Up early - grabbed a cuppa tea (still got my herbal teas from Canada) and there is always hot water in the common sitting area (cant call it a lobby as its an open-sided hut! Rain pelted down - lovely - just in time to find a tuktuk for the 5 mins ride to the resort where the boats leave from. Luckily rain stopped just as we headed out the door. Found a little tuk tuk and off we went. Thought we would grab something at the resort while we waited for the boat but no such luck - only doing buffet for set price! I left Al with bags and headed to Walking Street where all I could find to take away were baguettes and smoothies! Whatever - food is food - so ham cheese and salad baguette for breakie! Rain held off luckily and we handed our bags over to be loaded into longtail boats and transported to the speedboat. Sounds a lot more straightforward that it was - due to about 3 boats being loaded at the same time - cases and people everywhere - heading to 3 destinations! Alan kept a beady eye on the boat with our bags and then lost track of it in the melee! Chaos loading into the longtail boats and way overloaded...only supposed to be max 15 but think there were at least 24 people and boat listing precariously! Relief to reach speedboat and pile on ...Alan saw his bag under a seat so we knew we were good to go....all loaded up - these ones are more controlled as appears everyone has a seat! Was again a Bundhaya speedboat Ko Lipe - Bak Para and the ticket was a through ticket so minibus from pier at PakBara to Hat Yai Airport. Speedboat about 2 hours and minibus 1 1/2 hours for about 740 BHT each $28. Boat trip went well until driver swerved to miss a log in the water and ended up hitting the prop...luckily 4 massive engines on board (maybe a couple for show!) and we spluttered around for a while - driver shouting at his guys to check it out - they never communicate with passengers so you never know anything and they don't announce where you are when you arrive at the various piers! Surprised to see we actually made it into Pak Bara ahead of time...quick washroom visit, water restock and off to find the minibus for airport transfer. Piled into a minibus - packed full and luggage jammed in the back, at least it was air conditioned! Crazy driver then took us to the Hat Yai Airport...not surprised to hear there are so many fatalities on the roads in Thailand - driving on their own terms! Very rural drive - very green lush vegetation, some shacks mixed in with some pretty OK looking houses. Road works along way but got to airport in good time. Unloaded and proceeded to do the usual flat on face trip in entrance way! Too busy looking up to worry about the feet! Arrived early and had allowed for major delays enroute so had a 3 1/2 hour wait for flight! Time to change and get my caffeine fix plus ....oh a DQ treat! Air Asia flight up to Bangkok - 1 1/2 hours 1818 BHT $68 each ticket including luggage allowance, free seat selection from 4 "budget seats" and a meal - woo hoo. Funny how the picture was a curry and rice meal and the food presented was 1/2 a cardboard sandwich! You live and learn!   Flight uneventful - leg room cramped - you are right Nikki - seating not made for giants like me! Arrived into Don Mueng Airport and found out from Info at station how we get to our guesthouse. First the A1 local bus (30 BHT) into Chatuchak Station then switch to MRT subway (BHT30) blue line to Hua Lamphong Stn and tuk tuk rest of the way (BHT 250). By now is about 830pm and as we approach the area we are staying in we see how busy and crowded the area is, Soi's loaded with stalls and cafes and abundance of backpackers! Tuk Tuk negotiates his way down Soi Rumbuttri, dodging people and luckily we noticed a small sign with Lamphu House on it. This is in the Banglamphu area of Bangkok, close to the Mae Nom Chao Phraya (River). Offloaded - glancing at each other, wondering what we'd let ourselves in for. Took off down a short alleyway and it opened into a courtyard full of tables, chairs, rattan furniture, coffee shop...the "lobby". Checked in and shown our room (870 BHT nt $33) on the rooftop wing, 4th floor, no lift! Room a little shabby chic but clean with usual rock hard bed! Big balcony with place to hang laundry which we do at the end of the day with bar of sunlight soap! Amazed that it is so quiet when there is a crazy vibe outside the courtyard! Popped out for a bite to eat at a little café place nearby - usual Thai choices and all about the same prices. Could have chosen from about 10 places within 20 paces of our alleyway! Amazed that the backpackers and adventure travellers are all ages, we certainly feel at home here and are by no means the oldest!
