Travelling / Backpacking /Flashpacking the World!

Up at 5.30am, left for Heathrow at 6.30. Woke up and it just felt like a normal day. Karl phoned on way that made me feel a bit funny/sad. Felt fine at the airport - no nerves just excitement to get there. Said goodbye to Mum and Dad smiles all round and walked through to the departures.
The flight was ok just read my travel book and listened to music.

12 and a half hours later I'm in Singapore, just about got time for a slash before getting on my next flight to Bangkok. Still not nervous just fed up with sitting on my arse.15 hours after leaving England I arrived in Bangkok, it's 7 hours in front here making it Thursday 15/9/05.

Passport control is a bit strict, found my luggage and headed for the taxi rank outside avoiding all the touts.

In the taxi on the way to the Th Khao San noticed loads of tower blocks and then shacks between them. Taxi with tolls cost 400b (6 pound). Arrived sweating my plums off and walked up and down looking for a room, looked at quite a few in the end chose a single room with shower and toilet included for 200b (3 pound) a night in a place called the Rainbow Guest House.

Feel so much better now I've got rid of that backpack, now time to wonder around and email you guys back home.

Walked up and down the Th Khao San and around surrounding area. This place is full of market stalls and food stalls selling meat, fish, noodles, locusts, fruit and pancakes etc. and not forgetting the hundreds of Tuk Tuks.

Found myself sitting in a bar alone thinking I could sit here all day just watching the people go by all doing there own little thing. At this point I don't mind being on my own just chilling out taking it all in. Every little ally way has got something happening, people eating, preparing vegetables, washing clothes or kids playing.

There's so much to see roads that are 6 lanes wide either side. See a man and 3 school children on a little scooter pull up outside a shop. Crazy!

Everyone is happy which makes me feel happy.

Whilst bargaining with woman on a stall she said thank you for the nice smile now how often do you here that at home. Smile and people think your up to something. Just popped back to my room to cool down before getting something to eat.

The food can be smelt anywhere down the road and it looks handsome. Where did all these people come from its packed, got 4 spring rolls with chili sauce - beautiful!

Walked around again slightly off the tourist track, this place is amazing, Thai families cooking and eating in the street, sitting on little plastic stalls using boxes and crates as little tables all so happy in there little worlds. There's dogs all over the place normally lying in the middle of the pavement.

Walked past quite a few homeless people begging, when saying sorry to one she smiled, put her hands together and bowed her head that put a bit of a lump in my throat. These people are amazing they have got so little in life but so much respect and honour and most of all they're happy.

Back at Th Khao San got some more food, chicken stir fry with egg followed by a banana and chocolate pancake, beautiful. Cost me 40b (50p). O' dear, it's quality can see myself being about 3 stone heavier time i reach Oz.

On the way back it rained seriously, out come the plastic sheets and umbrellas, these people don't seem to be put off by anything, still sitting around eating, cooking, selling and still smiling, what a quality way of life.

Didn't take many pictures, didn't want to seem rude snapping people but to be honest i don't think a million pictures could show the atmosphere in this place, its truly amazing.

What a day.

Hot shower ye he.

Now its time to see what’s on the brekki menu, no chance of a bowl of shreddies. Walk down the road and take your pick, hot or cold its 8am and the carts are out selling fresh fruit, ice cream and meat dishes. Fresh fruit is water mellon, pineapple and something pink that tastes like soap. After buying a bottle of water its now time for a bit of sight seeing and my first ride in a Tuk Tuk. As quick as I thought about it one pulled up, these things are pretty cool, a bit smelly got a few mouthfuls of gas fumes along the way.

First stop The Standing Buddha, a few pic’s and a little wonder around again watching all the Thai people just doing there thing, setting carts up, cleaning statues etc. cats and dogs all over the place.

Next stop was the Wat Benchamabopitr ( Marble Tower) more pic’s the onto the Grand Palace followed by the Lucky Buddha. It was here that a Thai man introduced himself to me and when I told him I was English he kept thanking me and my country for all the money raised and given towards the Tsunami. We talked for about 15 minutes before I found myself wondering around a little Thai village. Little shacks and shed like buildings everywhere, clothes drying outside and people sitting around cleaning vegetables. Took a few discrete pic’s but didn’t want to intrude.

What an eye opener, what a way of life!

The driver of the Tuk Tuk who was called Udom then took me to the main T.A.T office in Bangkok, this is the travel information centre which is run by the Thai government, so therefore hopefully the most legitimate. It was here that I booked a 3 day tour to Kanchanaburi for next week which includes a trip to the Second World War Cemetery, the Thailand - Burma War Museum, a train ride over the River Kwai Bridge, elephant riding, bamboo rafting and a trip to the Erawan Waterfall. Transport, accommodation and Thai meals included for 4800b (70 pound).Probably not the cheapest way of doing it but who cares, you only live once.

After this a trip to a suit shop which Udom told me about, I just pretended to be interested for 10 minutes while Udom got his Tuk Tuk filled up for free. then back home.

I spent a good 3-4 hours with Udom driving me around and waiting for me, he charged me 30b,I gave him 50b (80p).

Decided to stay in the same hotel until my trip to Kanchanaburi, it’s pointless moving I’ve got my own bathroom, a nice big fan and a rock hard bed.

Time for lunch, noodles with just about everything on the top, chili sauce, whole chilies, pepper and baby shrimps - beautiful. Cost 20b (pennies).Whilst eating met a couple of lads from Japan, one’s English and the other is Japanese, Bob and Erro, we arranged to meet in a bar at 3 o'clock for a drink and a Thai massage, all I’ve got to do now is buy a watch.200b (2.50) and its mine. Met up and went for Thai massage followed by a cup of Thai tea and a good chat. The massage was pretty cool, so relaxing, could of easily fallen asleep, they bend you all over the place, made all my fingers and toes click and the old back clicked a bit too.

