.

Post 369: Christmas in Bangkok .. New Year in Phitsanulok

2012-01-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

Here in Thailand, they celebrate most things .... they don't really need an excuse to drink dance and make merry .... my kind of place. I wandered down to Central World to see the Christmas lights which were really quite jolly, but the crowds were horrendous. Above the main interchange outside of the shopping centre was a huge sign ... 'Happy New Year 2012' .... The last sign that I saw here was 'Peaceful Demonstrators not Terrorists' .... and that was just before the shootings started back in May 2010

On Christmas Day, I set out on the scooter for a traditional Christmas dinner .... 'traditional' as in here. Chang Wattanna, shrimps and noodles ..... absolutely delicious

For New Year, it was onto a bus with my friend Noo and a six hour journey up to her home town of Phitsanulok. I really like this place, a vibrant city that describes itself as the Indochina Junction .. but I'm not sure why. I love the night markets, the constant festivals, the slow walk of life and the lack of pissed European tourists.

After a night in Phitsanulok, it was off to the home village, Ban Noen Kum a few kilometres from the interestingly named town of Pee Chit.

The New Year countdown started early ..... probably a few days before I arrived. From Bangkok I'd brought fireworks, lots of fireworks. Proper fireworks that fill the night sky and burst the eardrums. In Europe, such pyrotechnics would cost a small fortune, but here they're cheap. They're rudely cheap in fact and 'Safety' seems not to be a problem .... all were ignited using a zippo ... but NOT by me .. the entire bundle of high explosives had cost me less than $10 in Bangkok's China Town ..... so during the ignition stage I was hiding with the kids behind a sturdy brick wall.

Tick Tock Tick Tock .... as midnight arrived, the kum-loy lanterns were released and the night sky filled with an amazing orange light and then it was Karaoke .. so it wasn't all good news.

Post 368: The Ghosts of Bangkok

2011-12-18T04:27:00.000-08:00

Living in the Lak Si District of Bangkok, means that I live alongside one of the seven(ish) wonders of the modern world .... The Hopewell Ghost Towers ..or as they are referred to by the Bangkok Post, 'Thailand's Stonehenge'

Back in the 1990's, money flooded into Thailand and the rest of Asia. As property prices across Europe fell and then plummeted, Investors looking for a return on their money, and other peoples money, started looking to the East. Thailand was seen as one of the investment hot spots and property development rocketed ... along with prices. It was of course a bubble, and like all bubbles, it burst. That's what bubbles do, it's their nature and their only point. Amongst the grand development projects for Bangkok, and there were many, was the Hopewell Mass Transit System. An elevated rail and road system that would run from the heart of Bangkok to Don Muang, the old and now almost defunct, International Airport.

The plan involved a total of 60km of transit system, but in all honesty, it appears that's about as detailed as the plan ever got. Work started in the early 1990's and 'Hopewell' began erecting towers. In all, 6km of towers were erected before work was finally abandoned in 1997. The Asian financial crisis put an end to the half-baked idea and today all that remains are the concrete pillars. Over a thousand of them have stood unused for 14 years. Later concrete flyovers and BTS Skytrain tracks now intersect the line of Hopewell Towers and nobody seems to know what will become of them.

The Hopewell Towers are not the only monuments to the Asian Financial Crisis of the 1990's. The Bangkok skyline is still littered with the empty shells of skyscrapers. Huge structures once designed to house the growing middle class are now home to vines, wild dogs and graffiti artists. The largest of these structures is Sathorn Unique. A high rent 650 apartment/90 retails outlet building standing close to Taksin Bridge on the Chao Phraya River. Forty six floors of ultimate luxury in the very best part of town. The lower apartments already had fitted bathrooms, hard wood floors and most of their fixtures and fittings. But, it's a ghost structure, probably never to be finished, a future uncertain, ownership unclaimed.

I'm not entirely sure what the 'Point' of this post is .... For me, it's things like this that make Bangkok a fascinating place to be. Everything here has a back-story, but the back-storey seldom makes any sense. Why don't they knock the pillars down and use the land? Why don't they finish building Sathron Unique instead of starting to develop new skyscrapers in its shadows? There are no answers, only questions and nobody living in the shadows of these structures seems to mind .... it's all just a part of life in Southeast Asia .... mai pen rai kap

Post 367: Bangkok Floods ... the aftermath

2011-12-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

The cleaning of Bangkok begins ... but the fallout will probably be with us for an awful lot longer than the waters .....

The flood waters around Bangkok are receding .. slowly. Areas to the North and West of the city are still inundated but life for many of Bangkok's residents is returning to some kind of normality. Districts are organising 'Big Cleaning Days' where the public come out onto the streets and the community take charge of restoring their own districts. When I say the 'public', I really mean the local residents plus a few celebrities and politicians. We live in an age where the value of a photo opportunity increases in direct proportion to the size of the problem. 10,000,000 people have been directly affected by the 2011 floods ..... and that must equate to an awful lot of votes.

I can almost see the Press Secretaries advising their Masters .. 'Go to Pathum Thani and shake a broom with the masses''. Sadly, the Masters seem to take to their tasks with a certain lack of spirit. They smile for cameras but when the film stops rolling, I suspect that their brooms stop sweeping.

In the trail of the receding waters is garbage ... lots and lots of garbage. In some parts of the city, the regular garbage collection service probably hasn't happened for a month or more. Added to the problem of regular household garbage is the ground floor contents from over a million flooded homes ..... and that's an awful lot of festering rubbish that needs to be collected and disposed of. This is Thailand so I've no doubt that the garbage will all be collected, probably in record time ... but some will say that this will be achieved despite the efforts of the various authorities.

Political point scoring is rife .... accusations of ineptitude and corruption abound .. but the people just smile and get on with the task in hand. Compensation for flood victims is beginning to flow ... 5,000 THB (£100) immediately for each flooded home and up to 30,000 THB (£600) in the longer term. I can only hope that this compensation ALL flows to the right people.... mai pen rai kap

Post 366: Amphawa Floating Market, Samut Songkram, Thailand

2011-12-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

In Samut Songkram, I found a hotel that I can honestly say, I love. It's name is 'The Legend Maeklong', an old colonial building that sits on the banks of the river. In the grounds are four traditional stilted buildings ... stylish, classy and comfortable. It's family owned and the family take great care of their guests .. nothing is too much trouble. It costs a little more than I'd normally pay, but it's still an awful lot cheaper than a mid-week room at 'Motel 6' in the USA. This is a special weekend. Since returning to Thailand, my friend Nongnoo hasn't been feeling well. At first we thought that it was just a bug from the waters in Lak Si. Everybody here was sick to a certain degree, it's the nature of flooding and its aftermath. But, things didn't improve and the antibiotics didn't seem to help. Finally it was a trip to hospital where several medical tests were carried out. The first test results returned positive, but positive in a very negative way. More tests have been done and we await the results ... and waiting isn't easy ... so we took the break to Samut Songkram and treated ourselves to a little luxury.....

From the Hotel, a long-tail boat takes us along the water for about thirty minutes. The banks are a hive of activity, vibrant and teaming with life. We head to Talad Yan Yen Amphawan, the less famous Thai floating market......

The Amphawa market takes place in the afternoons of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It's less famous and much nicer than the touristy floating market at Damnuen Saduak. Walk down both sides of the river on wooden platforms with no safety rails. Buy fresh food from the vendors on the small boats and eat until your hearts content. The vendors will not speak English, but that doesn't really matter .... you can see everything that's on sale and 'pointing' is a universal signal ....

