I left this morning from Kanchanaburi to Bangkok on the same bus I took there although somehow it cost 10 baht more and took an hour longer lol. Anyway the ride was uneventful and I did get to bangkok in one piece through the crazy traffic around noon so I shouldn't complain. Once there went to my trusty guesthouse and checked in to the really carefree staff who unlike most places don't recognize that you've been there before. Getting my bags off me is a relief and I go find myself some food. On my way walking down Khao San Rd, the epicenter and heart of SE Asia's young backpacker scene I realize I have never actually talked about in length or photographed the place. This is probably due to my aversion to it as it contains just about anything and everything that makes me uncomfortable in a place. Huge crowds, drunk crowds, loud crowds, drugs... you get the point. While the area is amazing for those looking to let loose it just makes me walk faster. I think this is a clear sign of how boring I can be but...

    After eating I head back down the road stopping at some t-shirt stalls along the way just browsing. The shopping on this road is killer and thats about the only thing I like about it. Back at the front, I see a large crowd marching down the road sporting signs trying to ban alcohol from the area. All the students doing it were laughing and not even sure they were serious but if they were it deserves a real good laugh. It's like trying to ban french fries from McDonalds. The street is the area's and the local governments cash crop and thats not ever going to change until tourists stop coming which is not anytime soon. It did make me smile though.

    After my short tour and visiting the shops I decided to go to the mall and pick up some socks and a few things I needed. I absolutely love the MBK and normally I hate malls but this place is just too damn great! Any excuse to get something I go here... Theres socks at the 7/11 - So what I'll get them at the mall. So I spend maybe 2 hours there but an hour getting there. The traffic at 5pm is as bad here if not worse than anything I've ever been in. Plus you add the maniac driving in there and oh boy.

    So after my time at the MBK it was dark and by the time my taxi dropped me off at Khao San rd I just wanted to eat and go lay down. I did have to go through the road again as its blocked off at night so my taxi drops me here. The guesthouse is maybe 10 minutes walk from here but getting through the masses makes it much longer. At night the place comes to life 100x more. Its a mob scene with hardly any thai's in sight. There are so many interesting sights though like people advertising foot massages from biting fish, to bars that try to get young kids by advertising they don't card lol. I decided to video the walk basically just for this blog but glad I did. There was alot going on with bar girls standing outside there respective bars trying to lure you in, music playing everywhere, people selling fake diploma's and passports to a guy on a crazy bike with all too many colors going on....

    The video is in 2 parts as it was quite a long walk. Its a nice stroll through the above mentioned plus all the food stalls, trinkets and t-shirt vendors... well the video tells it better.

   Really not a bad day at all. Probably going to spend two more days here using the internet and uploading pictures and walking around town before crossing into Malaysia before the visa runs out. Pesky visa's.....

    Probably not the most exciting week but for me I think a much needed one. After 7 days of just treating myself like I was living here and taking it easy I'm on my way back to bangkok and most likely to Malaysia for a little bit. The routine has been so different to anything else over the past 3 months and change as to be almost unrecognizable to me. Just waking up, grabbing something to eat and watching TV all day felt so far from what had become reality.  It seemed jsut about everything was telling me to do just what I was however as when trying to go to the safari park midway through over 2 days, I managed to get there without a camera once and turn around, miss the bus the second time. The guy directing the bus stop tried telling me it " got in an accident and I should take a taxi " when I saw it pass me which annoyed me. Regardless I tried agaion the next day only to have there actually be no bus pickup that day and just gave up. It was time to just go with the flow and just use the tme here to chill out. I feel refreshed though, and whatever the next week, month, whatever holds I'm ready to go about it with fresh energy.

 

    Weebly is being a pain in the butt not letting me post or comment latley but its fixed now at least for posts. Just been relaxing anyway and just lazily spending time at the guesthouse watching movies and eating. I did get a cool new bamboo bed which definately beats a mattress on the floor like the first night. I am so getting bed if I ever get my own place one day ( Crowds laugh in the backround ). Its really great with giant pieces of bamboo making up the entire thing. Probably $100 here over $1000 back home. 