 
Wed 18th
830 breakfast in the hotel café - all sorts of choices and very cheap ...opted for fruit, yoghurt and muesli "set" and a very strong Americano! Then ventured straight out from here - winding our way through the streets to find the nearest river pier so we could explore and get a feel for where we are. Vendors by the pier try and sell you all sorts of tickets for what sound to be good deals but the best for us was the Orange Boat (locals) bus service up and down the river. Buy a ticket for 15 BHT and just ride the river! So we headed North to Nonthaburi Pier. Amazing working river, longtail boats tearing around and dodging between the ferries! Luckily it is a very wide river and there is plenty of room. All sorts of living conditions along the river, floating shacks, high rises, they like growing plants outside their homes - nothing like greenery and flowers to cheer up your surrounds! Hopped off at the Pier and tried to get our bearings. They do have a floating market here but knew we had arrived too late for that.. I believe all done by 9 and we go there about 10.30. Surprised to see a massive market in the back streets, selling everything - fish, meat, poultry - veg, herbs, weird things and clothes - just a huge area and a buzz of people . Didn't see another Caucasian the whole time we were there so was definitely not on the tourist route - think the floating market is! Jumped back onto the River Express and came down to Wat Arun. Named after the Indian God of Dawn (Aruna). Sadly there was scaffolding around the spire due to restoration work so you couldn't walk up and admire the views of Bangkok. The 82 m tower is covered in broken mosaics, many different colours of Chinese porcelain which apparently came on Chinese ships using them as ballast and threw them overboard to lighten the loads! A large Buddha and active place of worship with some thai people waiting to be blessed by a monk. Gorgeous gardens surrounding the Wat with beautiful manicured trees. Stunning Wat to visit. We then worked our way down through the backstreets to Wat Kalayanamit but was in a state of repair...huge restorations with roof tiles being replaced and new gold sequins on exterior of spires. the surrounds were chaotic and we couldn't get a boat back from here so had to retrace steps to Wat Arun. Jumped on another express orange boat towards China town - by now hungry and grumpy - got off at Rajchawongse Pier and stopped at the first café. Ordered a spicy salad dish and got a plate of deep fried batter bits - some had fish pieces in it! The Chinese lady smiled at me knowingly, pretending it was a language miscommunication! Worst meal had so far - if you could call it a meal! The shandy was great though - by now the drink of choice as wine is few and far between! Recharged our feet and energy and took off for the Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha) which is a 3m tall gleaming gold Buddha . The temple is said to date back to the 13th Century and the Buddha is housed in a 4 storey marble building - very shiny and sitting on an alter of various flower offerings! Very crowded and you cant hang around long without being moved on! Time to head back to guesthouse and put feet up with a cuppa tea. We meandered through the maze of tiny alleyways, market stalls, amulet vendors and merchandise in Chinatown and were amazed by the Talat Mai, commerce galore here! The smells kept us moving through pretty quick and were happy to jump on our boat for homeward journey! Boat back to Phra Arthit and meandered through the alleyways to get back to our room and tea ! Showered and out for dinner in a busy bar/restaurant we had passed in the alleyway. Fell into bed exhausted and still sniffling!