At one point I got a semi, don’t know why just kept getting dirty thoughts in my head, was waiting for her to ask if I wanted any extras but no luck. Silly I know but back home a Thai massage is considered a little seedy. Anyway 1 and a half hour massage cost 250b (3.50).

Had dinner with Bob and Erro in a Thai restaurant, had seafood and noodles in a spicy sauce washed down with a couple of beers.

Back home for a quick shower then got a Tuk Tuk with the boys to Pat Pong, one of Bangkok’s Go Go bar areas. On the way the Tuk Tuk driver done a wheelie, CRAZY. He stopped outside a proper dodgy looking club in the middle of nowhere with big doorman outside. We thought I don’t think so mate, said take us to Pat Pong. He said this is Pat Pong. No mate take us to Pat Pong. He said Pat Pong closed. Don’t think so mate it’s Friday night take us to Pat Pong. The doorman walked over and were trying to get us to go in, too pushy, which means its dodgy, got to trust your instincts.

Again take us to Pat Pong. He said this Pat Pong. Ok we will get a taxi. Ok Ok, and off we go again. Pulled up outside another club down an alley way, No mate where is Pat Pong. Getting wound up now, he must get commission. Take us to Pat Pong, with that he sped off driving like a right tit refusing to stop. I was just contemplating smacking him up the back of the head when he pulled up outside a market. He said this Pat Pong and asked for 300b.Yeah Right, gave him 100b and walked off, he even asked for a tip, I don’t think so.

So into the market, this place sells a fake version of just about anything, Oakley sunglasses, Rolex watches, Prada handbags and anything else you could possibly think of. Off to the side of the market is all the Go Go bars, as soon as you walk in the girls are on ya, well me anyway ha ha. Pretty cool sitting at the bar playing connect 4 with the girls drinking beer and trying to learn a bit of Thai.

Stayed in this bar till closing, had quite a few so pretty merry, then into a Tuk Tuk with the boys and back to Th Khao San, for a bit of grub to help with the sobering up and then off to bed.

Fresh fruit for breakfast, water melon and a red fruit called Som Whoo not sure about the taste of that one.

Packed my bags, so much for staying put and met Bob and Herro at 8am. Got a taxi to the main bus station then a coach North to a city called Ayuthaya, fully air conned, took about 1 and a half hours and cost 48b (80p). Got a Tuk Tuk to a hotel called the Bannkun Pra, nice building all wooden, backs onto the river which means it could be mosquito heaven. Got my own room, a double bed and own bathroom, still living in luxury it cost 400b (6.20) not cheap but its only for one night.

Sorted ourselves out and decided to hire some push bikes to get around town on, cost 50b (80p) for the day. The first stop was the Wat Phra Ram the old temple ruins. Whilst cycling around see a few elephants walking up the street, Erro had a go on one, I just sat and watched, I personally think its a bit cruel the way they are used as a tourist attraction but hey that’s the Thai thing.

From here a few more temples, all famous ruins then decided to do a boat trip around the river which circles the City, again looking at more temples. This was cool, just got a bit sick of seeing temple after temple. Took loads of pic’s of the Thai houses along the river bank, that’s a bit of an eye opener makes you realise how damn lucky we are. The 2 hour boat trip cost 500b (7 pound) between the 3 of us.

Everywhere we went today by bike or boat we had people shouting Hello and waving at us, especially the children along the river banks playing in the river. These people are quality. they just haven’t got a care in the World, they are so laid back just doing there own little thing, some sitting around, others fishing off the banks or little boats, children playing in the water which is absolutely filthy.

After the boat trip cycled to a couple of markets and sampled a couple of dishes, everywhere you go you can smell the food up the street, it smells so good, washed it down with a coconut milkshake made with ice, real coconut milk, real coconut flakes, milk and a touch of something else, lime I think. BEAUTIFUL!

Back to the hotel to shower and chill out with a beer by the river, for dinner we ate in the hotel restaurant I had crispy Som Tam, extra spicy, should keep the mosquitoes away. I need a box of tissues now that’s pretty hot. That was followed by Ruby fish in a red curry sauce with rice, 200b (3 pound) beers included, LOVELY! After we just chilled out by the river then had a walk up the road to send a few emails home before hitting the sack.

Early start in the morning heading a bit further north to Lopburi, a small town otherwise known as monkey town.

On the road by 7am, got a bus to Lopburi 35b (45p) takes about 2 hours. Sat at the back of the bus with Bob next to a little old Thai lady and a young boy probably about 5 years old, they kept talking to me in Thai and I was trying to communicate back with little success. The boy was so cute and so clever for his age, every time we passed a temple he would tap my leg and point. At one point ha heard the loose change in my pocket, he nodded his head and put his hand out, so cute.

They both seemed so curious towards our backpacks and kept touching them and looking at the little padlocks, maybe they hadn’t seen them before. The boy also kept poking my tattoo and saying jap jap, obviously meaning Japanese. We managed to tell them that we were going to Lopburi and the boy kept pointing out the direction it was in, when we got there he started pointed down saying Lopburi, Lopburi which was just as well because we didn’t have a clue where we were. I said thanks in Thai and gave him the loose change in my pocket 15b (10p) he smiled and put his thumb up. so cute.

We got off the bus and headed towards the food stalls, no one spoke a word of English so that was fun, lots of pointing, we ended up with egg fried rice with vegetables. beautiful. Next stop was the train station where they have a lock up for luggage as we were not staying the night. It’s a bit of a trek so a Thai lady who also spoke English flagged us a bus down. The party bus, Thai dance music blaring, fans blowing, saw a few monkeys on the way.