The market sells mostly fresh and cooked food from the small wooden boats and clothing from the stalls on the banks. But really, it's not about what the market sells, but more about the experience. It's impossible not to like this place .... It has changed over the years but still reflects a side of Thai life that's been lost in the development of other markets. I hope that Starbucks stay away .... but we will see .... mai pen rai kap

Post 365: (Video) Talad Hoob Rom ... Thai Train Market

2011-12-05T19:19:00.001-08:00

Post 365: Talad Hoob Rom, Maeklong, Samut Songkram, Thailand .. Market of Closing Umbrellas

2011-12-05T18:46:00.001-08:00

You can only have so much fun cleaning and recovering from floods ... not to mention the stench of festering stagnation that still lingers in the air ... you sort of get used to it ... but a break from it is good. I jumped onto a mini bus at Bangkok's Victory Monument .. destination Samut Songkram (I think), price 60 Thai Baht (£2). Mini bus driver are like Jenson Button, but without the safety record ... it was a very swift journey.

There are several good reasons to visit Samut Songkram, and the first reason is 'Talad Hoob Rom' .. the Market of Closing Umbrellas....

Initially it looks like any other market in Thailand ... hot, busy and fragrant. The produce, mostly fresh fish, meats and vegetables, is laid out on any available space and sheltered from the burning sun by large canopies ...... it's only the pathway between the long narrow line of stalls that gives a clue as to the infamy of this particular market ...

Fresh fish of all varieties .. spices and herbs ... meats that attract a million flies and market traders that seem genuinely happy in their work .....

It's busy .... but all markets in Thailand are busy. Food shopping is a daily activity, a big part of the ritual of family dining. Nobody has any space, but nobody is in a hurry ..... shopping this way is unlike Tesco or Walmart ..... shopping Thai style is an event in itself ....

And then a distant whistle blows ... the market traders become busy. Tables of produce are magically rolled back into the rear of each store ... the tables are on metal wheels that in turn run on metal rails. Produce displayed on the ground remains where it is ...... the canopies are quickly pulled back and sunlight floods into the market. Anxious traders wave at the non-locals to take cover ...... and the rumble of the train moves closer ...

With less than inches and seconds to spare, the train rumbles past ..... driver smiling in the front window. Eight trains per day run into the station at Mae Khlong .... and then return ... so this is a process that takes place sixteen times per day .... three hundred and sixty five days a year. Nobody gets hurt ... not even close .... a perfect example of Driver, Trader and Customer working in harmony to make productive use of an otherwise barren area ..... It is in a word .. 'Amazing'

Post 364: Into Laos for a new Thai Visa

2011-11-27T18:38:00.001-08:00

Bangkok Floods 2011 ....

The flood waters in Lak Si, Bangkok have stopped rising... that's the good news. The not so good news is that 32 thousand million cubic metres of water still needs to be drained. Three main canals, or 'Khlong', drain the water at a theoretical rate of 30 cubic metres per second. Unfortunately the 'theory' doesn't account for the mass of garbage that's accumulated and restricted the flow of the khlongs. Unfortunately, garbage isn't the only contaminent in the water that's been stagnant and festering for more than a month. Yellow fever, cholera, dengue fever and malaria are now more than just theoretical threats here. I'm lucky, I've got nothing more than bronchitis and although my tollerance to waterborne diseases will probably not be as high as that of the locals .... I haven't been swiming in it ....

I've been back in Thailand for almost a month now ... and my 'Visa on Entry' allows me to stay for only 30 days. The only way to extend my Stay .... is to Leave. That sounds a little crazy, but this is Southeast Asia .... it's just the way that things work around here. In the not too distant past, I could have simply crossed the border into Laos, Cambodia or Malaysia, turned around and instantly got another 30 days visa on entry .... but times have changed. In early 2009, the rules changed so that crossing a land border would only give you 15 days of visa exemption, a process that could only be repeated twice. Now, the solution is to visit the Thai Embassy in Laos to obtain a proper visa.

Two days earlier, the bus station at Mo Chit had been flooded .... but today they're watering the grass. It seems that the walls and sandbags have done their job and buses seem to be operating normally. Travelling VIP 1st Class, the journey to the northern town of Nong Khai will take 11 hours ... but as the ticket costs only £8 ..... it beats flying. The bus leaves on time .... 7pm .... but progress through the north of Bangkok is slow. The elevated motorway is reduced to one lane ..... the other two lanes are now car parks with improvised market stalls and all of the activities that you'd normally associate with Thai life. The evacuees of Pathum Thani, Rangsit and Lak Si Districts have occupied the only available high ground and made it their home.

At 6am .... the bus drops me at Nong Khai bus station where a host of eager tuk-tuk riders offer their services. As a European arriving alone at this hour, they probably know my plans better than I do. 'Friendship Bridge ... 300 Baht' ... I know the real price and hang out until they see reason ... 100 Baht. The border opens at 6am and it's quiet .. amazingly quiet. In the mornings the crossing is normally active with Thai traders crossing into Laos to buy local goods to resell back in Thailand, and in the evenings, Thai girls crossing into Vientiane for a slightly different kind of trade. With no queue to slow me down, I pay my $35 for a Lao 30 Day visa and an extra $1 for the 'out of office hours' service .... and I'm in. Another tuk-tuk takes me to central Vientiane where I find a small hotel. It's way too early for 'check-in', but they'll need to register my passport before they'll let me stay (my passport will spending the night at the Thai Embassy here) ... look at me .... I'm actually planning ahead for once. I change $100 and that gives me 500,000 Kip .... more than enough for 2 days here including Hotel and Thai Visa costs.

The Thai Embassy is a formality ..... arrive at 10:30am, half an hour before it closes and most of the queues have gone. A 60 Day Double Entry Visa will cost about 200,000 Kip, or 2,0000 Thai Baht. If you follow the advice from many 'Thai Forums' on the Internet, they'll tell you that it's impossible to get a double entry visa from any Thai Embassy in Southeast Asia .... but you can. Just go to Vientiane, smile sweetly and ask for it.

After less than an hour at the Thai Embassy ..... I walk back to the centre of Vientiane .... I like to walk here .... because walking allows you to see stuff. The photograph above was taken in April 2010 and shows the restaurants set up amongst the earth works on the banks of the Mekong River. Below is the photograph that I took today ... from about the same position. Progress is unstoppable.... but I prefer the 'Old'.

Where once there was sand, now there are miles and miles of pavement ... empty pavement. It feels like I'm the only person here ... except for the statue .... but I have no idea who it is!!!

Thankfully here in Laos, the 'Old' seems to live in harmony with the 'New' ... but probably not for very long. I've seen 'change' across Southeast Asia, but the changes here seem to be happening more quickly than in other areas. Changes not so much in the development of infrastructure, but development in the financial means of the people ..... or I should say .... 'some' of the people. It seems that a two-tier system is rapidly developing here in Lao PDR (People's Democratic Republic) ... the 'Have's' and the 'Have Not's'. Maybe it's always been that way but today the 'Have's' are not embarrassed to display their wealth. I've never seen so many BMW X6's and Lexus SUV's in one place ....... the 'Have's' are wearing their wealth on their key chains. Western 'Brands' are this years 'must haves' here in Laos, but you wont see any of those brands being distributed through international chains ... NO McDonalds, NO KFC, NO Walmart, NO Starbucks and very few Fat people .... just an observation ... mai pen rai kap

Post 363: Swiming in Lak Si

2011-11-16T21:14:00.001-08:00

Bangkok Floods 2011 ...

Walking from the Lak Si apartment this morning, I noticed that the little Mira car was now an island. The waters were still rising and everywhere was quiet. The usual morning chaos was absent ....... People were either asleep or gone.

At the entrance to the car park, the usual collection of Taxi Bikes had been replaced by a boat .... and that's not really a good sign.

Paddling along the Soi with a small bag of rice and a bottle of water .... there was just a single monk. His bowl was full but he accepted my small offering and provided the usual blessing ... 'koon wai nahm mai?' ... he then asked if I could swim .. and I returned the question .... but he just smiled.

The only scooters on the Soi this morning were being pushed ... but their owners still smiled.

Large trucks and small boats were the vehicles of choice today ......