    It's been refreshing to do nothing for a few days actually and starting to get rid of some of the run down feeling from so much moving and activity. Really getting to know this town with all its places to eat and go having so much time to just observe.

    I am planning on going to the safari tommorow so really wanted to have it up and operating so I can get all those pictures up. :-P The leopard really got me wanting to go, and really I want to be able to get close to a giraffe. Wish me luck tomorrow.

    Leaving bangkok early but really in no rush since Kanchanaburi is a happening place for locals also and buses leave for here from 5am to 10:30pm every half hour. So knowing how impossible it is to be late for the bus, I slept in a bit before heading to the station around 10am. The first taxi I got in seemed nice enough but then refused to use the meter telling me there was a " traffic jam " and would take a long time so it was 200 baht. Bullshit. So I got out and before I could even flag down another one a guy asked me where I was going, I told him in Thai, Sai Tai Mai which is the southern station since there are 3 bus stations here. He sent one of his taxi's and got the meter going and set off. The fare there ended up being 91 baht, and we hit zero traffic along the way. Gotta love it.

   At the station I chilled out a bit and again in no rush had an breakfast/lunch there. The ticket was only 75 baht for the 2+ hour trip, and I know that last time it was 100 but who knows. Took a few minutes for the bus to arrive but was soon on with my new bags underneath which I was weary of putting under since they were new. The journey went by fast as 2 hours is 5 minutes time it seems after dealing with so many longer rides. Being back here was nice, and I split a ride into town with a dutch couple from the bus. They wanted to keep looking so I got off before them at a place I stayed before. When Ice, the lady who runs the place saw me she was really excited I came back here and that " I didn't forget them ". Her daughter on the other hand asked me who I was at first, the beard just made that much a difference. I was nice to be back here as the family at this 2 room only guesthouse really makes you feel at home. Unfortunately the room had to be cleaned and it took hours while I walked around to clean up from the guest who just left.

    I got settled in later and after resting a while I got ready and went out to meet Ice for dinner. We got on the bike and drove to a small bar and restaurant to eat and relax a bit. I was really nice to go out and just chat away. We caught up on things and we took bets whether or not her boyfriend Stuart who I met last time would recognize me tomorrow. It always throws me off when I eat with someone here as your always expected to foot the bill. The average local here wouldn't eat at the restaurants as there too pricy so anything besides street food your paying lol. Things went well and had a good time before going back and crashing as I was tired from the contant moving of the past few days.

    In the morning, after getting woken up by someone knocking at my door thinking it was where they could find Ice about the other room, I went fr\or a walk around town and picked up some phone cards and made a small round of calls. Catching up is always nice. If you end up reading this, Ernie you reaction to me calling was the best. Getting back feeling really hot I went into Ice's attached internet shop for the  A/C and surfed a while before eating some noodle soup she was nice enough to have her daughter pick up while she was out. After I got a ride back to near the river kwai bridge to see the old friend again. Before getting there however, I came across a most amazing thing. A young Leopard sitting on a table with his handler jumping on some ladies lap. I had to get in on this, and so soon after I was right there where she was. Unlike the lazy tigers from last year who I found out where like that from abuse, this guy was full of energy and from a conservation park where you could go and play with anthing from giraffes to elephants all hands on and for a good cause. It was all fun and games until he decided to jump and my back and leap into air using me as a springboard. I laughed after and so did the crowd watching, but for a split second I thought my neck was getting torn out......

    Talking to the handler afterwards, he gave me a pamplet about the Safari Park Open Zoo Conservation Center ( What a long name ) which I just might go too. He actually mentions Tiger Temple in his pitch about the place saying the animals here are very much awake and full of life. Its definately a case of a place being a bit pricy but you need it to be that way. When its cheap, you end up with abused animals rather than a place with the actual funds needed to care for them. Before leaving I watched a very lucky guy get to bottle feed the young fellow which was one of the most priceless things I've seen to date and play around with an aempty water bottle. Truly a great time.