With our stuff locked up headed into town. first stop was the ancient ruins of a famous temple, what a surprise. Wondered around a bit taking pic’s again of more ruins, gets a bit boring after a while. Whilst walking around, see people sitting around all by themselves, some on benches others on the pavement. That seems to be all they do, they sit there for hours all alone just relaxing in the sun. Can't help but wonder what they could be thinking about for so long, there is only so much stuff you can think about. Maybe they are just so relaxed, happy and content in their lives that they can just sit down and switch off. Now that is the true meaning of not having a care in the world.

Found a place a bit like Trafalgar Square only with monkeys instead of pigeons. It’s a bit of a tourist attraction although I think we are the only ones. There are monkeys everywhere, it’s brilliant, one jumped up and nicked my bottle of water, another jumped on my back, proper clawed my arm, no blood, had to flick it off don’t want rabies. Could sit around here and watch them all day, the way they eat and play, they are like little humans. Took loads of pic’s, one of the bigger ones had a huge pair of nuts on him and another had huge nipples ha ha!

We then headed into the town centre, monkeys everywhere, on cars, crossing the roads, up lamp posts, it’s quite funny. Walked past a fire station their fire engines are a bit different to ours.

Found a market, it’s huge, the best so far, a proper traditional Thai market, it’s busy and we are the only tourists. Walked around the market for ages, again food stalls everywhere. Think you can buy just about anything here in regards to food, didn’t have a clue what most of it was, we saw eels for sale, little rodent things in cages, turtles and all sorts of strange things and don’t forget the monkeys jumping around nicking things from the stalls.

Food stop, found a stall and again had trouble communicating, we pointed to something that looked nice that others were eating. URRRRRR don't know what it was, some sort of soup with meat and noodles, it was minging. For me not to like it, it must be bad, I’ll eat just about anything, just ate the noodles and left. Wondered round a bit more and bought another pair of shorts.

Few its hot, need to sit down for a bit. Found an air conditioned bar and had a couple of drinks (non alcoholic) to cool down before moving on to another famous temple. Bob and Herro went inside for a look, I waited outside chilling in the sun, getting a bit bored of temples now.

Back to where we had a drink for some dinner, I just had Thai style noodles, not that hungry. Oh dear, state of the toilet. 1st dodgy one so far, after dinner walked back to the station and bought a ticket for an express train back to Bangkok, cost 250b (3 pound) crazy. Back home that wouldn’t get me to Bexleyheath, the station is different, no bridges to each platform, just walk over the rails. Some of the trains are horrible, proper hard wooden seats, luckily our one is luxury, nice soft seats, loads of leg room and air conditioning. Still Travelling in Style!

Back in Bangkok and time to say good buy to Bob and Herro. Bob was going south diving for a week and Herro was going back to Japan. Had a great time with those guys, can't believe I have only known them 2 days, done so much it seems a lot longer. Hopefully I’ll be meeting up with Bob next week in Bangkok for a night out. Goodbye for now!

Got a Tuk Tuk back to Th Khao San and booked back in the Rainbow for the night, had a wonder around, bought some more clothes,3 T shirts and some proper thin cotton trousers, cost 450b (6.50).Grabbed a bite to eat then back for some beauty sleep, early start in the morning off to Kanchanaburi.

Itchy!

Got bitten last night on legs, time to start taking the old malaria tablets, better to be safe than sorry. The mini bus picked me up from the end of the street at 7am as arranged and we headed for Kanchanaburi about a 2 and half hour drive. I slept most the way this travelling lark takes it out of ya.

The first stop in Kanchanaburi was the Kanchanaburi Allied War Cemetery, a gift from the Thai people to remember the prisoners of war mainly from Britain and Holland who died on there soil. This cemetery is really looked after by the thai people and was full of tourists, had a good walk around and took a few pics. Over the back of the cemetery is another cemetery for the Japanese who died, this is not looked after and is all over grown.

Next stop was across the road to the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre. This outlined the Japanese aggression in south east Asia during WW2, and their plan to connect Yangon (in Burma) with Bangkok via rail for transporting military supplies. Allied soldiers captured by the Japanese as well as Burmese and Malay captives were taken into the jungles of Kanchanaburi to build 415km of railway known today as the Death Railway because of the many lives, over 100 000 that the project claimed. Interesting!

We then set off towards the Kwai River Bridge (Bridge over the River Kwai/Death Railway Bridge. This was pretty cool but to be fair because of the many tourists it was hard to get a feel for what it must have been like when being constructed. The bridge is still in use and when a train comes you have to get on to the little platforms to either side of the rails.

After this we got in the mini bus and drove up stream to have lunch on a floating platform/restaurant on the Kwai river. The food was good, traditional Thai setup, bowl of rice each then a selection of various dishes in the middle of the table loads to go round so I got stuck right in, pretty much cleared the table, This was followed by freshly sliced pineapple. Beautiful!

After lunch we drove to a place called Hellfire Pass which got its name due to the unearthly apparitions cast by the nightly fires of the labouring prisoners of war. Its a 4km trail and follows the old route of the railway although most of the rails have been removed and used elsewhere on the track, some of the sleepers are still visible although most are missing or covered over. Its along this trail that you can see how much mountain was cut back to create a ledge for the track. As the trail goes on it goes through the mountain, this too was all cut by hand by the prisoners of war using only hand tools, manual drills and explosives. Its quite amazing to see on one side of the mountain wall you can see a drill bit snapped off in the rock. Now that’s what I call hard work. We then set off for a train ride on the Death Railway, this was good around the edge of the mountain, lots of nice views, took loads of pic’s. Got to watch the film the Bridge On The River Kwai when I get back.

After the Death Railway we set off to a place called Tiger Temple. This is basically a temple where monks live with tigers. really its just a tourist attraction where you can have your picture taken with a tiger in order to raise money for the monks. Not my cup of tea so I waited outside in a bar writing my diary while the others went in. Personally I would rather see tigers in the wild where they should be and not caged up and not treated like domesticated cats they are wild animals. From here we then went back to the floating restaurant for some dinner, same set up as lunch which was soup followed by various Thai dishes apart from the rice I’ve no idea what any of them were, all good though. Again followed by fruit, don’t ask me what it was but it tasted a bit like a sweet avocado pear.

