Thailand 2009 - lucy3119

Is it really the end?

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Our last day in Thailand! And we definitely packed a lot in!

We spent the morning touring the city, first by boat - we visited the royal barges, which for some reason, you had to pay to photograph - and then on foot. We spent a couple of hours at the Grand Palace, a huge area full of beautiful buildings decorated with gold leaf and coloured glass tiles. We ventured into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which holds a Buddha statue so sacred it can't be photographed...I think I must have gravely offended the Buddha when I burst into uncontrollable hiccups that might have disturbed the spiritual energies of the place a bit...

At the Grand Palace

Guard at the Grand Palace

Grand Palace

We also visited the huge Reclining Buddha, a statue so large it doesn't fit in a single photo. Although the pillars that surround it don't really help...

Giant reclining Buddha

With hardly any time to breathe, we were off to the Siam Niramit cultural dinner show, a very touristy, big-budget spectacle that takes you through the history of Thailand, with an absolutely huge dinner buffet thrown in.

Siam Niramit

Farewell dinner

Back at the hotel, reluctant for our last day to end, some of us searched desperately for somewhere to have a Chang or two. We ended up at a tiny little bar with pink walls and a slightly questionable drinks menu...as Andy found out after ordering a glass of whisky and coke for about £1, what he actually got was a whole bottle of rum.

After this, we all got a little emotional during our goodbyes, jumped on a plane for a very boring 11-hour flight, and ended up back where we'd started a month ago. Lauren and I were once again sitting in a car, driving back to our hometown, only this time we knew a hell of a lot more about each other, had a lot of in-jokes and anecdotes to share, and a lot of memories.

Sleeper train to Bangkok...or is it?

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This morning, Lauren, Andy, Sam and I decided to check out the temples of Chiang Mai: we'd missed the temple tour the other day while canyoning. We discovered a really ancient-looking temple right next to our hotel, which was pretty interesting.

Ancient temple guards

Ancient temple

In the afternoon we were meant to be boarding an overnight train to Bangkok...but things didn't run quite according to plan. We should have known something was going to go wrong when, as we boarded the coach to take us to the station in the middle of a storm, there was a huge bang and a flash of light as a lightning bolt struck a building directly across the street! It was a warning that we foolishly ignored...

Outside the Parasol Inn

No sooner had we boarded the train with all our bags than we had to get right back off again. Turned out ISV had booked tickets for the following night by mistake...as we watched another group of students taking what should have been our seats, we wondered if we'd be getting to Bangkok in time for the cultural dinner show the following night...

Of course, ISV got it all sorted, hiring a nice coach and even organising a stop-off at a fancy hotel for dinner! We got to our hotel, the New Siam Riverside Guest House, earlier than planned and had time to catch a few hours sleep before morning.

Caving and yet more 'reggae' bars

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Caving and abseiling today - although after our incredible canyoning adventure yesterday Lauren, Andy, Sam and I found it a bit of an anticlimax. The best (and most terrifying) part of the day was a tyrolean traverse across a huge, deep cavern followed by an abseil (we were pretty much suspended in mid-air for several minutes) down to the cavern floor. I somehow drew the short straw and ended up going first, and despite having just yesterday abseiled 100 metres down a waterfall with no problems, I felt a bit too queasy looking down into the abyss today!

After lunch came rock climbing, when I managed to get myself stuck just a few metres from the ground, as all the strain of the last few days' activities finally caught up with me and my muscles completely gave out...half way up a rock. Couldn't go up, couldn't come down. Great timing, muscles.

For our last night in town we went out for dinner and then some of us hit the Rooftop Bar, yet another one of those supposed 'reggae' bars with the pictures of Bob Marley but the music of a dance club. The best thing about the bar, though, was that it was, as the name suggested, on a rooftop and open to the stars. My personal favourite part of the night was when I discovered a cockroach...on Kim's back.

Last dinner in Chiang Mai

Rooftop Bar

Last night in Chiang Mai

Canyoning!

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today was a free day to spend as we liked: most of the others took part in a tour of Chiang Mai's temples while four of us - Andy, Lauren, Sam and I - went canyoning. This involved sliding down waterfalls, wading and jumping into pools, and rapelling 100 metres down a huge waterfall! This turned out to be one of the most exciting activities of the trip, particularly since a morning downpour meant the water was nice and high, and the small group size meant we didn't have to wait around for long. It was challenging - the rock was wet and slippery during the abseil and I got some impressive rope burns on my hands - but completely worth it.