    After the great leopard adventure, I made my way to the bridge walking up and down before stopping where I posed for pictures before and asking someone to take one for me. It was really interesting because a little less than 3 months ago I stood here with a bunch of stubble on my face, the birth of what was to become the great mop. Made for some really great before and after shots though!

               After (1)                            Before                               After (2)

    Heading out I looked down the long railway and watched a man walk down the ride which for whatever reason I found nice. I was hungry so ate riverside before getting a ride back to the room and then internet shop to get the leopard on here while I was still excited about seeing him. Decided to take it easy and stay here a week really taking in the place, enjoying time with the family I'm staying with and in the end also save some money in the long run. It's going to be nice and really I think a much needed stay.

    So after sleeping in the next morning I walked around a bit before flagging down one of the million Toyota Camry cabs, I guess they know how long camrys last as there literally the only car cabs use. Getting I ask him if he uses the meter and he does so I get in and start the trip to the mall. The meter starts at 35 Baht ($1) and goes up by 2 baht every minute and .1 kilometer making it probably the cheapest cab fares in the world. However, most cabbies here make up for this by charging foreigners off the meter at crazy rates which most, including me, fall victim for a few times before learning the lesson.

    Traffic is brutal as always and was probably 20 minutes before I pulled in even though its barely 2 miles away. I really love being in the\is place, 7 floors of anything and everything. I grab lunch here before starting my small shopping for a new backpack and a few needed things. I walk for maybe 4 hours through everything here having a good old time grabbing myself much needed sneakers and a bunch of pairs of $3 shorts and t-shirts to replace the few that I have worn to shreds over the past 3 months. It was fun, but everything I got was needed, My giant orange top loader bag and all.

    Back in town, I walked around the main shopping road near my room which basically was a shorter way when I passed a backpack that caught my eye. I of coarse loved it which kinda made me a little upset I didn't wait but then it hit me. This is Thailand. I told the lady selling the bag that I had just baught the one on my back for 600 baht and the sticker price was 900 baht but I talked the lady down. After some haggling I got here to take the bag I just bought and give me 600 baht store credit and she put it on the shelf for 900 baht.I then purchased this bag and a matching shoulder bag for not much more....

    The bags great and be converted into a diuffle bag which  strap. Very large and the material is thick and sturdy. Back at the room and Ioaded all my things, new and old with ease and wasy very happy with it all. There was one broken button, but you get what you pay for here. Its a cheaper version of a most likely very expensive bag back home. Nothing much else happened after being back besides eating and walking around before heading to bed watching a movie. A very productive day though. Off to Kanchanaburi in the AM.

   ( Also for some reason my responses to comments are not posting, so I would love to still have your comments but for moment I am unable to respond.. If you need a response use the email contact form )

     Although this actually takes place directly after the post below, it is so spectacular it needed it's own! Wat Sala Kaew Ku stunned me right of the bat as driving down the road in the distance were towering statues that dwarfed even the tallest tree's in the area. Stepping out of the tuk tuk and making sure the driver was going to stick around, I was off to the entrance. After a small 20 baht entrance fee, I was inside the grandest place I've seen in this part of Thailand. Lush green gardens covering all the land that isn't covered by the incredible statues that are tall enough to make the people next to them look like ants. Equally amazing, was my being approached by some local monks who were testing there english skills on me during there visit here. They were very friendly and it was quite a nice. Seeing them next to the first statue to see inside is breathtaking....

      Continuing through the maze of statue's, I couldn't help but feel in some serious awe. Having just hours ago started to feel like I couldn't be impressed anymore, the reality hit hard here I was brought right back down to reality. This place was miraculous. The mixture of Buddhist and Hindu statue's mixed in the garden created a most mesmerizing atmosphere. I found myself feeling smaller and smaller as I made my way through, easily started to forget which ones I'd already seen. Surrounded in every direction by mass amounts of concrete, every direction equally as grand, getting lost in the moment here is inevitable. I was taking photo's left and right trying not to miss anything. Even the smaller eye level piece's could have your jaw dropping.....