After dinner we then got in a speed boat and drove a good 20 minutes up stream to our accommodation. Cool, nice little floating apartments on the river, not what I was expecting so still living in luxury, got my own room and a nice double bed, my own bathroom and a huge rotating fan on the ceiling. The toilet baffled me a bit, it hasn’t got a chain so it took me a while to realise that the bucket of water next to the toilet was to flush the toilet with. I thought it was to wash your ass - who knows?

Well after laying in my hammock for about 2 hours which by the way is right outside my door, so relaxing, I decided it was time to go to bed, its been another long day. The other people I met today in my group are all

Australian, oooops sorry 4 from Australia and 2 from New Zealand. I got on quite well with the 2 lads from New Zealand, Harry and Rowsie, nice fellers and they are my age. The others from Australia were older and to be honest I thought they were quite unsociable, their Loss!

Slept like a baby, off for some brekki, a taste of home, scrambled egg, tomatoes and toast followed by a big bowl of prickly Lyches which no one seemed to like so more for me.

The others in the group set off to go back to Tiger Temple rather than bamboo rafting down the river, that’s cool means I’ve got the whole raft to myself with the guide of course and a bit of time to chill in my hammock before leaving. Harry and Rowsie were chatting to one of the tour guides last night (Bob Marley) and he was saying that he used to have his own bar on one of the islands down south but when the Tsunami hit it wiped everything out. When the Tsunami hit he said he had to jump up and hang from the roof of his bar then he and some other locals made there way to the mountains for a few days. None of his friends died but a few tourists drinking in his bar were swept away. So now he has got to start again which is why he is working as a tour guide and living in a tent on the end of the raft. Sad story but I have yet to see him without a smile on his face.

So onto the bamboo raft and off down stream we go. This is cool and so relaxing all by myself taking it all in and chatting to the tour guide (Sam) and taking loads of pic’s. The views are amazing and we saw some wildlife too, an Iguana about 2ft long, a kingfisher and some water snakes (not poisonous).

Whilst travelling down stream and chatting to Sam he asked why i didn’t want to go to Tiger Temple, I told him and he agreed with me saying that its just a way of making money for the monks and that the monks drug the tigers to make them sleepy. So glad I stuck to my guns and didn’t follow the crowd, this rafting is so much better.

About an hour down stream we got off the raft and climbed up the river bank and onto a suspended bridge going across the river. Cool, loads of boards missing and holes all over the place, Sam said its safe to jump off if I wanted. I don't think so look at the state of the water although it don't seem to do the Thai's any harm. On the other side of the river we jumped on a motorbike and drove up into the mountains for a bit of elephant riding, again on my own. This was wicked, my elephant had tusks, which seems to be rare although they had been cut off, apparently because they were crossing over one another and made it hard for the elephant to eat. Who knows?

So on I get and off we go along a muddy track for a bit and then down into a river. Quality! These elephants are wicked climbers, he was climbing over rocks and all sorts, he also kept stopping to climb the river banks ripping down bushes and tree branches with his trunk - that is some serious power. At one point he was on his back legs virtually upright up the bank munching away, I had to proper hang on or I would have ended up in the river. Those trees must taste good. WICKED!

So it was then back onto the motorbike, a quick stop at a shop with a computer for a quick email home then back to the floating restaurant for lunch.

As we were the first ones back and I was on my own, I had lunch with Sam and some of the other Thai tour people. This was good proper Thai food the way they eat it. Again noodles with a selection of dishes some hot and some not. Didn’t know what any of them were but I’ll never say no to trying something new. They seemed really surprised that I was trying all the dishes and most of all that I liked them. They seemed to really appreciate it and kept telling me to eat more. A few of the things we had were banana plant leafs which are layers of leaf that you break of and dip into various spicy dips. Other dishes I don’t know what they were but all good and I had some raw shell fish from Pattaya which is apparently really rare, it was very soft and sort of bursts in your mouth. Yummy. At this point I'm so glad I split from the group, I had a great time. Look at what they have missed!

After lunch met up with Harry and Rowsie who had been to see the tigers and then elephant riding, got on the back of the truck with the other tour guide Bob and drove off into the mountains/jungle for a bit of trekking. Most of it was along paths that had already been worn in, had to cross a few rivers along the way, glad I’m wearing my sandals, mosquitoes everywhere. It’s weird how the trees grow in the jungle they all sort of wrap around each other, I guess trying to get to the light. We ended up at a big cave, time for a bit of caving. The cave goes down over 1000 metres and was only discovered 2 years ago. Torches on and with Bob leading made our way down into the cave. It’s very dark, muddy and slippery, there are a few tight spots on the way down and a few wooden steps have been made to make things a little easier. This was AWSOME, right up my street, we all loved it, loads of climbing and that. The inside of the cave was pretty amazing, lots of little bats flying around, apparently the smallest in the world. There was huge cone shaped crystals hanging down from the top, some of which had been cut off/stolen as it is worth a lot of money. You could see all the different layers of rock, some of which were metal. Pretty cool stuff! We climbed quite a way down but because of the rain it was too wet and slippery to go to the bottom so we made our way back up to the top. Took a few pic’s whilst climbing, not sure that they will come out, will have to wait and see.

Outside whilst walking down from the cave Bob slipped over and cut his hand open, he then started picking leafs called Sumob. He broke the leafs up and pushed them onto the wound, it stopped the bleeding immediately. Apparently it’s used in medicines. Clever Stuff!