At Wat Lak Si ..... the Red Cross were evacuating the local population ..... and in my limited experience, once the Red Cross become actively involved in a situation, that situation is probably a little more serious than it looks. Flooding in European cities can be devastating, but in comparison to Bangkok, the water involved in European floods is probably a little less hazardous. By the time the waters reached the district of Lak Si, they'd been traveling for quite some time. During that journey the waters had collected a certain amount of debris, a huge amount of sewage, numerous snakes and at least a hundred crocodiles from a flooded farm in Pathum Thani. On Chanel 3 this morning they interviewed a young boy in hospital. His legs were heavily bandaged after accidentally interfacing with a group of five crocodiles in the flood water ...... less than 100m from my apartment.

Alongside the main highway, which was still passable with care, evacuees waited for collection ..... and maybe it's now time for me to follow them .... mai pen rai kap

Post 362: Amphibious Automotive Invention ...

2011-11-16T19:59:00.001-08:00

Bangkok Floods 2011 ....

Floods can be depressing. So ignoring for a moment the death and devastation that the Bangkok floods have caused ........ here's a little proof that necessity truly is the mother of invention ....

As the waters flooded into the northern districts of Bangkok: Pathum Thani, Rangsit, Don Meuang, Lak Si, Changwattana etc., the people made rudimentary modifications to their vehicles. Plumbing pipe to create new air intakes and hose pipes for exhaust outlets. Provided that you can maintain a spark, keep water out of the fuel system, allow air to enter and exhaust gases to escape, then an engine should still work .... that's the theory. Well, at first I scoffed, ..... but now the jokes on me ... because it works.

For the first few days of the flood, local residents and taxi-Bikes continued to operate as normal ... but 'Normal' in an Asian way .... an inventive 'Make Do' kind of attitude that still exists in a society that hasn't forgotten how to use a tool kit at home. But then the waters rose and once a vehicle achieves neutral to positive 'Bouyancy' ..... the home-fix modifications became useless. At this point in time, 'We' would probably give up and admit defeat ... but 'We' are not Thai. If a Thai doesn't work then a Thai doesn't get paid .... and if a Thai doesn't get paid then a Thai doesn't eat. Hunger is a great motivator .... that thankfully 'We' have never experienced ....

So .... when the only vehicle you have is a Car or Scooter ... and the vehicle that you need is a Boat ... it's time to improvise. The Isuzu DMax is the normal mode of transport for most rural Thais' ... but will eight oil drums provide enough buoyancy to turn this metal beast into a boat? .... Who knows? ... It's probably a bad idea who's time has come ..... but 6/10 for effort and ingenuity.

Slightly lighter than an Isuzu DMax, the Scooter is possibly an easy conversion. Here, six oil drums should allow the scooter to float and mini paddles attached to the wheel spokes will provide drive. Steering might be an issue though. All in all ..... it's a well deserved 8/10

Taking the mechanical high ground .. this effort really hits the mark. If you want to raise the air intake and exhaust outlet above the level of the flood water ...... building an extra storey into your scooter is something that I would never have thought about ... but then I am 'We' and 'We' are not Thai. I have no idea how the new elevation will affect the already ponderous handling ..... but 9/10 for effort on this one.

I'm not usually a fan of choppers .... but then before today I'd never seen a version quite like this one. It might be an aging 2-stoke but the lady in the centre seems to be having the ride of her life. I'm not sure if that's because of the positioning of the exhaust pipe or the rear passenger??? .... This creation takes the full 10/10 ..... because it actually works ..... I love Thailand .. mai pen rai kap

Post 361: Koh Lak Si .....

2011-11-16T01:17:00.001-08:00

Bangkok Floods 2011 ....

I woke this morning at dawn and following my daily routine, wandered down from the apartment to give food to the passing monks ... the traditional Thai ritual of 'Sai Baht'. There were no monks this morning, only water ...... lots of water

Yesterday I bought a pair of natty black rubber boots, 'Wellingtons' ... just like I wore when I was a kid. They came up to just below my knee ... and thankfully that was just above the water. I wandered to the market, more in hope than confidence. The stores along the Soi were all open .... but all flooded. They've built walls of sandbags and concrete block, but I fear many have missed the chapter on hydro dynamics. Water finds it's own level and if your internal drains are lower than the level of the water outside, no matter how impressive your wall is .... you'll flood from the inside out ... mai pen rai kap

Kids will be kids, and kids love playing in water. When that water is a free flowing river or a beautifully chlorinated pool then that's a good thing ..... but when it's sloshing around in the street mixed with sewage and garbage ..... maybe not so good

Arriving at the store .... shampoo, condoms and chewing gum. Looking on the bright side, yesterday they didn't have any gum ...

I did find food .... at the Food Hall in IT Square. I killed an hour enjoying a plate of kow pad gai. It was quite delicious. I'd been off the street for a little less than an hour, but in aquatic terms, it seemed like a day. The waters had risen .....

Along the Soi, the Taxi Bikes demonstrated the success of their scooter modifications. Yesterday I'd laughed at the improvised plumbing systems but today I'm impressed ... it actually seems to work. Perhaps more impressive was the sudden appearance of sexy thigh-high PVC boots in this part of town. It's unusual for around here .... but the matching 'skins' on the girls iPhones and BB's was a real touch of class ....

The water had breached the top of my natty new boots and the closer I got to the apartment the deeper it got. In the end I gave up. I took them off and handed them to a local guy who was wading towards the shallower waters ......

If this was happening back in Blighty, we'd all be getting bent out of shape ... screaming at Authority and trying to drown ourselves not just in water ... but in self pity. But this isn't England .. this is Thailand and the people here just seem to get on with their shit and smile ... and that's why I love it here

Post 360: Waters rising .....

2011-11-09T01:17:00.000-08:00

Bangkok Floods 2011 ...

Crossing the International Date Line really screws up the body-clock. I know that midway across the Pacific Ocean I lost a full day of my life, but this morning Google Clocks told me that it's now Saturday 29th of October 2011 ...... and I was convinced that it was still Friday. Anyway, no matter what day it is, there was an interesting sight in the car park this morning. As I mentioned earlier, the only 'High Ground' in Bangkok is man made and when all of the existing high ground has already been taken, you have to create your own .... and the owner of this little Mira car has done just that.

I wandered down the Soi and found a delicious bowl of 'kow dtom gai' for breakfast (Rice & Chicken Soup). At 7am it's already warmer than an English summer day and there's something weirdly comforting about eating hot spicy food for breakfast. On the street, small fountains of water bubbled up from the drains and trickled down the side gully. Builders were busy constructing temporary walls with cinder blocks and cement at the entrances to shops. For 7am Lak Si was busy, and all of the busyness seemed to have a single purpose .... preparation for flood.

I crossed the Lak Si Canal and noticed that the ramshackle residences that line its towpath were within inches of becoming submerged. Normally these dwellings sit a few feet above the water but today they're kissing its surface. The waters are moving in my direction and there's absolutely nothing that I can do to prevent it. Nature is unstoppable, so bend with it or break.

At Wat Lak Si, the waters had arrived before me. The individual buildings were now islands in a sea of tranquility. Monks and worshippers paddled between them but life seemed to be continuing as normal. The complex of buildings that form the Temple were constructed using traditional methods and design. Rooms stand on stilts and the areas below them are concrete, designed specifically to minimise damage and disruption in times of flooding. Monsoon rains and subsequent flooding are not a new phenomena here in Bangkok, but the development of 'Western' style buildings is. If the floods do arrive then the Temple will be virtually unaffected, but those Thai's who chased the 'Western Dream' and built their 'two-up two-down' houses will probably have ample time to reflect on their folly .... mai pen rai kap

Walking North, the narrow lanes running between the high density residences that sprang up during the rapid growth of Bangkok during the 60's and 70's were already running with water. I stood watching an elegant lady using a large white bucket to empty water from her home. Her efforts were futile but perhaps the simple act of acting in some way helped her to deal with the situation.