      While walking the grounds I ran into the people I had met on the boat the night before and spent the rest of the time there with them chatting about the glory of the place. After about an hour and a half here and still not sure if I saw everything, we decided to head out as the sun got the better of us. Probably a good idea because the guy waiting to drive me back was probably getting a little restless and paid or not, driving off wasn't far from his mind most likely. Driving away I tried to get the last picture of the largest piece that I saw when coming in. Having to be far enough away and going over bumps in the back of a vehicle, I somehow managed to get the picture. Be it with a portion of a bus showing, but that will be cut out later :-P A fitting one to end the place indeed....

      Having changed my mind again, I'm skipping the river kwai festival and heading for Laos in the morning.... I just have no desire to go through 2 twelve hour overnight trains, one there and one back to see a festival. Too much backtracking. So a new country begins tomorrow. Laos!


( Please check the Wat Sala Kaew Ku photo gallery to really appreciate this wonderful place! )

      Awoke about 8am this morning, and slowly got myself together before heading out in search of a place to eat along one of the many riverside restaurants. Leaving the room, I found myself wondering aimlessly up and the entire riverwalk before reaching the end not chosing any of the dozens of places I passed along the way. It turned out to be a rather good thing because at the end was a truly nice temple with a rather large buddha on the rooftop. Upon seeing it, I noticed that I wasn't nearly in as much marvel as I should be at such a nice piece. The truth is I realized was that I was getting spoiled by all the wondrous things I had seen lately. This just wasn't doing it lol. Nevertheless, it was something I enjoyed seeing.

      Walking back along the river, I made it all the way back to my guesthouse before choosing a place just past it in the opposite direction. Oh well. The place was pretty full with about 5 or 6 older men from what sounded like Germany. Most likely ex-pats who chose to retire here, they usually know the best spots so I was confident it was a good place. The view was quite nice and after slowly eating and taking in the surroundings I snapped away at the riverside.

      Heading back to my room to use the PC for a while, I did so for about an hour before wondering back out to search for something to do for the day and explore Nong khai's streets. After a while of walking around with no luck and a quick lunch, I decided to try a temple I'd heard about that contained a "garden" and went about hiring a tuk tuk to get me there. What I received was one of the greatest places I've reached in the journey so far....

      I have no idea why I keep going on these long bus rides without preparing first. When I'm thinking right I stock up on drinks and food for the long drive, but waking up at 7am seems to always have me forgetting. Bus left for Nong Khai at 8:30am and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to eat until 4:30pm which would have sucked. Luckily the driver got a little restless and we stopped in a small town for a hour and I was able to eat at a noodle shop on the street. After another 3 hours the bus finally pulled into Nong Khai and before the bus even stops it is literally assaulted by tuk tuk drivers trying to be the first thing anyone sees when they step off the bus. Overkill really, and I brushed a few off and sat down for a second before getting one anyway but on more relaxed terms. He seemed pretty intent on taking me to a brothel which I found very amusing, but soon enough I arrived at Ruan Thia Guesthouse where I'd be spending the night. I'm going to be taking an overnight train tomorrow to kanchanaburi so I needed to extend my 11am checkout time which they did by charging me half price for the next day which allows me a 6pm checkout which seemed very nice. After settling in I was out to Mut Mee's where I had heard they do sunset boat trips along the Mekong river to watch the sun go down over the bridge to laos. Here I'll let the pictures tell the next 5 minutes of the story:

       Breathtaking orange glow lit up everything from the water to the bridge. While there was to much cloud cover to see the sun, the clouds really made the colors come out which was lovely. After taking pictures and video, I sat back down to my table on the bottom deck of the boat and enjoyed my stir fry and a beer. I was approached by a woman asking some curiosity questions like where I was from etc, and they came over and joined my table. There was a man who happened to be from Boston with them and we started chatting for the remainder of the trip. Turns out they were all teaching English not to far away at a school for small children and gave me the info in case I ever wanted to extend a vacation and pick up some money. No degree required here and also looks past whether you have a work visa or not. Definitely a place to keep the info on for the future. Turned around for one last look before preparing to debark my lovely little boat.

