I squashed myself further into the front of the pork mince stall as the train slowly trundled its way through the centre of the market. I'm not sure how it came about whether it was the market that sprung up on the train tracks or the train tracks were laid through the busy market. Whichever came first they now coexist in the same narrow space in the town of Mae Klong, an hour outside Bangkok. The stall holders are used to the passing of the train and most of the stalls are on wheels, ready to roll back their vegetables, fruit and fish when they hear the announcement from the nearby station. They leave the pulling in of the shade awnings till the last seconds though, to protect their goods and themselves from the scorching afternoon rays, jumping out in front of the slowly rumbling engine to pull in the blinds. The girls were fascinated, from their safe vantage point in a nearby fruit stall, that the lady couldn't be bothered to move her towering pile of rambutan fruit. The bottom of the carriage just brushed the pile, sending a few of them tumbling further into the wheels, anyone for a smoothie? Literally seconds after the massive beast had passed the shade umbrellas were unleashed, stalls kicked out and the stall holders banter continued, as if nothing had happened.
We had been brought to the market by an old friend and colleague of Steve's Brian and his girlfriend Kae. Brian lives in Jakarta but had flown into Bangkok for the weekend to see us, he knows the city well as Kae lives there. We set off on Saturday in a long tailed boat to explore one of the floating markets. The Chao Phraya River is swollen with all the recent rains, so we had to go through a lock to access the smaller channels. There are hundreds of narrow canals in the city, houses back straight onto the water so you get to have a noisy at people's lives. Eating out with Kae was wonderful, at the market she picked out some of the most delicious foods for us to try. Plump prawns, delicately flavoured fish, spicy salads and a couple of bowls of soup with interesting pork "bits" that tasted delicious.
Surprisingly we had space that night to eat out as Brian and Kae took us to one of their favourite restaurants, the Issaya Siam Club. Looking around the sophisticated and sumptuous surroundings of the converted 1920's house, Alisha wondered aloud why it was that we never take her to such swanky restaurants? She laughed when we told her it was what we used to do..... before we had children. Thankfully they then tried to be on their best manners, to keep up with surrounding. The experience was fantastic, not only was the food delicious but there was quite a lot of culinary theatre too. It culminated with an amazing desert translated as a "broken bucket" with all the components laid out on a couple of banana leaves on the table. First there was the coconut cream; crushed peanuts; mulberry and lychee ice-cream; and several more exotic ingredients laid out with panache. Then out came a smoking cauldron, there was a bang and onto the table tumbled some cake and a frozen chocolate "bucket" which cracked into pieces, all wreathed in fog. We were all transfixed and it tasted as good as it looked.
The following day Brian had hired a minibus to take us all an hour outside Bangkok to Amphawa floating market. Going to a market with Kae gave us a great new perspective, as she explained all the different culinary delights that we'd seen but hadn't been brave enough to try on our own. She bought some of the tastiest morsels for us to try. Popular with people from Bangkok, it was busy as it was Sunday lunchtime. We stopped for a delicious lunch in a riverside restaurant, just outside the main hustle and bustle of the market.
From the market we jumped back in the minibus and headed out to a wat (Buddhist temple) which had been completely engulfed by trees growing around it. Busy with devotees, Kae kindly sorted us out with the correct offerings and explained the correct way to use them. One of the fascinating aspects of Asia is the diversity of religions, so this year the girls are going to study the different ones as we pass through the region. Buddhism is next on our list, so it was great to learn more. As we had driven through the town of Mae Khlong earlier the driver had mentioned the market held on the traintracks, so we stopped on the way back to town to check it out.
For our last night with Brian and Kae, we went to another fabulous restaurant known for its haute cuisine. It's diverse tasting menu was full of gems. Most intriguing was the glass of rice spirit; followed by chunk of bitter tamarind; but finished off with a spray of sweet pandanus water from a little bottle - unusual but delicious. It was so lovely for Brian to fly into see us. I know Steve particularly enjoyed going for a couple of beers and a chat in the evenings after dinner, while I took the girls back to the hotel. Kae was lovely and particularly kind with the girls, listening to them chat away and showing them lots of interesting things.
