Having the Thaime of our lives!!

Thailand was nicer than Bangladesh. I may have given Bangladesh a hard time (I am sure there are some beautiful areas), but our flight out of the country was delayed by 2 hours, so we ended up leaving at 3 am… the curse of Bangladesh strikes again!! We arrived in Bangkok at 6 am local time feeling a bit broken. After breezing through airport security we travelled to our Airbnb for a nap and shower, before our next adventure (the guy at the Airbnb was very weird and talked A LOT, which is great under normal circumstances, but less great at 7 am when you’ve had one hour sleep).

It’s also a weird thought that Christmas is only a few days away as the temperatures are well into the 30’s and there are only a splattering of shops with decorations. It’s certainly going to be a strange one this year!! As a special edition blog post I’ve tried my best to integrate a few Christmas puns… you know… as a kind of mistle-toast to the holiday season. Oh deer…

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16^th December-17^th December (Khao Yai National Park)

After being reliant on public transport on our trip so far, we decided to rent a car for our week in Thailand and explore the countryside around Bangkok. We picked up the car at noon, sorted a Thai SIM card for Helen’s phone (to give us access to maps) and bought camping gas as we plan to cook a few meals whilst here. A productive morning for two zombies! An interesting point was when the Avis staff member thought that we only had Helen’s UK driving license with us and not an international one (which we did also have), they informed us that this would not be sufficient. Yule never guess what happened next… Instead of just refusing us the car rental, they casually advised us to carry around 2000 Thai Baht (~£50) in cash for handy bribes to any police officers. Hmmmm…

As it snow happens, driving in Thailand was surprisingly easy. Getting out of Bangkok was difficult from a navigation point of view and we ended up going in circles around the airport (my bad). After that we cruised for 2 hours to a little homestay outside of Khao Yai National Park. We also stopped off at a Tesco Lotus (cool name I know) for some lunch and dinner provisions including cooked chicken (YAY). The evening was spent relaxing, cooking by a lake and watching a TV series called Lovesick. 

On our second day we were treated to a Spanish omelette by our Spanish host. We then headed into the National Park, very excited to explore after a travel heavy few days. We spent all day walking around forest trails, tiptoeing across tree trunks that spanned rivers, visiting viewpoints and generally having a wonderful time. But wait… there’s myrrh. On the way out of the park we also saw two elephants casually grazing by the side of the road. A surreal experience. A second stove-cooked dinner, chocolate milk and a relaxing evening capped off a top day. 

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18^th December – 19^th December (Ayutthaya)

The next stop on our Thai adventure was Ayutthaya (Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya). At the centre of the city is Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The former Siamese capital still has imposing Buddha statues set within a landscape of ~70 temples and ruins throughout the city (dating from 1350-1500), ancient trees and blue skies.

After a full English breakfast provided by our host in Khao Yai, we set off for the 2 hour drive. The drive was unspectacular and because Thai radio is a bit rubbish (at least compared to Iceland) DJ Rob was invited to the stage. His epic playlist included bangers from Tarzan, Shrek, Zootopia and a few Christmas specials. Walking around Ayutthaya for a few hours before lunch then brought back memories from Pompeii and Ostia. The afternoon was spent relaxing and recharging. We also had a first proper Thai dinner, rice and stir fry vegetables for Rob and a spicy coconut milk and mushroom soup for Helen.

5.30 am. Blaring music from the neighbouring Buddhist temple to mark the Uposatha (a Buddhist day of observance, which occurs every full moon). So much for our lie in… although breakfast was banana porridge (YAY)!! We then had a full day at Ayutthaya and it was tree-mendous. We had a hot morning plodding around in search of somewhere to exchange money, before a mixed berry smoothie to take the edge of the scorching day (a tad over 35 degrees). The afternoon was spent at Wat Ratchaburana (one of the tallest temples) before a siesta and a few litres of iced coffee. We finished the day with a setting sun at Wat Chaiwatthanaram, taking some wonderful photos. A home cooked dinner and a chat with Rob’s Nan and Granddad finished the evening. WAT a day.

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20^th December – 21^st December (Kanchanaburi & Erawan National Park)

After another delicious porridge breakfast (great job Rob) we set off for Kanchanaburi. The town is best known for the Death Railway or the Thai-Burma (now Myanmar) Railway, which was built during WWII by the Japanese. The line crosses the River Kwai over the Death Railway Bridge, which is located in Kanchanaburi. More than 12,000 Allied prisoners of war and tens of thousands of forced labourers were killed during the construction of the line (more info: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Burma-Railway).  On arrival our first stop was to visit the historic bridge before the Allied prisoner of war cemetery. Both stops were extremely moving but we were particularly impressed with how much care and attention went into maintaining the beautiful cemetery. We then walked back to our accommodation via the vibrant Soi Chuk Don Market (with fruit, veg and a weird and wonderful variety of Thai snacks) before a quick siesta prior to a great gluten-free Thai dinner. Overall, a very interesting and thought-provoking day.

Day 2 was spent at Erawan National Park. Doesn’t that sound like something from Lord of the Rings? We had an amazing morning exploring the seven tiers of waterfalls, climbing for around 1.5 km through jungle landscape. Overall the national park wasn’t as impressive as Khao Yai, but the waterfalls were beautiful. We swam at a great spot just below the seventh tier and had an amazing time splashing around and being nipped by fish that live in the pools. We then drove to Phratat Cave, which was unexpectedly spectacular. Huge stalactites and stalagmites were constant features, along with glittering rocks and thousands of bats. We named it Erawan Cave and deemed it to be built by dwarves. On the way home we passed the site of ‘The Battle of the Nine Armies’, proving once and for all that we were in Lord of the Rings land.

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22^nd December-24^th December (Bangkok)

Bangkok is brilliant. Exceeded expectations by far. We arrived at noon, dropped off the car (although we did our best to get lost in a multi-story car park) and did a last minute swap of accommodation. This proved a huge success as our hostel was in a great location and our hosts were fantastic (Real Sleep Hostel). We then set out to explore the vibrant Khaoson Road, picking up an extremely delicious lunch of banana smoothies, Thai crêpes and Khao Tom Mat (sweet sticky rice served in a banana leaf) en route. We were also feeling a bit Santa-mental about Christmas so took some elfies with our newly-purchased hats (see top picture). After lunch we popped into the Siam Musuem for an exhibition called ‘Decoding Thainess’, which was bizarre. During our time in Thailand we have noticed an emphasis on celebrating the royal family and this was a theme of the museum, along with sections about Thai food, history and culture. We then walked along the river before re-visiting the area near Khaoson road. The markets are so busy at night and the only downside of this is that you end up feeling a bit Claus-trophobic. On our second day in Bangkok we visited the Golden Mount and Wat Saket for amazing panoramic views of the city and beautiful paintings inside the Buddhist temples. We then headed to Lumpini Park before exploring China town, enjoying more smoothies and…getting over first Thai massage.

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So to wrap things up, we wanted to say to all our friends and family back home…

Have your elf a merry little Christmas!! (and sorry again for such elful puns…)