      After docking back on the shore, I said my goodbyes and was invited to join for a few beers later which I gave a maybe too. I was considering it and actually maybe will for a change. But for now it's back to the guesthouse for the night. Have to do my exploring tomorrow since I arrived so late. Very happy I made it in time to get the boat ride in tonight......

      Woke up pretty late as planned, then spent the morning having breakfast at a shop along the river consisting of a shrimp and fried rice deal. Sitting along the river is peaceful enough to take up a lot of time sitting, now and then reaching or my guide book to read over some things and help plan for the next day. Absolutely doing nothing more than that today and that's exactly the plan. Possibly going the post office as I heard they might have an oversea's calling place and might be worth a shot. Maybe i'll do so more bird watching along the river like I did for a little bit yesterday... Watching a nest being made by making hundreds of trips back and forth one or two sticks at a time is quite amazing to see.

      Getting ready for the long 6 hour bus ride to Nong khai in the morning. Decided that even though I've wanted to head into Laos since Muk, I'm going to head back for the festival and get some things I need there two. It hasn't even been a month so there's really no excuse to leave Thailand yet. So river kwai festival it is after Nong khai....

     After only a 45 minute bus ride which was refreshingly short, I was here in That Phanom. Quite simply the smallest town I've ever been in, consisting only of an area 3 blocks wide and maybe 12 blocks all. Finding a place to stay was easy, there was only one available option. By far the most dreary room I've been in since I've been spoiled by accomadation options. But for $3, what do you expect? 

     The people here are among the friendliest I've come across, I wasn't walking the river more than 5 minutes before someone who a little english approached and we got to talking. I ended up eating breakfast at his small food stand, chatting away before continuing down river checking out some more views of laos. I have this urge to just swim across it.... Probably a very bad idea.

     Before long I was head to what is the only attraction in That Phanom, a temple by the same name, Wat Phra That Phanom. Easily the most impressive I've seen with gold overlay on a huge white gleaming chedi. There were quite a few buddha images inside worth a look, but the sheer awe factor of the chedi is the real attraction here.

     After the temple on my way back to my first homestay, I walked relatively the entire town and just upon hitting the edge I noticed something gold out of the corner of my eye. Just down a dead end dirt road, a new temple was being built with what was probably a buddha bigger than any other I've seen. Very out of place in such a tiny place to devote so much money to these over the top temples....

     Later in the afternoon while walking aroung hopelessly trying to find the towns only source of the internet, I stumbled upon a sign outside that read in english "Barber". I went over and peeked inside and sure enough there was a man cutting away of someone's head. This was perfect. My hair was getting way too long and this is the last place expected to be able to get it done. So when the previous customer finished I sat down and there was no verbal communication that we could make, so I simply pointed to his Sweeney Todd style barber's razor and made a motion over my head. He smiled acknoledgeing he understood I wanted it all gone, and we were away. In the chair I took in the surroundings of the place, a normal barbershop, you know dozens of pictures of naked Thai women all over the walls.. lol It was an interesting place indeed. But it got the job done for 50 baht. I'm bald again!

      After dark I my usually trip the night market like I usually do in each town, and although it was rather small, much like the town, there nontheless were some more interesting things to try food wise. Didn't really stay long and was back at the guesthouse in no time. Not to long after getting back I was approached by a Thai man named Money who invited me to watch a football (soccer) game on there very old probably 9 inch TV. I accepted even though I had no real interest in it, in proved a good way to socialize for the night until heading off to bed a few hours later. It's funny when thai names are translated into english you realize most are named after objects. I met two children each named bank last week... Go figure.

      Going to Nahkon Phanom in the morning for a few days whether its tiny or not. Too much moving around lately.....