We decided to have a look at the famous sights of Bangkok today, so we booked our transport to Koh Tao, left our baggage at the tour office, and then set out for the day.

We started at the National Gallery and Museum, which were free today due to a public holiday. Then we made our way to the famous Emerald Buddha. We arrived to total chaos so decided to skip this one and go to see Wat Pho instead. It was a good call, as Wat Pho has a massive gold reclining Buddha and large grounds to walk around. There were big stone guardians at the gates.

Frank and Chick left early to return to Khao San Road, but Nic and I decided to head for Wat Arun. We walked via a street market, monument bridge, and a lovely waterside path before snaking through back streets to reach the temple. The temple looked really different and was covered in tiny ceramic tiles. By the time we got there, we didn’t even have time to go in, so we flagged down a Tuk-Tuk to take us back to Khao San Road. It only cost a pound, which was a bargain, as it took ages to get back.

After eating, we headed for the tour office at about 6:30pm, but didn’t get on a bus until almost 9pm. On the plus side, I got chatting to an Indonesian guy Boris, who was travelling to Koh Tao to work. He gave me his copy of the guide-book, which we hadn’t been able to get anywhere else.

“No, Frank. It’s 2am. You’ve only been asleep a couple of hours.”

The look on his face was brilliant. Almost made up for the sleepless night. He still managed to get back to sleep while the rest of us just lay awake until morning.

When morning did finally arrive I was exhausted, and glad to get out of the room. I had some freebie Cornflakes for breakfast and then we headed for Lumphini Park.

We walked to the park. It was only a couple of centimetres on this map… It was actually a few miles away but a good walk, as we got to see some street food stalls and experience the endless lanes of traffic and congestion. An initiation of sorts.

The park was an oasis surrounded by high rise office blocks. There were pagodas and small buildings throughout the park, and a large lake with some sort of Komodo Dragon sentries patrolling the waters edge. The pagodas provided a handy resting stop when an impromptu thunderstorm stopped us walking for an hour.

After the park we headed for the train station via Tesco Lotus and a Chinese cafe.

At the train station a kindly lady with official looking name badge helped us with train times, and ushered us into a T.A.T (or TAT, I can’t remember) tour office. We thought we would see what they had to offer, and ended up going for a package to get us up to Chiang Mai by train via Ayutthaya and Lop Buri (Monkey Town). The trip also included accommodation in Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai, and a jungle trek for 3 days at the end. We had the next 10 days all planned out and sorted for £100.

Maybe we were naive, but this seemed like a great deal.

Referring back to our map, we saw that our hostel was only round the corner.

—–

3 hours later, we took a short cut and were wading through a flooded street, trying desperately to find the canal to get our bearings. Then a thunderstorm started again. Nic nearly lost a flip flop as it floated down the road. We found the canal eventually and followed it through tiny alleyways and houses on the edge of the water. Occasionally a local would pop their head out the door and point us in the right direction. Helpful Thai people.

As we crossed a bridge, Chick slipped and got down one one knee to propose to Frank. She cut her leg a bit.

We did eventually find the hostel, and although exhausted, we were glad to have seen such a hidden side of Bangkok. If we hadn’t got lost, we would have never met those locals, and never known about their little houses along the canal.

Blurry Zephyr Tilt Shift

Toy Town - Sydney Tilt Shift

Not great examples but does make some boring images not so bland.

Tremor - Christchurch, New Zealand

One Way Jesus - Sydney, Australia

Alley - Byron Bay, Australia

Oversize Vehicle - Byron Bay, Australia

Sanur Car

Pompey Proton

Dead Rat Yellow Lines