So back in the truck and a quick stop at a waterfall for a few pic’s then off to a 7/11 to buy some rice whiskey, coke and ice - so cheap its stupid. Back to the restaurant for dinner, the normal soup followed by rice and various vegetable dishes which was followed by a big yellow fruit which is the Thai equivalent to orange. At dinner I found out that the 4 Australians had left early rather than staying another night. Their loss! So anyway at dinner we met a new group which had just arrived, all couples, that’s no good, French, Irish and 2 German girls. No Thanks!

After dinner into the boat for the trip up the river to the accommodation, Harry, Rowsie, Bob and myself sat on the top of the boat. Pretty Cool!

A quick cold shower and into the little floating seating area for some drinking games. The rice whiskey is pretty smooth stuff. The atmosphere was awesome. Sitting on the River Kwai, drinking, playing games, Harry and Sam were playing the guitar and Sam threw in a bit of magic too. Quality!

After having a good drink with Sam, Harry, Rowsie and myself made our way to the end of the raft to Bobs tent for a little smoke of some Thai stick and some more guitar playing. Harry sang a quality tune by a New Zealand band which I’ll have to buy when I get there but Bobs version of Country Road will stay with me forever and so too will his Thai saying:-

Don’t worry about yesterday

Think about tomorrow.

Forget about the past

Follow your dreams.

SPOT ON. That was said with a smile on his face after losing everything in the Tsunami.

What a Guy!

What a Night!

Early start and a bit of brekki, pretty much the same as yesterday then in the back of the truck for a pretty long drive to the Nam Tok Erawan Nature Reserve. This is where the Erawan waterfall is. Its a 7 tiered waterfall over 1000 metres high. Its awesome, its about a 2 and a half km trek to the top but worth every step. Me, Harry and Rowsie set off together following the tracks up and taking lots of pic’s. Its beautiful!

At level 4 we left our bags with Sam and jumped in for a swim as it was roasting. We had a few slides down the big rock into the pool below. Cool! With our cameras in a plastic bag we made our way to the top of the waterfall, climbing up the waterfall itself and stopping at each level for a swim and a few pic’s. At the top we stood under the waterfall for a nice back massage. Beautiful, pretty loud too.

What a quality time, cant really say much more about it, I just hope the pictures do it justice. I doubt it. On the way down we used the path which seemed to take ages, we should have just slid down the waterfall ha ha. Drove back to the restaurant for lunch, I could eat a horse. Loads of grub, kept asking for more and it kept coming. You know me, if its in front of me its got to go.

After lunch it was time to pack up and leave, Harry and Rowsie were heading back to Bangkok and I had decided to stay elsewhere in Kanchanaburi for the rest of the week. So again it was time to say goodbye to 2 quality lads who hopefully I will catch up with next year in New Zealand. Who Knows!

The mini bus driver dropped me off in Kanchanaburi town as I asked at a place called the Jolly Frog Backpackers Guesthouse. I wanted a raft house on the river but they were all taken, so too were all the single rooms so I managed to get a double room for the night for the same price as a single, less than a pound a night. Again a nice double bed, my own bathroom and a fan, sweet!

Had a walk up the road and ended up spending a couple of hours in an internet cafe emailing you guys. Stopped off for some grub on the way back, Thai green curry with extra chilies. That’s HOT.

Had to buy some chocolates on the way home to cool my mouth down!

What a week, I’m knackered! Time to chill out and hit the sack!

Managed to get a nice little lay in which was well needed after the action packed week I’ve had. A quick shower and straight down the internet cafe to catch up with you guys and to start typing up my diary for the web site. 3 hours on a computer cost me 60b, less than a pound. Quality! Everything is so much cheaper here than Bangkok. Well its now time for a bit of brekki/lunch, had chicken Phad Thai, fried noodles with tofu, vegetables, egg and peanuts. Beautiful! Its weird here how you can get a meal for 20b (30p) yet go into any shop to buy a chocolate bar or cake and it will cost you at least 25b.

Its pretty hot here, probably the hottest day so far, it’s a different hot to England though since I’ve been here I haven’t used any sun cream and haven’t caught the sun at all. Anyway off to my room to lay down with the fan blowing.

Well after a little siesta its back down the internet cafe for more diary typing. Another 3 hours later and it’s time for dinner, just had sweet and sour chicken need something cool, I think I’ve eaten too many chilies over the last week I can feel my insides burning, proper nice, big chunks of pineapple, cucumber, tomatoes, loads of flavours together followed by a chockie.

Walked back to my room grabbed a bottle of water and sat in the garden in a hammock under the coconut trees thinking about how good the last week has been. What an awesome start, I had a great time and met some good people, couldn’t have wished for a better start, obviously it’s not always gonna be that good, but what a way to get things going.

Its so hard trying to put into words what I have experienced over the last week, the people, the way of life, it just needs to be seen. The people here are so friendly and helpful they just come up to you and start talking. At Bangkok train station a bloke came up and started chatting, I was just thinking, what’s he after, it turned out he was just being friendly and trying to help us get back to where we were staying, but the way we are in England with our guards up all the time we are not used to strangers being that friendly.

We are so health and safety mad back home, meat has to be refrigerated, rice has to be eaten as soon as its cooked, tell that to these people they have meat hanging out in the sun all day and it tastes fine to me. On the roads anything goes, people on backs of trucks, 3 or 4 people on a motorbike, I saw 2 men and a little baby on one bike, can you imagine seeing that in England? There is so much here to see and so much to take in. All I have done today is write home, eat and chill out.

I’ve moved to a single room, got to share a bathroom but for less than a pound a night who’s complaining, it’s got a wicked garden and a good view of the River Kwai.

So after swinging in a hammock half the night chatting to Daniel a Canadian guy who has been sharing his travelling knowledge, it’s time to go to bed.

AHHHH!!! - The mosquitoes have had a good feast, must have been whilst I was in the hammock last night, been bitten all over my ankles and knees. Nowhere else and I had trousers on. Strange!

