant brass band was playing, reminiscent of the music from Serbian director Emir Kusturica's films.

Having said that, the scene was probably more New Orleans.  The band was led by dancers, who were either drunk or high on the moment, and they all swung their merry way very slowly along the road.

On asking what was happening, we were told that the man in the lacy white robes was entering the priesthood, so everyone was celebrating.

There was some effort to hedge the dancers over so that some traffic could bypass them, but the dancers were having way too good a time to let traffic spoil their fun.  The traffic simple sat behind them.  I suppose it would be bad karma, to toot a monk out to the way.

The music was very jolly and noisy, and I soon found myself nodding and stomping along to it, as I leaned over the wall of the pub terrace.

There were some pretty drunk people in the crowd,and Alan and I couldn't help laughing as some of them danced with abandon.  It looked all the funnier because some of the people must have been from the fish market as they still had their little welly boots on.

The most bizarre part of this though was the monk, who looked so miserable.  Some of the time he was muttering what I suppose were prayers, though by the look on his face, he could have been asking for salvation from what he was about to undertake!
You guys really would have loved it.

A weekend at the Fulay in Hua Hin

Chilling out on the deck of the Thai House, Fulay Hotel

I tried to find somewhere to stay in Hua Hin, but for ease we decided to go to the Fulay where Janice & I stayed.

Janice, do you remember the Thai house at the end of the pier?  We hired that.

The house was cute, but the bathroom was basic and the hot water just never arrived.  On the plus side it was comfortable and was away from the other rooms so in theory was quiet.  I say in theory because they were working on one of the other rooms on Saturday when we arrived, so there was some drilling.  I thought Alan would be really angry, but he took it in his stride.  Sort of!

On Sunday evening when we arrived home from dinner, I went into the bathroom, switched the light on and there was the biggest cockroach you have seen, sitting on my facecloth!  I'm not sure which of us moved faster.  I am quite proud that I didn't scream, well it was more of a muffled yell.  Luckily I had packed the Baygon, and Alan zapped him for all he was worth.  Well, another hole was added to the ozone layer, but on the plus side, I was finally able to pee.  With the door open.  With Alan on high alert.  I insisted that the toilet light be left on all night to hopefully stop more from coming up the drain again.  Not that it mattered, I was too traumatised (read scared) to go back into the loo.  I held on all night.

Of course I didn't want the facecloth again, so I threw it away.  When we checked out, we left our bags at the hotel and went to the pub.  On our return, the cleaner had retrieved the facecloth from the bin, and folded it on top of my suitcase!  I made Alan move it off (well I wasn't going to touch it) and just leave it in the storeroom.

Oh one last funny.  The lady that booked us in recognised me from our visit last year.  She looked at me and said, 'yes you were here before, but you were a lot ... ' at that point she realised what she was saying, paused and said 'slimmer I think'.  Nice save!

Okay ladies, do you recognise this place?  Answers on a postcard please.

A present for Janice

 Ha!  Could this have gone better?  Just as I arrived at the boats, this guy paused for breath.  What a shot!  It was taken on Alan's Canon, which I dislike, but it really came through this time.  Enjoy!

I have to say, no matter how perfect a body may look,  the smell of this fish stuff (what is it?), which would of course be his body aroma, would be enough to make you gag.

Why I ask myself, would anyone want to eat this?  It looks like dog food and smells like dog food (and we all KNOW I don't mean dog FOOD).

Now, if you want something tasty, this is more up my street.  I finally tried a roti from a street cart whilst at the Hua Hin night market.

Can anyone guess what I had?  Look carefully & you'll see the classic ingredients for  dessert.  Yes!  Chocolate and banana.

 It took seconds for this to cook.  I doubt it took a minute.

After it was put on the plate, it was slathered with chocolate sauce.  This was such a scrummy roti.  Why has nobody made me try this?