White water rafting back to Chiang Mai

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Trek: day two took us downhill, past a waterfall and through a Field full of cows that decided to follow us for the last leg of the journey. We were all relieved to see the songthaews waiting to pick us up at the end of the trek, but also really proud of ourselves for what we'd achieved in the last two days.

Trekking

Awesome bug

After lunch, we were rewarded with white water rafting: one of the highlights of the tour! I shared a raft with Team We're Not Going to Die, which included tour leader Steph, Lauren, Kirsten and Ginny. Sure enough, we didn't die, but there were some pretty hairy moments when we had to hit the deck to avoid being thrown overboard...On a calm stretch of the river, each boat tried to take as many hostages from other boats as possible: we quickly lost Lauren and had to initiate a sea Battle in order to get her back.

White water rafting!

Back at the good old Parasol Inn, we hit the walking street Sunday market, a huge market that spans several streets around the hotel, much less touristy and tacky than the daily night bazaar. At one point, the Thai national anthem was played from speakers in the street: everybody froze where they stood, in silence, until the song had finished. It was a surreal moment but just demonstrates the huge amount of respect people in Thailand have for their royal family.

Shamans, spirit gates and a lot of sweating

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Before our two-day trek into the hills began, we stopped off at the Lisu shaman's House for some lychee wine and a bit of a sit-down. Our trekking guide, Charlie, also showed us the giant swing, which represents freedom to the tribe, and the spirit gate, which we were forbidden to touch in case we released evil spirits into the world: the punishment for touching it is "to buy a pig and sacrifice it", as our tour leader May put it. Since pig slaughter wasn't on the intinerary and our budgets didn't really cover the purchase of livestock, we stayed well clear of the spirit gate!

The trek itself was uphill torture until lunchtime. I've honestly never sweated so much in my life, it was pretty much free-flowing for the first hour. Talk about attractive. Luckily, we had a chance to recover during our eco-lunch, packed in woven grass baskets and wrapped in Banana leaves. We all felt slightly guilty eating our cooked Chicken in front of a bunch of live Chickens...until they turned cannibal and tucked into our leftovers.

After lunch, the temperature dropped a little as rain seemed to be on the way, making the going a lot easier, but I was still very glad to reach our camp, the Lahu Outpost ,at the top of our third hill - even if it had no electricity!

Eco-lunch

Recovering at the Lahu Outpost

Lahu Outpost

Elephant Nature Park, Hill tribes

lucy3119 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We spent a full day at Elephant Nature Park, helping out with the feeding and bathing of the elephants and learning how they ended up at the park.

The park is a sanctuary for elephants who have suffered as a result of the tourist trade in Thailand. Elephant trekking, for example, often ends up crippling elephants: their backs are surprisingly weak and aren't meant to take the weight of tourists. Elephant shows, which require them to perform dangerous tricks and stunts, often end in disaster, while elephants used for work (eg logging) are often injured or abused by their owners. The process of domesticating elephants can be traumatic too: the fastest but most brutal way to train elephants is to 'break their spirits' by starving and torturing them for days on end. This is the hidden side to the elephant tourist industry: although elephants are respected and sacred to most Thais, they are unaware of the suffering many of them face.

Nom

Elephant Nature Park

Elephants!

We then spent one night at the beautiful and tranquil Lisu Lodge, run by the Lisu hilltribe, before setting out on our hilltribe trek the next day. I felt a little sorry for a couple of honeymooners whose quiet holiday was interrupted by 26 students, but atleast it was just for a night! During our dinner buffet some of the Lisu kids appeared to perform some dances for us - it was very touristy, but still fun.

Lisu children

Musical instrument

Spa days and cooking class chaos

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We spent a divine morning at the luxurious Legend Spa, built in a stately home. After a full body massage I ill-advisedly chose to have a mineral mud body mask which involved stripping, being covered in mud and wrapped in cling film, unable to move for twenty minutes while desperately needing the bathroom. Meanwhile, Jenni next to me was having a pretty amazing looking facial.

Jenni at the massage spa

Cup of tea?

Afterwards, we checked out a shopping mall, but the chances of me fitting into any of the Thai-sized clothing in those shops was…nil. Especially since I’d just scoffed a large Dairy Queen.

In the evening at our cooking class we cooked and ate five Thai dishes – pad Thai (mine was pretty delicious if I say it myself), Spring rolls, something with cashew nuts, Thai green curry and sticky rice with mango. Meanwhile Steve, in an attempt to woo Sarah (in the absence of Tess), bought her a rose from a street seller, then felt guilty and bought the rest of the girls one too. Such a gentleman.

Thai cooking class!