 
Thur 19th
Nikki's birthday but as 16 hours behind us and she has classes first thing in the morning I cant get her till about 4pm her time so not till Fri morning with us! Up early and out the door by 745 as hearing crazy stories about the Grand Palace and how busy it is with thousands of Thai mourners wanting to pay their last respects to King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama 1X) who died 99 days ago. The longest reigning monarch in the world who was very popular with the people of Thailand. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a café enroute and then walked the 20 mins to get to the Wat Phra Kaew & Grand Palace. Security was heavy around the walls and traffic diverted, so we had to detour and eventually find a security check point where our bags were searched and we had to show passports and go through metal detectors . Found a short queue of people who said they were waiting for the gates to open - security everywhere! It was not even 830am and we were sweltering, trying to find shade to stand in. We thought we were dressed appropriately in trousers and I had a wrap over my shoulders with a short sleeved top on but was told by the dress checker that I had to wear long sleeves - darn! The gates opened and I had to put a deposit down on a mans short sleeve shirt to put over my top! So hot already! Smelt beautifully clean which I was happy as had reports otherwise! Got our 500 BHT ticket entrance p.p. and whisked in. Tried to do a guided tour that Al had downloaded onto his tablet but the Punjabi lady was difficult to understand and was a bit confusing but finally got it figured out. In the meantime the place became swarmed with tourists, and sitting under the covered walkways, housing the Murals of the Ramakian, were all the Thai mourners dressed in black, waiting for their turn to shuffle past the lying-in-state king placed in the Dusit Maha Prasat Hall. Huge fans were placed for them to keep cool on their wait and they just sat very quietly and patiently, waiting for their section to be called over! The Grand Palace houses the royal residence and throne halls, government offices and the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The murals on the inner walkway walls are quite amazing and the gold leaf shines brightly to make an historic storyboard about an Hindu epic . We were totally in awe of the beauty of the buildings - so different from our western world - we had never seen anything like it and were overwhelmed - the heat and the mass of people sure didn’t help! Each entrance to the Wat Phra Kaew compound has a pair of enormous yaksha – ogres from Hindu mythology. The ordination hall houses the emerald Buddha and this is regarded at the most important building. The outside walls are decorated with gilt and coloured glass mosaics – making for an amazing sparkle in the sunshine -and the doors are inlaid with mother of pearl. The emerald Buddha is carved from a block of jasper stone and is only 66cm high which surprised me (the same way the Mona Lisa painting in the Louvre did!) – such a big hype and a surprisingly small statue! The Buddha has 3 different costumes that are draped over him for the different seasons and this dressing ceremony is presided over by the King! Many people crowding around to see it but at least the Buddha is high up on a base so all can see. In the compound there are also 3 towering spires, one has 7 tiers and sits on the Phra Mondop (library housing Buddhist scriptures) – all these other building were closed to public! Another spire is of Khmer style and tops the Royal Pantheon which houses 8 statues of previous kings enshrined here. The third dramatic spire is gilded and stunning in its bright yellow color – known as a stupa, it has a circular base with a bell shape and is covered with golden tile mosaics, so much bling and sparkle – its truly amazing to see! There are also many mythological creatures guarding the buildings . We left here as it was so exhausting to look at and the combination of heat and people was all too much. We snuck into a side room on the outside of the compound and saw an exhibition about the works of the late king during his reign, fascinating – he really was an advocate of his people and bettering their lives through sustainable farming and being taught to be self sufficient. I returned the very sweaty shirt I had to borrow and was horrified when the lady told me to hang it up – some poor soul was going to have to wear it again that day! Thank goodness we were there early! We walked outside the palaces very whitewashed walls, and the wide boulevards were full of tents with volunteers handing out cooked noodles, ice creams and handheld fans to all the mourners as they left the palace. They also made sure we got some as we probably looked so knackered too, passed on the hot noodles but jumped on the other 2 things! So sad when mine landed splat on the ground after being half eaten! Couldn’t see anywhere to grab a bite so decided to head right on into the Wat Pho as we were right there! Wat Pho is home to the massive gold, shiny Reclining Buddha – measuring 46m long and 15m high and finished in plaster and gold leaf! The feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Amazed at the size of this statue – the room is definitely too small! Outside there are 4 chedi all heavily decorated and adorned. Another spectacular Wat and also houses over 400 Buddha's, many have been restored and some in the process of being painted and rejewelled! This Wat also houses a massage pavilion where one can learn the art of massage and also Thailand’s 1st university, a traditional Thai medicine school! Both feeling exhausted and in need of food and R & R we got to the nearest Express Boat Pier and found our orange boat “home”. Found a place to have lunch near the guesthouse and then flopped at the room…feet up and a lovely cuppa in the aircon! Thanks to Monica for making sure we brought our travel mugs and handy immersion heater for our daily cups of cha! Caught up on emails and didn’t move for about 2 hours and then headed out to wander around the other side of Rambuttri Road and all its goings on. Found a café to eat at and people watch, savoured 2 fabulously cold Mojitos and shared a plate of mussels before eating more Pad Thai…Back to the room and fell into bed and slept soundly – guesthouse pretty quiet, just a hard bed to cope with!