A little deeper into the narrow lanes and the water levels were higher. Residents were doing what they could but seemed resigned to the fact that the water would win. They moved furniture and belongings into the roof space above their humble dwellings and prepared to become prisoners in their own homes.

The previous day, or perhaps it was two days ago, I'd crossed this road using the footbridge. I'd used the footbridge because the traffic had been so dense that walking across it at ground level would have been impossible. Today, the only vehicle on this road is a rowing boat. The monks at the temple were right ..... I'm now living on the Island of Lak Si.

Post 359: Leaping forward ......

2011-11-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Bangkok Floods 2011 ....

Time flies. Maybe it was laziness or simply a case of too much good life …. But after leaving Thailand in May 2011, I’ve actually spent the summer in California. I returned to Boonville where my brother’s family home needed some finishing touches. Notably plumbing, electricity, windows, doors and a roof. Last year for me the ’Building’ part had been easy. Professor Steve Dewinski had been there to supervise my hammer-work and lets face it, nothing that I did would ever be seen on the surface. ’Finishing’ is slightly different because anything that’s done now will be visible for the life of the house. Ill fitting doors, windows that leak, hammer dents in the surface wood etc. Well, to cut a long story short, I spent the six months in California concentrating on enclosures for the growing stock of animals and extreme laziness …. So all in all, not a bad summer for me, but not too productive when it comes to my contribution for the family ….. ‘must try harder’

The ’Plan’ had always been to return to London, and from there to make plans for 2012. Well, the ’Plan’ changed. The news from my friends in Thailand wasn’t good. Severe seasonal monsoon rains had flooded the Central Plains of Thailand and the backed-up waters were slowly being released upon Bangkok. Bangkok is built on a flood plain (bad planning) and usually a combination of rivers and canal systems drain the waters from the Isan region through and around the Capital without a problem. This year however, the Northern water levels are far higher and the escape systems are proving to be grossly inadequate. The new Thai government has promised that Bangkok will be saved from flooding, but the last person to utter those words was King Canute …. and that really didn’t end well. And so, my ticket was changed and I arrived back in Thailand …. 28th May 2011.
At Suvarnabhumi International Airport the public taxi’s were reluctant to take me to the district of Lak Si. They offered alternatives, all of which involved massage parlours, dancing girls, gem stores and golf courses, but as I was renting an apartment in Lak Si, I decided to use the recently opened rail link.

Dropping my bag at my clearly unflooded apartment, it was difficult to see what all the fuss was about. There was no sign of flooding anywhere. So, I decided to visit the font of all local knowledge, the monks at Wat Lak Si. (’Wat’ = Temple). For an hour we drank tea and chewed the flooding fat and I left them feeling enlightened. Lak Si is apparently now an island and I can either walk a few hundred yards to see the extent of the flooding, or alternatively, wait a day for the mountain to come to Mohammed.
Well, I’m not good at ‘waiting’, so I wandered off in the general direction of the missing floods. Crossing the main highway via the footbridge, there was no sign of unwanted water, but the sides of the highway, the ‘high ground’ had become something of a car park. True, I could see large puddles in the distance, but surely this was a simple case of over-reaction?
With no obvious sign of the approaching flood, I wandered back towards my apartment and noticed that the local bike shops were doing a roaring trade in scooter modifications. Modified inlet and exhaust systems seem to be the order of the day. I’m no expert but I don’t remember seeing plumbing pipes featured in the manual of motorcycle tuning. Maybe it was a compliance issue for new Thai emission controls but I fear that it’s more than just the monks who fear flooding in Lak Si
So, the Taxi’s, the Monks and the Taxi Bike Riders all think that the flood is coming. Information from independent sources usually leads to the truth, but when you see a major Bank spending your money on anything other than bonuses and jollies .. maybe it really is time to start believing.
I popped into the local market, which since the opening of a Tesco Store at the end of the street, is now actually a few hundred yards away. Six months ago there were four grocery stores along the street, but since the opening of Tesco four months ago, two have already vanished. I hope it’s not a sign of things to come here in Thailand, but why should Thailand be any different to any other country? The closing of my favourite store was something of a shock, but the contents of the next most local store, and the next, was even more shocking. Aside from an ample supply of shampoo and condoms, everything else had gone.
Leaving the store empty handed, on the walk back to the apartment I noticed water bubbling gently up through the breather holes in the drain covers at the side of the street. Not usually alarming, but possibly a sign that the majority were actually right. Then, the sight of families moving South. Trucks, 4x4’s and even taxi bikes all loaded to rafters and heading South. If there is going to be a flood, then you head towards higher ground, it’s obvious. However, the water has accumulated on the higher ground and everything that stands before it is lower. The only high ground in Bangkok is man made and Lak Si stands between the mounting water and the ocean…… time to buy some boots .. mai pen rai kap

Post 358: Chaing Mai

2011-09-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

The festival of Song Kran was over and the people were drifting back to work. Unfortunately that meant Nongnoo travelling South and back to her work in Lak Si … but I had plans in a different direction. I was heading North to Chiang Mai and Nongnoo was a little miffed that she couldn’t join me. Bad news for her but even worse news for me. The only bus ticket available from Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai was 3rd class ….. mai pen rai kap

After seven hours of non-airconditioned hell, I arrived in Chiang Mai and made my way to ‘Rider’s Corner’, a small Inn and Restaurant located on the North East corner of the moat and a haven for overland travellers. ‘Rider’s Corner’ is run by Englishman Phil Gibbins and his Thai wife Som and they’re also responsible for ‘RideAsia.Net’, the internet travel forum specializing in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. Folks say that Myanmar is impossible to enter on a motorbike, but that’s not strictly true. Anybody interested should talk with Phil at ’Ride Asia‘. 400 Baht for a room and some of the best food that I’ve ever tasted in Thailand. Down in the restaurant, where you park your bikes, I recognise two bikes and riders; 8 year veteran travellers Simon and Lisa Thomas. It really is a very small world and for some strange reason, the rest of that evening seems to have vanished in a mist of alcohol and story telling…. mai pen rai kap

Chiang Mai is said to have the finest paved roads and mountain tracks in all of Thailand and I decided to enjoy them all. I should’ve stuck with the Poor Circulation theme and rented a scooter for 150 Baht per day, but I didn’t. I decided to treat myself and as ‘Mr Mechanic’ opened for business, I pushed out the financial boat and invested 700 Baht per day in Kawasaki KLR 250.

The first thing that I’d noticed was that the little KLR was actually a really fine motorbike, far better than the sum of it’s parts. The second thing I noticed was that the map I’d purchased from GT Riders was just a little bit useless. For some strange reason they’d chosen to print the entire map in dark green, deep red and black. Impossible to read in sunlight and thus the mystery tour began.

The roads were really good. Nice tarmac and no straight lines, but the unpaved tracks were even better. The little Kawasaki was an absolute hoot. Nowhere was out of bounds for the little dual-sport and it just seemed to take everything in its stride. At a place that possibly appeared on my unreadable map, I came across a statue of Buddha being constructed high on a hillside and decided to investigate.

The three resident monks informed me that this was Wat Ban Thamisan and invited me to join them for tea. I don’t drink tea, so I handed them a sachet of Nescafe ’3 in 1’ and they smiled. A few minutes later a steaming mug of tea was placed in my hand. They’d performed a small miracle and turned coffee into tea .. Amazing!! …. mai pen rai kap

Heading back towards where I thought Chiang Mai would be, I decided to take a short cut across the tallest mountain. The route wasn’t very short but fortunately the mountain wasn’t very tall and I enjoyed one of the most fun days that I’d ever had on a motorcycle

Post 357: Ban Pai, Central Thailand

2011-07-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

The days here in the village are broken down into distinctive elements. Everybody wakes rudely early with the cockerel, who for some reason has been calling through the night, and rides down to the temple. The morning chorus of scooters bursting into life heralds the start of another day. The local temple is only fifty yards from the house but nobody ever thinks about walking. The early morning light has a purple tint and smoke from the nights mosquito repelling fire still fill the air. If there is a cooler part of the day or night, then this is it. Make the most of it because it wont last long. The monks look fresh and alive but the people seem a little hung-over …. and that’s probably because they are. “Na mo at sa, pa ka ra toe, ah ra ha toe, sam ma, sam pud at sa” …… the ritual prayers begin.