The finished product

Koh Yao Noi to Chiang Mai

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

No time for breakfast on the island: instead, we had it on the boat, and set out kayaking again. I somehow ended up in a single kayak this time, which was slightly scary to begin with but turned out to be surprisingly easy: it’s great when you only have to try and move your own body weight around…I recommend it! Being in my own kayak was particularly exhilarating today, as we were kayaking through pitch dark caves with only a few head torches and shouts of “Argh, rock!” to guide us.

Mangrove swamps

We stopped off at a little Sandy inlet, so that we could paddle through a series of tunnels and caves and emerge onto another hidden beach surrounded by mangroves. Mangroves are awesome: I can’t believe the government ordered them to be cut down, only to find that they’d been the only thing stopping tsunamis from wiping out the islands. Fact of the day.

On the hidden beach

After lunch on the boat, we flew from Phuket to Chiang Mai. This meant getting on the plane wearing, essentially, bikinis and sarongs. We like to set a good example…
Our hotel, the Parasol Inn, is modern, stylish and amazing.

Kayaks, mangroves, BBQs and boxers

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We set off early for our two day sea-kayaking adventure. The morning kayak took us through mangrove swamps, which were incredibly still and calm, almost eerie, with monkeys and immense lizards watching our every move and bats hanging in huge groups from the trees. Well, it was calm until a particularly sharp bend left me and Lauren wedged among the roots of the mangroves until we had room to reverse and try again.

After yet another amazing sailor’s lunch we spent the afternoon jumping into the sea from the top of the boat, trying and failing to pose in mid-air for photos. The kayak guides invented a game which I shall name ‘whoever-knocks-their-opponent-off-the-rubber-dinghy-in-the-most-undignified-fashion-wins’, which was pretty fun until all the seawater we swallowed started to take effect. Also…did you know that there are such things as sea lice? And that they bite like mad? Well, now you do.

And...freeze

Aaand...pose (I said pose, Lauren!)

We arrived at Koh Yao Noi, a small Muslim island, for the night – Lauren and I managed to bag ourselves a two-person seafront bungalow complete with hammock while the other girls found themselves sleeping ten to a hut. Oh, how we laughed. We spent the early evening on the beach, followed by an incredible BBQ. We ended the night by watching young trainee Thai boxers practise their moves, and having a go ourselves. Sarah showed off her two years of lessons, making the rest of us look slightly inadequate.

BBQ on Koh Yao Noi

Trainee Thai boxers

Beach Bungalow, Koh Yao Noi

Koh Yao Noi

Choppy seas and friendly fish

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We spent the day on a boat on a very choppy sea – cue much seasickness and scrabbling around to rescue belongings threatening to fall overboard. Today was our full-day snorkelling adventure: although we had to switch diving sites due to the rough sea we eventually got to dive with the seahorses and other bizarre looking creatures of the not-so-deep.

Paradise

Me and Lauren under the sea

Snorkelling

The guys tried scuba diving

After one of the best lunches we’ve ever had – a sailor’s lunch is the lunch for me – we returned to the sea for our second snorkel. I soon found myself totally surrounded by a huge shoal of angel fish, which must have been starving because they mercilessly started nibbling every bit of me they could reach. Apparently they were attracted by the bait of the (illegal) fishermen moored there.

In the evening at the Sand and Sea Resort, we forked out on the most amazing meal at a classy restaurant: I had Chicken stuffed full of real, yes REAL, GENUINE cheese. I was in cheese heaven. Many people were jealous. I offered them my leftovers.

Railey Beach, interesting shrine, M.I.N.E

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Another travelling day – to Railay Beach. The Sand and Sea Resort, which we got to by longtail boat, was luxury compared to what we were used to, a real tourist resort with – yep – air-conditioning! We hit the pool in the afternoon followed by a walk around the island, stopping at one of the five most beautiful beaches in the world (unfortunately it was getting quite gloomy at this point and we only stayed for a few minutes). Worth a mention is the ‘penis shrine’, which you suddenly stumble upon unawares as you walk along the beach. Apparently they’re in tribute to some goddess or other, yes I should have paid more attention.

Penis shrine

Railay beach

In the evening some of us walked into town to eat, then took advantage of having a TV in our rooms for the first time this trip by watching a film with the guys. I don’t remember what it was…but it was good. Oh, and meanwhile, Jessi broke her foot.

Railay Beach bar

It was around this time that we invented the M.I.N.E game. There was just one rule: if you say the word 'mine', you have to hit the deck wherever you are and perform 10 push-ups as penalty. Of course, we were soon trying to catch each other out - "Who's bag is this?" "Mine!"..."Can I have this seat?" No, it's mine!" - in the most awkward places, such as on planes, rocking boats, half way up a mountain...