Fri 20th Jan
Woke up with the sparrows – texting Nikki to say Happy Birthday as its still 19th with her….managed to get Liv to agree to go buy her a DQ cake for a surprise from us! Alan finally woke so we could call and chat to her! Sounds like many celebrations planned including a cake party now they had DQ to share with buddies! Breakfast at the guesthouse – they do a great breakfast for such a good deal. Today was the last full day in Bangkok and so planned to visit the Jim Thompson house and museum and then do a boat trip up the Khlong Bankok Noi and wander around there a bit. First we had to walk about 20 mins to find a new canal route, the klorng boat running from Phan Fa Lilat to Sapan Hua Chang Pier, BHT 11 each. What a crazy boat ride - the canal is wide enough for 2 boats and they zoom down, sending spray flying - there are flaps that you can yank up, on the side of the bench you sit on, to stop the water coming in! People live along the canals and many have planter pots or boxes with small trees and flowers to brighten up the greyness of the concrete everywhere! The Sapan Hua Pier is 3 min walk from the entrance to the Jim Thompson house. A beautiful setting, lush gardens surround the house and museum. He was an American silk designer and art collector, and some believe its due to him that Thai silk was put on the world map. He also collected derelict houses and had them transported and restored to form his compound on the riverbank - beautiful teak buildings, no windows and many stunning pieces of wood furniture and gorgeous silk fabrics. Had some hilarity with a small group visiting from Swaziland on an agricultural educational trip, obviously being entertained by the Thai Government and shown the sites! Some wonderful flowers, including tubs of orchids! Headed back on our boat again and stopped for a smoothie in a coffee bar before negotiations began with the tuk tuk drivers for a ride to the Chang Pier. They all seem to have ulterior motives and want to take you to their cousins boat or divert you to where they will make more money, finally found one who seemed reasonable (in character) and off we zoomed - they are crazy drivers and you bomb around at the rate of knots! The intention of going to the Chang Pier was to get a commuter long tail boat over to Thornburi and down the Khlong Bangkok Noi, wander around and enjoy the leafy suburbs! First of all we couldn't find the boats, it appears they only run at the beginning and end of the day, and all the touts want you to buy expensive tours! So we decided to just go across on the Orange Boat and walk around from there! Well that didn't work out like we planned....started off being a pretty walk but one block back was just a messy, grubby area and not somewhere we wanted to really be. So decided to get back on orange boat and go as far south on the river as hadn't explored down there yet. Passed by downtown (high-rise) Bangkok and saw all the posh hotels like the Oriental and Shangri-La on the river, patrons lying by the pool enjoying the sunshine! The end of the "line" was at Wat Rajsingkorn where we got out, by now starving, and me refusing to eat any of the dubious looking street food - business didn't look brisk enough to me to not worry about getting ill. Finally found a fast food sandwich shop - so ordered toasted chicken pesto sammie and iced tea in the air con went down a treat! By now we had had enough of the disastrous afternoon and decided it was time to head back to put our feet up! Lovely! As we were staying a couple of streets down from the Khao San Rd (KSR) we decided we should experience it on our last night in Bangkok! This is the most famous backpackers street and unlike anything we'd ever seen before. Again people of all ages, not just the young, and so many bars, restaurants, stalls, touts selling everything, ladies from the hill tribes selling bracelets and the wooden frogs that croak when you rub a stick down their backs. Even saw a guy with a street food stall on his motorbike - unbelievable! I have a photo to post when I finally get time to add pics to this blog (and fast enough internet!). You could sit for hours watching everything going on around you, loud music blaring and general mayhem and clothing stalls everywhere! Too bad I have no room in the backpack for shopping items! Well, time to call it a day in Bangkok - ready to head out of the big bad city and find some tranquility in Kanchanaburi. Never made it to the Red Light District as really had no desire, Neil had convinced Alan that it was a must for our trip but I didn't want to be grossed out by all the sleaze!