A whole fresh water melon for brekki. Juicy!

Done absolutely nothing today just wondered around and chilled out in my room with the fan blowing or in the hammock under the coconut trees. It’s so relaxing here so much better than Bangkok. No traffic and no Tuk Tuk drivers following you up the street. I could spend hours in that hammock just chilling out and taking it all in and thinking to myself, especially of a night looking up at the sky with the breeze blowing listening to all the little insects singing away.

It’s so cheap here. My accommodation, 3 meals and a bottle of water a day is costing 150b, that’s just over 2 pounds. What more do I need, could spend a year here and not have to worry about anything.

Downloaded my pictures on to a cd today cost 100b (1.50).Crazy!

Anyway after doing nothing all day it’s time for a night stroll up to the bridge. Walked around for ages, didn’t find the bridge. It can’t be that far away! There's dogs everywhere, had a stand off with one on the way back, he wasn’t going back down so I had to slowly retreat and walk the other way. If it wasn’t for rabies I would of kicked it in the head. Back at my room I checked my map and realised I had walked in totally the wrong direction for the bridge, it was a nice walk though. So it’s back in the hammock for some more chill time. I ended up waking up in the middle of the night.

Time for bed!

There are lizards and frogs everywhere!

Checked my emails and found that my old apprentice on my old firm had killed himself. Sad news but I sort of knew, just had a feeling. Those of you who knew him know what a quality, funny bloke he was, we had so many laughs together it’s a shame he had so many troubles in his life. Hopefully now he has found peace.

Walked up to the bridge over the River Kwai, it was better than last time as there was less tourists. After here I walked back the other way to the Allied War Cemetery for another walk around and then to the next cemetery, in the next field up where there is a Chinese cemetery.

From here I walked around for what seemed like ages looking for a post office to post my pictures home. I tried asking a few people but I gave up realising it would probably be closed as it was Saturday. I will try again Monday. From here I walked back towards the cemetery and decided to have another walk around the Death Railway Museum. I seemed to be the only one in here so I had plenty of time to walk around and take it all in. Reading about what the Japanese made the prisoners of war do under the most extreme conditions. PRETTY HORRIFFIC!

I then headed back to my room for some much needed chill out time. After a little power nap, I walked down the road for something to eat and ended up meeting Daniel who I had dinner with, I had Tom Yam with shrimps, basically a Thai soup with shrimps and a bowl of rice. We then made our way back to the Jolly Frog garden for some more hammock swinging into the night.

Just chilled out all day in the garden either in the hammock or in a deck chair, it’s so peaceful.

I don’t think I’ve ever sat down for so long except for at the shoot ha ha. The only time I got up and left the garden was for food. I managed to get directions to the Post Office so that’s something for me to do tomorrow if I get time in between my chilling out.

It will be my last day in Kanchanaburi tomorrow, I’m gonna get a train back to Bangkok on Tuesday morning to meet Bob for another night out in Pat Pong. So after getting something to eat I thought I would have a walk into town to see if I could find the Post Office so I know where I’m going tomorrow. Walked around for over 2 hours, I’m damned if I can find it, I’ve been everywhere.

The amount of people that say Hello is unbelievable, when trying to ask them where the post office was they didn’t have a clue what I was going on about so in the end I gave up and headed back. It might just be me but I find it so hard to say hello, at home I never say it, it’s more like alright mate how you doing. When I say it here it sounds funny, I’m just not used to saying it. Crazy!

Anyway on the way back I saw this giant centipede thing, it was about 2cm wide and nearly 1ft long, it was horrible. I followed it across the road in curiosity and there was a Thai man laying down on the other side looking at me wondering what the hell I was doing. I pointed to this thing and I’ve never seen someone move so fast, he jumped up and grabbed a piece of wood by which time it had gone under the bench like thing he was laying on between some crate things. He kept saying thank you to me. Don’t know what it was but he obviously didn’t want it near him. As I walked off up the road he was just waiting for it to come out so he could hit it with his bit of wood. Quite funny really!

So now its time to pop into the 7/11 for a couple of bottles of Chang (beer) before heading back to the garden for some more hammock swinging under the stars.

It’s a hard life travelling!

Phad Thai for brekki!

Lots more chilling in the hammock, had a little wonder around and walked past some Thai kids who ‘hi fived’ me, Cool A? For lunch I just had fried rice with egg and vegetables, sounds boring but lovely. These Thais know how to cook.

Lots more chilling out in the hammock, got a bit too hot so moved to my room with the fan blowing, started packing my bag ready for the morning, going get the 7.20am train back to Bangkok. A quick shower and a wonder down the road to a restaurant called Apples which was recommended by THE DUDE back home. Thought I would treat myself as it’s my last night in Kanchanaburi.

I had spicy honey beef salad for starters followed by chicken Thai curry, for desert I had a pineapple and banana pancake which I had to have a little break for as it nearly beat me. as if I would let that happen! That was all washed down with a couple of drinks (Non alcoholic) and cost the extortionate price of 220b (3.20). Without a doubt the best meal so far. I’M STUFFED. I should think so too for the price ha ha!

Well it’s my last night here, I’m going miss that hammock, it’s so peaceful and relaxing. This place is QUALITY! The only thing I can fault is the food with the exception of Apples. I don’t think its as good as in Bangkok, I guess because there is not as many food stalls, there is less variety. In Bangkok there are so many stalls and so much competition that any dodgy ones soon get pushed out of town.

Well I’m going have one last stroll up to the bridge and then, you guessed it, spend some more quality time in the hammock looking up at the stars before hitting the sack.

