Day 3 - Day 5 (Tim)
8.3.06
Today we threw caution to the wind, and then followed it as we decided to make the trip into Bangkok. First stop was Lumphini Park - a place much like Queens Park in London, in search of early morning stalls selling snakes blood and bile to drink but the city traffic caused us to miss them. When we reached Wat Po, a large temple in which the 45m 'reclining Buddha' statue resides, a kindly man outside informed us that the place was closed for two hours whilst the monks slept, but that there are 3 other Buddha statues situated just a mile or two away that we could view in the mean time by taking a tuk-tuk (moped backed by a small, covered bench in which passengers sit)for about 30 baht, and wouldn't you know it, here's one now. Only after we jumped in did it strike us as odd..especially since the guide book said that the place was open all day. Before coming to Bangkok, we had read that conmen often employ the 'closed attraction' strategy as a means to obtain money from tourists, but I didn't actually think I'd ever fall for something like that - much too obvious. It is only after you have come across one of these fellows that you realise how charistmatic, proffessional and practiced they are at their trade. It was an annoying detour, but we were lucky we were only tricked out of a few baht (about 40p) and nothing more serious - like our passports for example. It certainly made me more aware of such things - a few more people tried this same trick on us later that day, but we were able to walk away from them and eventually got to see Wat Po.
10.3.06
Today we finally decided to fly the nest, and depart our sheltered residence in John's apartment, in favour of tiny hostels and backpacker hangouts. We rode the bus from Bangkok to the river-side (River Kwai, as in bridge over the -)tourist town of Kantachaburi. We managed to grab the last two raft rooms in a hostel by the river, offering simple and cheap accomodation. The view, capped off by the towering mountains in the background, is truely amazing. I have some photos of the sunset there, but am not able to upload them yet as I left my camera in the hostel.
Today we threw caution to the wind, and then followed it as we decided to make the trip into Bangkok. First stop was Lumphini Park - a place much like Queens Park in London, in search of early morning stalls selling snakes blood and bile to drink but the city traffic caused us to miss them. When we reached Wat Po, a large temple in which the 45m 'reclining Buddha' statue resides, a kindly man outside informed us that the place was closed for two hours whilst the monks slept, but that there are 3 other Buddha statues situated just a mile or two away that we could view in the mean time by taking a tuk-tuk (moped backed by a small, covered bench in which passengers sit)for about 30 baht, and wouldn't you know it, here's one now. Only after we jumped in did it strike us as odd..especially since the guide book said that the place was open all day. Before coming to Bangkok, we had read that conmen often employ the 'closed attraction' strategy as a means to obtain money from tourists, but I didn't actually think I'd ever fall for something like that - much too obvious. It is only after you have come across one of these fellows that you realise how charistmatic, proffessional and practiced they are at their trade. It was an annoying detour, but we were lucky we were only tricked out of a few baht (about 40p) and nothing more serious - like our passports for example. It certainly made me more aware of such things - a few more people tried this same trick on us later that day, but we were able to walk away from them and eventually got to see Wat Po.
10.3.06
Today we finally decided to fly the nest, and depart our sheltered residence in John's apartment, in favour of tiny hostels and backpacker hangouts. We rode the bus from Bangkok to the river-side (River Kwai, as in bridge over the -)tourist town of Kantachaburi. We managed to grab the last two raft rooms in a hostel by the river, offering simple and cheap accomodation. The view, capped off by the towering mountains in the background, is truely amazing. I have some photos of the sunset there, but am not able to upload them yet as I left my camera in the hostel.
posted by Timmy at Saturday, March 11, 2006
3 Comments:
Your posts bring it all so much to life. You have already packed in a lot in such a short time. It all sounds wonderful. Keep it going.
All sounds like a typically good time in Thailand so far. Glad you're doing ok. Poisonous scorpions all sounds funky! I laughed my head off when I read it. Have fun, but not too much!
~Caris~
Aww guys sounds like your having an awesome time. Apart from the bite thing. Tim and Ryan, picking up women already!!! Why am I not surprised!!! Keep us posted xx love stace xx i set up a stupid blog thing only i didnt write anything on it and now i cant remember my password!!!
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