Souls saved and good fortune sought, the day turns quickly to it’s second element: Food. Food -discussion, preparation and eating - is an all day event. It starts with a regiment of household scooters making for the markets in the town of Ban Pai. Not yet 8am and it’s already busy. People fill every narrow isle in the confusion of stalls but are still outnumbered by the flies. Some stall holders swat the little pests away with sticks and brushes, but most don’t bother … the flies will always win.

Fresh vegetables from the grocery market and eggs from the hardware stall. I’ve no idea why the hardware merchants sell eggs, but they do and people just laugh when I ask the question ’Why?’ Eggs are expensive these days, a consequence of mass culling to prevent the spread of bird-flu, but people still buy them. ’Kai’, they love their eggs in these parts.

From the hardware market onto to the fresh fish market. Very fresh, everything is alive and despatched to order. No returns, no refunds.

Then onwards to the fruit market, my favourite place. Flies have a sweet tooth so their numbers are greater here, but it’s also the place where we buy my favourite food. Mango with sticky coconut rice, “Muang kow meaow“. I’ve eaten this dish all across Souteast Asia but this stall seels the best that I’ve ever tasted. The yellow skinned mangos are always perfectly ripe and the rice just drippes with sweetened coconut milk. The vendor always calls me her son and smiles the famous Thai smile. Unfortunately it’s only a flash of gums that speaks volumes about the sugar content of her product and her dedication to enjoying it.

A day of cooking and eating follows and as the sun sinks down into the distant paddy fields, it’s time to return to the temple. In the evening, the young novice monks wait patiently to be anointed with cold water scented with fresh flower petals. The evening air if filled with the fragrance of incense as joss sticks smoulder everywhere. Most of these boys will not become monks, but every Thai male spends a certain amount of time as a novice at their temple. It’s a traditional right of passage and entering and leaving the order is a reason to celebrate.

So in the evening we celebrate. I don my finest Song-Kran shirt, which I surprisingly found in the ’Men’s Department’ and another night of gentle partying begins….. Mai pen rai kap

Post 356: Song Kran Festival ... Ban Pai, Thailand

2011-07-01T17:03:00.001-07:00

From Phitsanulok we drove for an hour and arrived in a small village just a few miles outside of Ban Pai. The village probably has it’s own name, but I honestly don’t remember anybody ever mentioning one. The village kids were already prepared for their day of fun. Standing at the side of the quiet road, a huge ceramic urn filled with water and scoops with which to throw it onto any passing person or vehicle.

The first vehicle was an Isuzu D-Max, filled with soaking wet girls and armed to the hilt with high powered water guns. The kids of the village didn’t stand a chance and if there’s one thing that I hate, it’s an unfair battle. I borrowed a Honda Scoopy and made a dash for the town of Ban Pai, taking the back roads and avoiding most of the soakings.

An hour later, I returned to the village with no name and distributed my purchases amongst the kids. 500 Baht had bought me a veritable arsenal of water weapons. The village with no name was now the mightiest fighting force in all of Central Thailand and beware anybody who approached.

The day was hot but the water was cold. Everybody who passed along the road got a refreshing welcome and the kids were revelling in aquatic heaven. But the road was too quiet, too few victims.

It was time to mobilise the troops and take to the back of a D-Max. A mobile fighting force the likes of which has not been seen in these parts since the time of King Naresuan himself. We were invincible.

And as night fell, it was time to party …. Thai style …. With a little touch of San Francisco … mai pen rai kap

Post 355: Phitsanulok ...

2011-06-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

The bus journey to Phitsanulok took almost six hours. That’s an hour longer than the timetable suggested but for these parts, that’s pretty much on time. It wasn’t the VIP coach that I’d promised myself, but at least I had the luxury of a seat. The ‘undeclared’ passengers who boarded the bus a few miles outside of the official bus stations didn’t, but the driver was a little richer from their trade. The same thing happens on every long-distance bus journey in SE Asia and as the illegal’s board you can almost hear the blind eyes blinking back at Bus Company HQ. I guess it’s just a way of getting people to work for a minimum wage where ’minimum’ means exactly that …. mai pen rai kap

The bus kindly dropped me in the centre of Phitsanulok where the local tuk-tuk drivers were waiting to transport me to any place that I really didn’t want to visit. The Toyota Corolla Taxi hasn’t reached Phitsanulok yet and thankfully, nor has the attitude of Bangkok tuk-tuk pilots. Of course they wanted to take me to places where they’d receive a small commission for their services; a gem factory, a tailors shop or a family members restaurant, but after a little persuasion and the handing over of 50 Baht, I was transported in swift but cramped discomfort directly to my hotel, The Riverside. A good friend by the name of ’Nongnoo’ just happened to come from a village close to Phitsanulok and when I’d mentioned my travel plans she’d offered her services as my tour-guide. Of course I could have declined her kind offer, but although I might be slow at times I’m certainly not stupid. Her first act had been to select the hotel and hotels of The Riverside’s standard shouldn’t be cheap. But this one is, £9 per night for a room large enough to hold a dance and with great views across the river.

The first act was to visit the Temple of the Beautiful Buddha. Legend suggests that this is the temple that inspired King Naresuan to his great victories against the Mon, who I think were actually the Burmese. It was indeed a fine temple, and amazingly busy with people. They seemed surprised to see a Westerner in their temple but by now I’m getting used to that. With a genuine smile, I let them touch and poke me, answered their questions and falsely promised to ‘add’ them as my friends on Facebook. Curiosities completed, I’d approached the young monk for a blessing and repeated the standard Buddhist mantra three times .... ‘’na mo at sa, pa ka wa toe, ah ra ha toe, sam ma, sam pud at sa’’ … I’d absolutely no idea what I was saying but the monk seemed happy to see that I’d learned some of the ways of his chosen path. He’d grinned an abundance of gold, bowed his head and begun another chant expecting me to respond in the right places. Ok …. you win dude.

Mantras completed, he’d showered me with water from his holy brush, tied a white cotton band around my wrist and it was time to make way for the others who had gathered behind me.

I moved to the centre of the Temple and could see that the golden image of Buddha was beautiful, but whether it was any more beautiful than any other statue I’ll let others decide. I shook the small container of sticks and waited until one fell to the ground. The stick had a number on it which corresponded to a number on a range of different ’horoscopes’. It was all written in Thai and I didn’t understand a word. Nongnoo offered to translate but I knew that she’d only tell me the good stuff ….. It’s the Thai way, mai pen rai kap

Outside beneath the searing sun, I joined the line of people waiting to cleanse the smaller statues in the courtyard. Tomorrow is the first day of the Song Kran Festival. Traditionally Song Kran marks the end of the dry season and the coming of the rains. People took the remains of their stored water and used it to clean the temples and statues in the hope of receiving good fortune for the coming year. In more recent times Song Kran has become a festival more noted for water fights and partying ….. and I’m certainly not against progress.

Back on the main walking street in Phitsanulok, the pre-Song Kran party is in full swing. Amazing aromas fill the air, food of every kind is being cooked on the streets and every person in the city is joining in the fun. I buy a dancing ticket for 20 Baht and as the music changes, I choose my grandma to dance with. It’s fun but I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing. Every turn of the hand or foot has a different meaning and I’m probably being amazingly rude, but the money goes to the temple and I’ve had much more expensive dances in my time.