Early start, I walked to the train station and got the 7.20am train to Bangkok cost 25b (33p).Two hours and forty minutes in a hard wooden seat and a fruit loaf for brekki. GREAT! Back in Bangkok and got a tuk tuk to the Th Khao San. Smell that pollution, you don’t realise how bad it is till you leave and then come back. I walked back to the Rainbow but it was full as no one had checked out yet, still early. Had a quick look at a couple of other rooms for the same sort of money, O' dear I wouldn’t let a dog sleep in them. Back to the Rainbow to sit and wait for somebody to check out, compared to the other places I’ve seen its well worth its 200b, 20 minutes wait and I'm in.

Its chucking it down outside, not up for getting wet so lunch is in the Rainbow restaurant, Spaghetti you cant beat making it yourself though. After the rain I had a wonder around the market stalls and bought a long pair of combat trousers and a long sleeved top, 550b (7.50).Time to chill out whilst waiting for Bob.

Met Bob who was with another guy called Glouco from Brazil who he had met on his diving course and went off for another Thai massage. SO GOOD, although not quite as relaxing as last time as me and Bob kept talking, got lots to catch up on. After the massage we walked up the road to the same restaurant as last time for a bite to eat. Thai green curry and of course a few beers, starting to get Dai ja vu of the first day me and Bob met.

Its now time to get a tuk tuk to Pat Pong, they kept saying they would take us to places with sex shows, obviously they get commission so we were just saying ‘no take us to the market we want to go shopping’ It’s funny how the price suddenly goes up, so after getting nowhere we flagged down a taxi, 70b (1 pound) and no hassle. Sorted!

Had a quick look at the dodgy Rolex watches around the market, one stall wanted 2500b for one, we managed to get her to settle at 800b and then walked off without buying it, quite funny really it just goes to show how much you can knock the price down. Now for some drinking, we found a bar with girls in bikinis dancing on a stage in the centre of the bar. Most the girls looked bored stiff, can you blame them? just standing there being perved over by dirty old men and us. The state of some of the geezers you see with young birds all around them. Fair play but Sick! Each girl has got a number on, basically just take your pick and she’s yours for the night. A couple of beers then off to a sex show.

You don’t get to watch the show as soon as you walk in there is girls on ya, rubbing you up and asking you to buy them drinks, just want to say xxxx off, I’m trying to watch the show. Get a drink sit down and try to ignore them and there still on you, sitting on your lap with there boobies out doing a bit of grinding, giving it the same old chat. What is your name, where you from, you want to buy me drink. NO! It gets a bit too much after a while, it’s got to be done though. From what I managed to see of the show there was girls firing ping pong balls out of there ‘bits’ and others with chop sticks up there ‘bits’ picking up little rings and putting them on bottle necks. Quite Impressive!

Had to get out of there, all a bit too seedy which was expected I suppose. It’s just all about the money, we had a wonder around outside for a bit, street hookers everywhere trying to get you to go with them. It’s CRAZY.

Found a club packed full of fit birds, it was alright the girls chatted to you obviously but they weren’t all over you like the other places, much more chilled out. If any of the girls got a bit too much I was just telling them that we liked Lady Boys, one of the girls pointed to a club over the road especially for that, so we drunk our beers and headed straight over there. NOT!

Well its gone 2am everything is closing, we are all pretty pissed so its time to get a tuk tuk back. There are girls everywhere, they out number the dogs, got a taxi back to the Th Khao San with the intention of going to a club at the end of the road called Gullivers. For some reason it was closed so had a wonder up the road and got some grub and said goodbye to Bob and Glouco before walking back and crashing out.

0'DEAR.Definatly drunk too much last night, lots of water required. A nice shower and I’m sorted just got to wait for Bob to make an appearance. Met Bob grabbed some brekki (fried noodles) and then eventually found a tuk tuk to take us to Siam Square where all the big shopping centres are without going via a suit shop on the way. In Siam Square we headed straight for the MBK shopping complex which is apparently the best one here.Its massive shops and stalls everywhere, there's not much you cant buy in this place. There is so many stalls selling the same things, phones, watches, clothes, wooden ornaments, any weapon you could think of, suits and wedding dresses it makes you wonder how any of them make any money. It’s so hard to remember where you have looked in this place it all looks the same. Bob was having a big old spend up as its his last day here, quite entertaining, lots of haggling going on.

I found it so hard not to buy anything, if I was on holiday and not travelling I could spend an absolute fortune in this place. In the end I ended up buying a nice sleeveless top, 200b (3 pound). After about 4 hours of shopping we decided to get something to eat and found a proper Japanese Restaurant in the complex which too was recommended. A little taste of home for Bob before setting off tonight, we ordered 2 set meals and shared them. One was proper sushi and the other beef steak. NICE and Different. The old raw fish isn’t bad, can’t get the hang of eating with chopsticks though it seems to take forever. No chance of a knife and fork in this place.

From here we ended up sharing a taxi back to the Th Khao San with a Romanian couple, rush hour traffic in Bangkok. NIGHTMARE! Back at the Th Khao San and just over an hour left for Bob to squeeze in some more last minute shopping, we said our goodbyes and Bob got his taxi to the airport. I was planning on going to see a Muay Thai boxing fight but after chatting to the guy who works in the Rainbow found out that it was to late, 6pm-9pm unfortunately.

Its so hot here tonight I’m sitting down with sweat running down my face. Crazy! So it’s off to check my emails, write my diary and get some food before hitting the sack.

A nice lay in till I was woken up by what sounded like a kango in the room next door. GREAT!

A quick shower, some fresh fruit for brekki and back to my room to sort out my stuff ready to check out for 12.00. With my backpack in the Rainbow storage room till tonight its time for a trip to the Grand Palace which can be walked although the tuk tuk drivers tell you otherwise, either that or its closed because the king is in town and there is a special Thai ceremony taking place. Of course there is you plonkers!

