Bangkok and surroundings
As soon as we arrived in the town called “The City of Angels”, we understood what was ahead of us: a moist heat and an exacerbated urbanism. Bangkok stretches for tens of kilometres. We discovered it aboard buses taking us to the neighbourhoods where, for hours, small shops of all kinds, street vendors follow each other endlessly along the road. We imagine the campaign must be somewhere behind them…
We spent four days discovering the Thai capital mostly by foot or boat. However, not the sightseeing boats that offer to rip you off to discover the Chao Phraya river banks at the same price as a Parisian fly boat cruise! No, we are talking about the public transport boats used daily by locals, following the same itinerary and for a much more affordable price (hundred times lower). So take this as an advice, follow the boats with the little orange flag, they will offer you a nice cruise on the river along the main monuments of the city. As a bonus, the whistles of the mosses will be a treat for your ears.
Bangkok is definitely an Asian city, with all that implies. There is noise, traffic, groceries and street restaurants, buildings with unique architecture and of course religious and historical buildings every 200 meters. For our first week, there are no doubts, we felt far away! Some Hindu temples and Christian churches testify of the multiculturalism of the city, but it is above all the innumerable Buddhist temples and monasteries (called Wat) that impress.
Wat Pho, for example, the house of a reclining Buddha of 43 meters long and covered with gold. Lying on his deathbed, he is about to enter the parinirvana. He has been waiting for two centuries, he should end up getting there. The rest of the temple has dozens of statues of seated Buddhas and is just as interesting as the main room to discover. But the most important thing to remember is that you have to arrive before the Chinese tourists bus! From 9:30, we begin to feel cramped… Another small tip, prefer a rainy day, it seems that a lot of tourists’ rather stay at the hotel (but not Audrey!).
We also visited the Royal Palace, stormed by hordes of tourists from all nationalities! We had not yet understood that a beautiful blue sky at 10 am was synonymous of crowd! Little anecdote: Once inside the walls, in front of the ticket office, we realized that it was not Wat Pho… The “poulets voyageurs” still have some progress to make in orientation during the flight.
We are sightseeing hard, it’s lovely but it makes you hungry! Fortunately Bangkok has lots to offer in terms of gastronomic delights. We focus on street food to ensure authenticity and stick to our non-expandable budget. Broth, fried rice, curry, satay, pad thai or siam pandan, keep us happy! Ben always tries to taste a spicy dish, at his own risk, while Audrey chooses the sweetest. Do chickens digest chili? Mmm, a sensitive issue sometimes getting along with night sweats…
Another sweet in Bangkok after long days walking (or any time actually): massage. Thai massage is pretty intense, it’s a fact. At the end of the day, we feel deeply relaxed, but the method involves some kind of torture of the neck, toes and calves. Excellent. Ben learned to say “leg hair” which will certainly become very useful in the future.
We found Bangkok very nice when you avoid the streets dedicated to the cult of bucket and striptease. But like any city, it is necessary to escape from it at times. To do so, locals and tourists prefer the bus which is probably the most reliable and cheapest way to travel in Thailand. A few hours’ drive west of Bangkok is Kanchanaburi. A medium-sized town on the edge of national parks, we only stopped here to visit the nearby Erawan Waterfalls. A succession of natural pools connected by falls. The opportunity for us to take a walk in the hoods far from the city, but unfortunately not completely isolated. These falls are very nice but also very popular. The trails are marked and rangers ensure the safety of bathers. Some little monkeys and fish pecking our feet are nevertheless there for the wild side.
Unlike this “must see”, halfway between Kanchanaburi and Bangkok, we found a forgotten place by tourist routes and travel guides. Wat Samphran, an atypical temple. What a surprise to discover this incredible dragon climbing up a 17 floors tower! We were completely alone in a dreamlike park full of statues of all kinds. A real peaceful moment almost spoiled by the first solo flight of Audrey who, caught in a photo-journalistic momentum, decided to escape from Ben for an eternity (10 minutes). Everything finally ended well, please be reassured.
Koh Tao or the divers’ island
We came to this island for a specific purpose: to get our first level diving certificate. This island is indeed well known by divers for its offer in terms of price as well as underwater diversity. Sixty diving schools on 21 km², it is rather dense. If you come here and you do not intend to dive, you might get a bit bored. As far as we are concerned, it is not so, our instructor has elaborated an intense program over four days. After hours of theory, four dives and a small exam (yes yes we work hard here too), we are certified to dive down to 18 meters! It will be very useful for the rest of the trip, we have no doubt about it. A real moment of pleasure during the fourth dive which was undoubtedly the opportunity to enjoy swimming among fishes and corals of all colours and sizes. A great moment when Audrey showed us her flotation skills loaded with 8 kilos of ballast! A history of lung capacity apparently…
Life here is basically quite simple and follows some commands: to be tattooed, to wear sleeveless shirts and mini-shorts, to go to bed at 9.00pm (it’s getting tiring to get up at 6:30am to go diving), to drive a scooter without a helmet (but not us Mom, no worries) and drink mango shakes. Pretty easy no? We did our best to adhere to the specifications and it was quite pleasant.
Indeed, the diving school that was recommended to us has kept all its promises. A small family structure where everyone knows and appreciates each other, and where there is a contagious serenity. We felt welcomed by our Quebec instructor Alex and his girlfriend Sarah. Alex put Audrey in confidence, anxious women that she usually is, and made her feel like a fish in the water with her big bottle on her back!
Our open water certification in hand, we took advantage of our last two days here to rent a scooter (and do like most human beings in the area), the easiest way to discover the most isolated places on the island. Here we are in the direction of Mango Bay on roads called “concrete” but always ending in bumpy ground. Audrey especially enjoyed these moments of extreme driving accomplished brilliantly by Ben. She also took the opportunity to try driving the two-wheeled motor … No conclusion for now, we’ll keep you informed a little later!
After a week in Koh Tao, the batteries are fully charged.
It’s time to fly to new horizons, northern Thailand. Direction Chiang Mai and its region for the next days.
See you soon!
Audrey and Ben, the poulets voyageurs