At the end of the street, the grounds of the monetary have become a fairground. The saffron robed monks are in charge and above a shallow pool of water, kids are knocking the crap out of each other for the entertainment of their parents. Well, really for the entertainment of their fathers who are taking bets on the eventual champion. Money is changing hands, thick wedges of Baht are being wagered and in the best out of three contests, fathers are acting as coaches and scolding their beaten off-spring. I’m sure the losers don’t really get hurt, at least not until they get home …. Mai pen rai kap

As the clock ticks well past midnight, the crowds slowly start to leave, but not before a final tasty snack. Tak-A-Tan, otherwise known as deep fried cicada or cricket. The trick is to just crunch into it and swallow after the minimum number of bites. The cicada are quite easy but the legs of the stick insects get stuck everywhere and are really well worth avoiding. Apparently a daily serving of such insects is good for a mans desire and virility, but then they say the same thing about oysters. Hopefully I don’t need any help in either of those areas …… but when in Phitsanulok !!! ….. Mai pen rai kap

Post 354: Taking the Bus in Thailand .....

2011-05-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here in Thailand most Westerners, or to give us our local name, ‘Farang’, seem quite happy to take internal flights and taxi’s, but steer clear of using other methods of public transport such as buses and trains. I don’t think it’s always because of time or cost issues, it’s probably more likely to be a fear of stepping into the unknown. Obviously buses here are cheaper than flights but on the face of it journeys will take longer, and trains are cheaper than buses but will probably take longer still. On the plus side, if you learn how to use the systems then they’re both great ways to travel and you’ll inevitably meet more fascinating people along the way. So, in my search for Naresuan I need to travel to Phitsanulok about 450km to the north of Bangkok, and here’s a beginners guide to taking the bus in Thailand ….

Mo Chit is probably the largest and busiest bus terminal anywhere in Southeast Asia. It’s situated to the north of central Bangkok. Day or night, it’s a heaving mass of people travelling to all points of the compass but if you know where you want to go, then it‘s really quite easy to navigate the system.
All of the various bus services are numbered, in this case 25 to 32. Where the destinations are written only in Thai, it’s probably best to ignore them. If you’re not already familiar with travelling on Public Transport in Asia then these services will probably be a discomfort too far for you. Keep walking on the 1st and 3rd floors of Mo Chit until you see your final destination written in English. It will probably say ’Phitsanulok VIP’ and have a time and written price next to it. Through the glass screen, state your destination and they will show you a ’Departure Time’ and a ’Price’. There’s no need to haggle, it’s a bus station not the night bazaar and the prices are dictated by the level of service provided. Once you accept, they will show you a screen and you can choose your seat. I chose the 1st Class bus to Phitsanulok and the cost was around 250 Baht, £5. My ticket tells me that my bus will depart from ’Platform 46’ at 10:30am and that leaves me with an hour to kill in Mo Chit.

The terminal is on 3 floors and you will find sufficient fascinating people, shops and food outlets to keep you entertained. Trust the information on your ticket because there are no public service announcements in English, and even if you speak Thai the PA system is so antiquated that you’ll never understand them.

Everything you could possibly need for your journey is available within the Mo Chit bus terminal. The food is actually very good and if you can’t travel without a stuffed Doraemon toy or a fake Blackberry then you’re in luck, they have everything.

As your departure time approaches, follow the signs to your platform. It will take you outside onto the main departure concourse and there the platform numbers will be written above parking place. It’s hot and busy and although chaotic, it actually works really well.

Ten minutes or so before your departure time, a bus will pull into the parking bay. On the bus will be written the main destinations in Thai and English and on the side of the bus, the service number. The service number will match the number on your ticket. A member of the crew will check your ticket and attach a tag to any luggage that you don’t want to carry on board, exactly like air travel. Find your seat on the bus and as the hostess passes around the bottled water, smile politely, point at your ticket and state the name of your destination. That might sound a little childish, but trust me, if you haven’t visited that particular place before and it’s not the terminus for the bus, then you’ll have no idea when you’ve arrived. Don’t be afraid to ask.

On board there will be entertainment, usually a Thai movie and several episodes of the amazingly popular and crazy Thai comedy show ’Ching Loi Ching Larn’. The Thai’s like there entertainment loud, so unless you’ve brought your ear plugs then don’t expect to sleep.

The journey from Mo Chit to Phitsanulok takes five hours on the bus compared to one hour on a flight. However, you don’t need to check-in 2 hours before your flight or wait another hour for your bag and then a taxi journey to the centre of town. The bus will drop you right in the centre and now you’ve spent the same amount of time travelling but arrived a couple of thousand Baht richer and probably made some new friends along the way …. mai pen rai kap

Post 353: King Naresuan .....

2011-04-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

I don’t make detailed plans. The 2nd law of thermodynamics tells me that everything in the universe starts out with high entropy (chaos), proceeds to low entropy (structure) and then inevitably reverts back to high entropy (chaos again). All of my travel plans start as a chaotic jumble of ideas that come together to form the perfect solution. The plan is perfect right up until I start to execute it and then it inevitably starts turning to shit … High Entropy to Low Entropy to High Entropy …. It’s an inescapable cycle and there’s absolutely no point in fighting it, so I don’t make plans.

So, after an eventful journey back from Hua Hin, my ideas of renting another bike were thwarted when the seasonal rains arrived early. They were wet and heavy and while I love riding bikes, I really don’t love anything quite that much. Ever since arriving in Thailand I’d seen posters advertising the latest blockbuster movie, “Naresuan”. I knew that Naresuan was a King of Siam, probably dating back to the 16th Century and that he had a liking for fighting on elephants. I wasn’t sure if he was real or mythical, but as every other person in Thailand seemed to have already seen the movie, I figured that it would be rude not to join them. I like going to the movies in Thailand because it reminds me of how things used to be back in Blighty; usherettes, Pearl & Dene advertising, standing for the national anthem and been shown to your chosen seat by a uniformed lady with a flashlight.

After watching forty-five minutes of Thai advertising and standing for the National Anthem, the movie began, three solid hours of it. The first thing that I realised was that this was in fact “Naresuan III” and I’d clearly missed the first two parts of the trilogy. The second thing that I noticed was a distinct lack of English subtitles. It was all in Thai and I understood barely a word of it. If I’d gone to the posh cinema in Siam Paragon then there would have been subtitles, but I’d chosen a provincial cinema in Lak Si and clearly English people didn’t tend to watch movies in that neck of the woods. The cinema was crowded and I really wasn’t sure about the etiquette involved in leaving a movie of such national historical importance before the ending. So I stayed, along with everybody else, and in a strange way, it was absolutely fascinating.

A little later research told me that Naresuan was born in Phitsanulok Province around 1555 and was King of the Ayutthaya region of Siam from 1590 until his death in 1605. As a King, Naresuan was most noted for his military campaigns and his struggles to free his people from Burmese oppression. I can remember being fascinated by the hundreds of headless Buddha statues during my earlier visits to the ancient temples at Ayutthaya. It all dates back to the time of Naresuan and the destruction caused by the invading armies that he finally repelled.

The more that I read about Naresuan the more fascinating and complicated his story became. Unfortunately the information available on the internet is a little disjointed and sparse, so I decided to explore a little further, and a little more physically. Next stop Phitsanulok, the birth place of Naresuan and home to the ’Beautiful Buddha’ that is said to have inspired his great victories. It’s not really a ’Plan’ ….. but in the absence of a plan then it’s the next best thing.

Post 352:Hua Hin, Thailand

2011-04-24T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hua Hin was Thailand’s first real ‘Beach Resort’ but with the emergence of Phuket, and the islands of Samui and Chang etc., it seems to have almost dropped from the tourist radar. Nestled on the Gulf of Thailand about 300 km South West of Bangkok, for some reason Hua Hin was a place that I‘d never visited. Maybe being so close to Bangkok I’d always assumed that Hua Hin would be similar to Pattaya, and that’s certainly not a recommendation. Anyway, I figured that as I was so close then it would be rude not to drop in and find out for myself. I’d intended to start my travels in the South of Thailand but with major flooding I didn’t want to become another well meaning tourist getting in the way of the relief efforts. So, looking at my map I decided that Hua Hin would be the most southerly point on this journey and with bike rental in Bangkok being so rare and expensive, I decided to take the train.