The rest of the week we explored Bangkok on our own. The magnificent Grand Palace complex is full of Wats, murals, chedi (Buddhist spires) and Royal buildings. We spent several hours marvelling at its beauty and trying to photograph its splendour. Nearby Wat Pho and its immense reclining Buddha. The huge complex is filled with many temples all fascinating and beautifully decorated. Footsore after such a interesting day exploring we jumped on the local river bus to get back to our riverside hotel. The Riverside Ibis was a great find, a centrally located hotel with a big enough parking lot for the truck. How ever much I ribbed Steve about how soft he'd become staying in a hotel, I was very thankful for the location and air conditioning.
Lucy's birthday is in a couple of weeks, so as the girls joint birthday treat they spent the day at Kidzania. It's a great concept, a city where children are the adults. They get to do different jobs, which they earn money for, which they can then spend on things. Actually writing it like that it doesn't sound like much fun, it sounds like life. But it is absolutely great, trying out different jobs, being totally independent in a safe environment and having an absolute blast. They went to the one in Dubai, when we were shipping between Africa and Australia, and were very excited to be going again. While Steve sorted some jobs in the massive mall outside, I caught up with some writing in the parent's lounge. I caught up with them to see them making sushi in a Japanese restaurant and to see Lucy model in a fashion show. Their favourite job was being secret agents though, especially dodging through a laser filled room to collect some secret documents.
Our last full day in Bangkok was more cultural with a visit to Jim Thompson's house, an American Thai silk baron who disappeared mysteriously in 1967. He purchased six different teak houses and brought them to beside a canal in Bangkok in the 1950's to be configured into the most beautiful mansion raised on stilts. It is full of ancient Buddhas and antiques, all done in the best possible taste. The Thai silk company he started has gone from strength and now has shops all over the country selling lovely scarves and homeware.
Our last full day in Bangkok was more cultural with a visit to Jim Thompson's house, an American Thai silk baron who disappeared mysteriously in 1967. He purchased six different teak houses and brought them to beside a canal in Bangkok in the 1950's to be configured into the most beautiful mansion raised on stilts. It is full of ancient Buddhas and antiques, all done in the best possible taste. The Thai silk company he started has gone from strength and now has shops all over the country selling lovely scarves and homeware.
After our six days in the capital, we were sad to leave Krung Thep, which translates into English as the "city of angels". While the city might be very hectic and busy it has a great energy. Crossing the bridge and jumping on the river bus or the skytrain made getting around really easy, especially important in the heat. We had a fantastic time meeting an old friend; making a new one; seeing amazing sights; exploring fascinating markets and eating lots of wonderful and diverse food.
As we gazed across the immaculate cemetery in Kanchanaburi the sun came out and the heat burnt into our backs but it didn't seem to matter. The cemetery was filled with rows and rows of graves of the men who had died building the railway. It was a sobering moment and one of quiet reflection.
The previous night Gilly and I had watched the classic 1950's David Lean film "The Bridge on the River Kwai". It had seemed so appropriate with the real bridge just a few hundred metres from where we camped. The next day we got to hear the real story in The Death Railway museum which gave an excellent overview of the building of the railway. Whilst it is well know how many allied servicemen were killed in building the railway it's probably less well know that many more indentured Asian workers were also killed and treated even more atrociously.
Today, the town of Kanchanaburi has grown around its famous site into a normal bustling Thai town. Each day groups of tourists are bused in to walk across the famous bridge and we duly followed suit. But it will be the view across the war cemetery after learning more about the horrors of building the Death Railway that will remain in my memory longer.
From Kanchanaburi we headed to another historical city. Ayuthaya was once one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world. It was the capital of Siam from 1350 to 1767 when it was sacked by an invading Burmese army. After that the capital was moved south to present day Bangkok and Ayuthaya was left in ruins. In recent years a lot of restoration has been going on and the city has become a UNESCO world heritage site.