On the way a Thai guy started chatting to me saying that I needed long trousers to gain entry to the palace, that’s true because I had already read it in the Lonely Planet. My guard was up at first, the old tuk tuk drivers really give a bad impression of Thai people. He turned out to be a nice friendly, helpful guy. We were chatting for about 20 minutes, he was asking me what I had done and where I was heading and telling me about all the dodgy little scams the tuk tuk drivers and taxis get up too. I mentioned that I was going to Chiang Mai tonight, he started telling me about it and said that its good to do a tour. I said that I was going to sort something out when I get there. Why he said it’s more expensive, that’s how the guesthouses make there money, go to the T.A.T in Bangkok it will be cheaper. I had already used the T.A.T for my trip to Kanchanaburi and it was quality so I thought there’s no harm in going there. He then flagged a tuk tuk down and told him in Thai where I wanted to go and no stopping on way. COOL! Like I said he turned out to be a proper friendly guy.

At the T.A.T had a good old chat, told them what my plan was for the next couple of weeks before crossing into Laos, they’re proper helpful, it’s a long story but for 180 pound I have got a train ticket for tonight on an overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai. I’m being picked up from the station and taken to the accommodation for the night. I’m then doing 3 days of jungle trekking including more elephant riding and bamboo rafting all meals cooked in the jungle included. I’ve then got 11 nights accommodation B+B in the main part of Chiang Mai where I was planning on going anyway which gives me time to chill out, travel further north to Chiang Rai and even do a Thai massage course before being picked up and travelling to Chiang Khong which is where the Thai exit border into Laos is. I then spend a night on the border, accommodation sorted before getting a boat across to the Laos border in Huay Xai, from here I then travel again by boat into Luang Probang in northern Laos where I get left to do my own thing. Again it’s probably not the cheapest way of doing it but its not like I’m going to be doing it again, I’m gonna meet people doing the same thing and it covers everything I was going to do anyway it just means I’ve got nothing to worry about as all my accommodation and transport is taken care of, especially as according to the Lonely Planet book travelling in Laos can be pretty damn dangerous.

So with everything sorted I’ve got to get a taxi back to the Grand Palace, they’re a nightmare it cost me 30b to get here and they want 100b to take me back, IDIOTS! After working my way through them all I eventually found one to take me there for 40b, no stops. DEAL!

At the Grand Palace you have to put your trousers on and pay 250b to get in. For some reason I thought I had already been here, obviously not. The grounds itself are pretty big with all sorts of temple building all over the place. At first sight they just look like more temples but when you look closely at how they are built the detail and the finishing on them, it’s pretty amazing. You just can’t imagine how much time and patience must have been put in to build them especially the Grand Palace itself, it definitely deserves its name. Took loads of pictures although I doubt they will do it justice mainly because it’s so big it doesn’t fit in the picture and the weather is overcast which doesn’t help. Whilst walking around I met a guy from Amsterdam who too was travelling on his own, he's a nice guy just a bit camp, we ended up going around together. After walking the grounds and having a look in the palace museum it was time to visit Wat Pho which is just over the back, it’s the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok which is home to a massive reclining Buddha which is 46 metres long. Try getting that in a picture!

Again on the way the tuk tuk drivers kept giving it the same old chestnut, it’s closed I take you somewhere else. How original is that MUGGS? We even had people on the way out telling us that we should of bought tickets to get in. Yeah right, it’s free entry you Plonkers! Anyway said goodbye to Frank and got a tuk tuk back to the Th Khao San, could have walked it but I’ve totally lost my bearings.

Grabbed a quick bite to eat, the first thing since brekki and popped in the 7/11 for a bottle of water and food for the train journey. Picked up my stuff from the Rainbow and said goodbye to the guy that works there who is quality and got a taxi to Bangkok’s Hualamphong train station. I’m on the train heading north for the next 13 hours, that gives me plenty of time to write my diary and sleep.

Well a lot of sleep although its a bit bumpy, somebody should check those rails out! After finding out that the train has been delayed 5 hours I arrived 18 hours later in what I assumed was Chiang Mai but No, it’s Lampang the train can’t go any further because half of Chiang Mai is under water including the train track due to the 3 tornados over the last 2 weeks which has caused the river Mae Ping to burst its banks. So from here it’s onto a bus for the rest of the journey. Got off the bus and found the tour guide who was holding up my name on a piece of paper so off I go in the back of his jeep. This was when I saw how bad the flooding was, no one seems to care I saw 2 cyclists pedaling in about a foot of water, people fishing and down one road the water was over the car bonnets.

Anyway made it to my hotel, it’s alright, definitely the best place so far, apparently it’s only 3 months old, it’s got a nice garden, nice restaurant and a swimming pool. Cool. I’m here for the night then off to the jungle in the morning. A quick shower and a wonder around to get my bearings, thought it would be a good idea to get some proper food as I haven’t eaten a proper meal since yesterday. I found a little place selling all sorts of dishes, had rice with a vegetable mix on top it had carrots and cauliflower in, it was so nice I had to try another, rice and spicy mince meat with beans. BEAUTIFUL!

Both dishes together cost me 20b (25p) that’s half the price of in Bangkok. How mad is that, seems like the cheapest place so far. Had a wander back to the Holiday View Guesthouse as I’ve got to meet the tour guide and the rest of the group at 6pm. That gives me an hour to chill out!

Met the tour guide and the group for a chat about what we should take with us on the trek, basically travel light, a small bag, toiletries, first aid kit and a change of clothes nothing decent well that shouldn’t be hard. The rest of the group seem alright all about my age and a bit older, 4 fellers, Christy, Stan, Alex and Andy and 2 French birds. After the meeting the French birds disappeared and the rest of us had a bite to eat in the guesthouse restaurant, another Thai green curry it’s so good, followed by a couple of drinks into the night. We were going to have a walk around the night market but it’s all flooded so we gave that a miss. Well it’s 1am and I’ve got to sort my stuff out for the morning and get some kip, got to be on the road by 9am.