It’s a three-hour journey and a 2nd class non-air conditioned ticket will cost you little more than the coins in the bottom of your pocket. It’s a little chaotic but once you understand the system then buying the ticket and boarding the right train is really quite easy. Because this is Thailand, the train journey will probably take an hour longer than the timetable suggested, but by the time that you arrive in Hua Hin you’ll be ready for the holiday. Trains in SE Asia are fun, but relaxing they are not.

Hua Hin railway station is noted for it’s architecture and it really is quite beautiful in a very chocolate-box sort of way. It’s busy but in a very relaxed and laid-back sort of way and a great entry point into the town itself. The first impression is that Hua Hin is about as far removed from the flesh-pot flea-pit of Pattaya as you could possibly imagine and while I’m sure that there is a seedier side to the resort, it is definitely nice and discreet. The town itself is a huge market place that bustles along without the chaos or intimidation of the more tourist orientated towns and that gives it a certain charm and family friendliness that keeps you constantly smiling. It’s not intimidating at all and walking the gentle streets or riding scooters around the area is an absolute breeze. Hotels in the town are plentiful and can accommodate most budgets. In the centre of town I find a small hotel with air-conditioning and a balcony for around 800 Baht, $10 per night. It’s clean, it’s friendly and as with most hotels the restaurant is probably quite abysmal but as this is Thailand you’ll probably be eating out on the streets anyway. The beaches however are perhaps not as free and inviting as those that you’ll find on many of the islands and those that have not already been taken over by the larger Hotels tend to by slightly more ’Industrial’ in nature. Another immediate thing that you’ll notice is a lot of Thai’s enjoying the beach, something that you don’t often find in the higher end tourist areas and for me, I always take that as a good sign.

In and around Hua Hin there isn’t the richness of temples and monasteries that you’ll find in other parts, but there is certainly enough culture and splendour to keep you entertained for a few days when you grow bored with lazing on the beach. The resort itself is spread along the coastline and unless you’re familiar with it, then local transport systems can be a little confusing. On the plus side, renting motorcycles and scooters is easy and a Honda Scoopy will cost around 200 Baht for a day, possibly including insurance but you never can tell, … this is Thailand after all. If you rent from outside of your hotel then you’ll need to leave your passport as security but in Thailand this is the norm and nothing to be too concerned about. If you’re going to be travelling away from Hua Hin on the bike then take photocopies of the passport, photo page and visa page, as these will be required for checking into other hotels during your stay. The people renting the bike to you will be able to provide you with the copies that you need. Although you’ll see many tourists and locals riding without safety helmets, don’t be tempted to do this yourself. The police will stop you and although the fine is quite small, it’s a pain in arse as far as administration is concerned. Anyway, Thai hospitals might be good, but you really don’t need to find that out for yourself.

The night markets in Hua Hin are busy and the food that’s served there is absolutely amazing. There are restaurants that serve ‘Western Menus’, but if you want to eat chips with everything then why the hell did you venture anywhere beyond Belgium? Don’t be afraid to try different local dishes and if you’re worried about the famous heat of Thai cuisine, then just ask the chef or waiter if it’s spicy … “Phet mai?”. The Thai answer will usually be a smiling “nid-noi”, but don’t worry, they want you to come back and eat there again so they wont try to force anything too hot or unidentifiable on you. Just try everything that you can and you might even surprise yourself.

After a short stay in Hua Hin, I decided that I was suitably relaxed and it was time to head back to Bangkok. The train was an option, but you can only have so much fun in one lifetime and I decided to take a seat in a more relaxing Mini-Van. It costs almost $5 for the 3 hour journey, but unlike the train you’re guaranteed a seat. Hundreds of these white Toyota Mini-Vans run daily between Bangkok and the major resorts and you simply buy a ticket and jump on the next available seat. It’s usually an experience but there are some experiences that I never want to repeat.

I’m against the use of child labour, especially when the child in question is driving my bus. He was clearly old enough to be driving but he looked no more than 12 and drove his Toyota accordingly. All twelve passengers sat white knuckled clinging to their seats and gasping at his antics. Weaving, speeding, changing lanes without warning, undertaking and overtaking. I was the only Westerner and the Thai’s are too dammed polite to say anything, so I told him to slow down … and he ignored me.

A screech of brakes and the continuous hoot of a horn from the latest cut-up car in the fast lane behind. A red BMW with an ’M3’ badge for show. The driver wasn’t impressed and forced the Mini-Van across to the hard shoulder where the youthful driver reluctantly stopped. The BMW driver was clearly an unhappy man and removed the Mini-Van driver from his seat through a barely open door. If the BMW driver was going to thump him, then it would be no more than the bus driver deserved, but when he opened his boot and pulled out a handgun …. the situation changed slightly.

The villain had become the underdog and while the Thai’s in the Mini-Van suddenly found things of amazing interest in their magazines, I donned the blue peace-keeping beret and harmony was quickly restored. I’ve no idea if the gun was real or loaded, but I guessed that the BMW driver was very unlikely to shoot me at the edge of a major highway …… I’m British don’t you know .. mai pen rai kap

Post 351: The Golden Mount .. Bangkok

2011-04-08T02:41:00.001-07:00

The Golden Mount in Bangkok, or to give its full title, “The Golden Mount & Wat Srakesa Rajavaramahvihara” stands at the highest point in the city. As Bangkok is about as flat as Lincolnshire that really doesn’t say a great deal, but I’d always assumed that the peak was a natural feature. I had no reason to believe that it wasn't natural, it’s massive and obviously arrived here long before diesel engines and JCB’s. But it’s not, it’s actually man made, every last inch of it.

The temple complex at the bottom dates back to King Rama I and the foundation of Bangkok as Thailand’s new capital city in around 1782 (Thai year of 2325). During the 19th century King Rama III made several attempts at building a large Chedi structure on the site but because of the softness of the underlying earth, each attempt had failed and the partly constructed Chedi had collapsed. In desperation Rama III had ordered that a mount ’this big’ be built using mud and bricks to support the proposed Chedi. It seems that back in those days what Thai King’s wanted Thai Kings got, because as hills go this one is really quite substantial. In the end, the tall golden Chedi wasn’t added until the early part of the 20th century so I guess it’s safe to say that even the demands of supreme rulers can take time to complete.

The Chedi is the golden cone that sits on top of the mount and are often referred to as a ’Stupa’. There might actually be a difference between a Chedi and a Supa, but aside from geographical terminology, I’m really not aware of any. It seems that if the sturcture is shaped like your little finger, then it's a Chedi and if shaped more like your thinb, then it's a Supa. Chedi and Stupa, of which there are more than two hundred thousand dotted around the world, are all supposed to house 'Relics of The Buddha', usually a part of Buddha’s cremation ashes and are therefore places of pilgrimage. The Chedi on top of The Golden Mount contains relics that were donated to King Rama V by the British, and we no doubt stole them from India or Sri Lanka. It does make you think though ... if there was only one Buddha but there are two hundred thousand Chedi?

The best time to visit The Golden Mount is probably during the festival of Loy Krathong which takes place around the third weeks of November. The whole Mount is draped in red cloth and thousands of people join candle light processions walking the 318 steps to the summit. Loy Krathong is principally a religious festival, but don't let that put you off because as with all festivals in Thailand, they’re never without a decent party.