Our first task was to find somewhere to stay/park so we headed to the tourist information centre. Despite the fact that it was a busy weekend they had a massive car park that was virtually empty. Ideal we thought, I wonder whether they will let us camp there. We asked at the Tourist Office who weren't sure and said we should check with the nearby Tourist Police. Knocking on their office the person quickly asked what we wanted, we explained and he just said fine. Mind you I am not sure whether he was one of the tourist police or just a builder doing some maintenance work. It didn't matter we had an ideal quiet spot from which to discover the city.
The city is filled with ruined temples and palaces in different stages of disrepair. One of the things the Burmese did when they sacked the city was cut off the heads of all the Buddha statues so there were headless statues of Buddha everywhere. The temples were very impressive but it was hot work walking between them. For me I was finding it particularly hard going as I had a temperature and was not feeling great. The general diagnosis from the family was that I was suffering from Man flu so just had to suck it up and get on with it.
From Ayuthaya we were heading back to the jungle to Kho Yai National Park. We were looking forward to this as the park is set at an altitude of about 750 metres and so was a very important 3 to 4 degrees cooler than where we had been. As we drove towards the park there were a couple of almighty rainstorms that turned the roads into mini rivers. We weren't worried though as we knew the camping in the park was on tarmac so we would be fine even if it continued raining.
However on arriving at the Park we were told we were not allowed in as the truck was too big. When I enquired they said it was because the road was narrow. It looked fine from the gate and I am sure it would have been no worse than what we have travelled upon before but as all the tour buses were also parked up at the entrance gate I could understand they weren't going to let us in. But what now? Normally we have a Plan B but this time we had been so certain it was all sorted we had no Plan B. Together with the Rangers, we came up with a plan to visit Tap Lan National Park just over an hours drive away.
Mind you finding the park entrance proved to be a challenge and I am sure we ended up on driving on much smaller roads than we would have in the more famous Kho Yai. In the end just before it was getting dark we found the entrance. It was after park closing time but a security guard was still there. He said there was no problem and to just drive in. When we asked him how much ( there was a sign displaying charges) he just waved us away and said no need to pay. One of our concerns was ensuring we were parked for the night on a solid base. There had been a fair bit of rain and more was likely. Our first foray down a path revealed a pleasant clearing but it was at the end of a water run off so we rejected it. It was now getting dark so we were getting concerned, when we found the official campsite. As it was down a grass track and we couldn't see if the ground was solid we just parked on the road at the entrance. There was no one else there anyway.
The next day we awoke to a lovely view over the valley. We moved to the end of the track in case where we were would get in the way of other visitors. Not that we need of worried. The park is less well know than its famous neighbour and it is certainly far less developed with less things to do. However we decided to hang around for a day though to take a walk to the nearby waterfall and to enjoy the slightly cooler climate.
We had one last stop to make before we reached the Cambodian border. When we were at the windscreen repair shop in Bangkok we met Mr Pong who was also having his motorhome repaired. While we were talking I asked him if he could ask the garage if they had any rear marker lights I could buy. I am always knocking mine off on trees and had run out of spares. They did not but he knew a shop that did just near the Cambodian border. Whilst this was helpful he went even further, called them up and ordered the lights for us. So as we approached the border we stopped to pick up our lights.
The owners of the shop also owned two motorhomes and as soon as we pulled in had the lights on the counter ready for us, they were expecting us. They asked us where we were going and where we planned to stay the night. As we didn't really know where we would stay before the border we said so. They suggested we drive a short way out of town to their country home next to the river and camp there for the night. It was a lovely spot and so kind of them. At first we couldn't quite fit down the road due to their entrance sign, but no problem they had one of the workmen get the tractor and raise the sign. It's amazing how people go out of their way to be so kind and helpful.
That evening Phan, Tukta and Benz joined us for dinner. They ordered in some lovely Thai food whilst we shared some less appetising food we had cooked. It was lovely to meet some fellow motorhome owners and whilst communication was not easy, Benz did a great job translating as we shared stories and showed each other photos. The hospitality we were shown was amazing and it was a great end to our first crossing of Thailand.