When I first climbed the Mount back in 1987 (ish) the view from the top was quite different. Back in those days all that you could see was smog, lots of it, thick and unlovely. There were very few high rise buildings to compete with the Mount back then, but it didn’t really matter because you couldn’t see anything anyway. Since then, although traffic density has probably increased ten-fold, most of the commercial vehicles now run on cleaner LPG and the air in Bangkok is actually quite fresh and clean. The fragrance on the Mount can be quite amazing with scent from the blossoms and incense filling the air and leaving a lasting impression. It seems that not too many Western tourists visit this place and that’s a shame. Maybe the fact that it’s a working monastery puts people off coming here, or maybe it’s the 318 steps? Whatever the reason, it certainly isn’t the entry price. Thai of not Thai, it costs just 10 Baht ( 10 pence ) to visit the Chedi so if you do manage to make it up all of those steps, please place a one hundred Baht note in the donation box in order to ensure that sites like this remain accessible to those who could simply not afford to pay any more.

One word of caution though, The Golden Mount is just a stones throw from The Grand Palace, and it seems that the 'Tuk Tuk Mafia' are becoming even more brazen in their attempts to fleece the unsuspecting tourist. If anybody ever tells you that The Golden Mount or The Grand Palace are closed for 'Special Prayers' or a 'Royal Visit' during daylight hours then ignore them, because it’s generally utter bollocks. They’ll offer, for a small fee, to take you on a tour of local attractions and upon your return, the Mount or Palace will be open to tourists once again. Their 'Tour' will inevitably include a visit to a Gem Store and a Tailor, the owners of which will probably show a remarkable resemblance to the person who told you that it was closed in the first place …. Mai pen rai kap

http://www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 350 Going pots in Siam

2011-04-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

About 10 miles east of Korat in Central Thailand, is the district of Dan Kwian. For longer than anybody has cared to write things down, Dan Kwian has been Thailand’s centre for the production of pottery and ceramics. It’s not really signposted, but then maybe it is but the signs might all be written in Thai and unless the sign reads ‘Beer’ or ‘Puncture Fix’ then I’m just a little bit clueless. It’s easy enough to find, just head towards Udon Thani on the main road and all of a sudden the roadside markets stalls will change. You’ve now reached Dan Kwian. For a distance of around 2 miles both sides of the main road are saturated with ceramic outlets of every size. Don’t be fooled or put off by the bling fairgroundesque offerings that are displayed at the roadside. The garish stuff is only there to provide colour to draw in the passing traffic and the good stuff is hidden away behind it.

Pots and vases of every size and shape are produced on site by artisans using local clay. They tend to be family run small businesses with different members of each family learning a different skill necessary for producing the end product. Some outlets have their own turtleback kilns that are fired once a week, seemingly always operated by the men of the family. That’s probably not because the men are any more skilled than the women, but if they’re only working one day a week then it gives them more time for general idleness and drinking, which can often be the Thai way.

If you can discover the right outlet, and find out who is in charge, then they’ll produce absolutely anything to your own specification. If you don’t have your own specification, then show them a picture of Clarice Cliff, Joy Navastie, Moorcroft or even Troika and a week later, it‘s yours. Personally I love the big vases and urns that they produce here, but it’s a question of how to get them home and then finding a home to actually put them in. The other thing of course is the price. A one metre tall vase will cost around 800 Thai Baht or $20 for a single piece ….. and around half of that if your buying in quantity. There’s got to be a new business in there somewhere for me … mai pen rai kap

http://www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas

Post 349: Bankers & Bushido ....

2011-03-23T00:47:00.000-07:00

First came the earthquake, level ‘9’ on the Richter Scale. That’s ten times stronger than an ’8’ and a hundred times stronger than a destructive ‘7’. Ten minutes later came the 30M tall, 400kph wave. It wiped away everything in its path and engulfed the nuclear power station at Fukushima. Fusion reactors operate at amazingly high temperatures and the force of the wave took out the primary and secondary power supplies to the cooling pumps. The fuel rods overheated, the pressure built up, the walls of the reactor houses eventually exploded and Japan declared a state of emergency on three separate fronts.

With radiation levels rising and every attempt to resurrect the aging water pumps failing, a small group of nuclear engineers held up their hands and volunteered to continue working in close proximity to the deadly reactors. I believe that there are nineteen of these brave souls and given that they already worked in the Fukushima plant, then I assume that they’ve already lost homes and loved ones to the earthquake and tsunami. These brave nineteen are fully aware that what they are doing today will inevitably result in early and painful deaths for all of them. In order to save their fellow citizens from the toxic mess, that without their efforts would undoubtedly be far worse than it already is, these amazing average-income employees are making the ultimate sacrifice. Never before has so much been owed by so many to so few.

The last case of toxic mess was the banking crisis, but in that fiasco there was a distinct lack of Bushido. The bankers who created that disaster off-loaded the toxic debt onto all of us citizens, collected their bonuses and saved their own souls. Never before has so much been owed to so many by so few. At this moment in time those responsible for the international financial crisis should be hanging their heads in shame, but unfortunately they’re not. No sooner had the tsunami hit the shores of Japan than the bankers were short selling Japanese stocks and making a very different kind of killing. If there was ever a referendum on the introduction of a law against ’Financial Genocide’ then I know exactly where I’d be making my ’X’.

.

Post 369: Christmas in Bangkok .. New Year in Phitsanulok

Post 368: The Ghosts of Bangkok

Post 367: Bangkok Floods ... the aftermath

Post 366: Amphawa Floating Market, Samut Songkram, Thailand

Post 365: (Video) Talad Hoob Rom ... Thai Train Market

Post 365: Talad Hoob Rom, Maeklong, Samut Songkram, Thailand .. Market of Closing Umbrellas

Post 364: Into Laos for a new Thai Visa

Post 363: Swiming in Lak Si

Post 362: Amphibious Automotive Invention ...

Post 361: Koh Lak Si .....

Post 360: Waters rising .....

Post 359: Leaping forward ......

Post 358: Chaing Mai

Post 357: Ban Pai, Central Thailand

Post 356: Song Kran Festival ... Ban Pai, Thailand

Post 355: Phitsanulok ...

Post 354: Taking the Bus in Thailand .....

Post 353: King Naresuan .....

Post 352:Hua Hin, Thailand

Post 351: The Golden Mount .. Bangkok

Post 350 Going pots in Siam

Post 349: Bankers & Bushido ....

Post 348: Nature is unstoppable ... it's in it's nature

Post 347: Entering the future

Post 346 ...... the greatest biking roads in the world ...

Post 345: The best biking roads in the world .....

Post 343: Coincidence ....

Post 342: Homeward Bound .....

Post 341: : It’s a small and weird world …..

Delay .....

Post 340: Beyond Tha-Bo .....

Post 339: Loy Krathong

Post 338: .. Travelling Again ...

.... swift update ......

Post 337: Building Progress ......

Post 336: One careful owner ....

Post 335: Changing Seasons ....

Post 334: Highway to Heaven .....

Post 333: Highway Heaven .....

Post 332: A Day in the Life ....

Post 331: Building in Boonville .....

Post 330: Boonville Fair & Rodeo ....

Post 329: Boonville Time .....

Post 328: Let the building begin .....

Post 327: California Dreaming ...

Post 326: Bling Bollocks & Balls

Post 325 Transylvania .... Reflection

Post 324: Transylvania ...........

Post 323: Transylvania ......

Post 322: Transylvania ......

Post 321: Into Transylvania

Update: 17th June 2010

Post 320: Garden of England BMF Show

Post 319: Beauty is in the Eye ....Ugly is in the Showrooms

Post 318: BMF Show .....

Post 317: Back in Blighty ..... bugger

Post 316: Homeward Bound

Post 315: Nothing is quite as it seems .....

Post 314: Leaving Bangkok ... bite sized Thailand

Post 313: Removing the Barricades? .....

Post 312: Bangkok ... Business as unusual ...

Post 311: Red, Yellow or Blue? ......

Post 310: Through the Barricades ...