A scenic M.I.N.E penalty at the Lahu Outpost

Tour leaders Steph and May caught out at the airport

Penalty at the massage parlour

Andy's penalty at Elephant Nature Park

Khao Sok National Park and reggae night

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We set out by songthaew (after an amaaazing English breakfast buffet…baaacooon…) to the longtail boats that would take us to the rainforests of Khao Sok National Park. Each time we took the boat, I managed to be the one person to get soaking wet, despite consciously trying to pick a seat away from the spray.

After a ‘baby’ hike through the forest - we were all ready to pass out after about five minutes – and a visit to some coral caves via a very rickety bamboo raft, we had yet another awesome meal (fish and curry) by the river. Sarah, Lauren, Steve, Andy, Jenni, Julia and I went for a kayak on the river while the rest of the group chilled in the water – the river was so calm and quiet, it was a stunning experience.

Lunch!

Outside the coral caves

Bamboo rafting

River huts

In the evening some of us set out for the little village nearby for a pizza (on a side note, proper cheese is very hard to find in Thailand…getting a pizza with more than a speck of cheese on it is a cause for celebration). We then moved on to a ‘reggae’ bar (‘reggae bar’ in Thai meaning, ‘has-large-painting-of-bob-marley-on-the-wall-but-plays—techno-music-that-can-in-no-way-be-categorised-as-reggae) where we ordered Sex in the Jungle cocktails that looked completely different each time we bought one.

'Reggae' bar

The adventure tour begins!

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

But first...a whole day of travel. We had to take a van (cue bad karaoke) to Bangkok airport (where we said goodbye to project leader Claire and, randomly, met her mum) and an internal flight south to Phuket, followed by another van journey to Khao Sok National Park and our accommodation, Art’s Riverview Lodge. We just had time for an orientation, where we met our hilarious adventure tour leaders Steph and May, as well as the two other volunteer groups we’d be touring with, making 26 of us altogether: they’d been volunteering at the Gibbon project and Elephant Nature Park.
Our accommodation was a real jungle lodge, surrounded by thieving monkeys and impossible to find at night without a torch! Lauren, Sarah and I were lucky enough to share one of the rooms with an open-air bathroom and a freezing cold waterfall-style shower. But who cares if it’s cold, it’s a waterfall shower!

Waterfall shower at Art's

Art's Riverview Lodge

Sad goodbyes

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Our last day at Moo Baan Dek! Just when we were really starting to feel like we belonged there, it was time to start saying our goodbyes.
First, however, some of us set to work repainting some old ping pong tables while the others decorated a classroom. I don’t know quite what was in that paint but we all soon started to feel a bit…trippy, until somebody noticed and fetched us some masks. You know, the swine flu kind. Not sure how effective they are against paint fumes, but wearing fabric masks in the heat of monsoon season is…not something I’d want to try again.

Ping pong painting

Now, for the big finale…a big leaving show and traditional thank you ceremony for us volunteers by the kids and teachers. It was an emotional night, but also really interesting and a lot of fun.
We began with games, including the kids’ favourite relay race…I seem to remember I let my team down by tripping over my own feet half way through.
Next up, a speech by Meh Aew (the principal) and the thank you ceremony: we volunteers all had to line up while each kid moved along the line tying thin white string bands onto each of our wrists and supposedly making wishes (although I guess some of the younger kids were probably just wishing they could tie a proper knot!) Apparently, we had to let the bands fall off by themselves over time, so that each wish would be granted. With so many kids, our wrists were soon completely covered in bands.

Next up: the talent show. The girls showed off their dancing skills in colourful outfits and quite a large amount of make-up, followed by some of the boys doing a hilarious rap and break-dance. Then…it was our turn. We took to the stage and performed our ‘Jai-Ho’ dance, to much laughter from the kids, and then jumped down from the stage to dance in the crowd. It was two minutes of mayhem but the kids loved it and so did we.
Now for the emotional part: a goodbye song from the kids, a hug from everyone, and plenty of tears. Our stay at Moo Baan Dek was officially over, but I know quite a few of us were already thinking, “I’ll be back soon.”

Sad goodbyes

Ready for the farewell show

Last night

Just when we felt like we'd been here forever...

lucy3119 — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Our penultimate day at Moo Baan Dek. We planned to redecorate one of the classrooms with new activities, displays and our own special ISV touch, so we took a trip to Tesco Lotus to buy everything from alphabet posters and floor mats, skipping ropes, writing boards and stencils. Below is a photo of the finished classroom:

The ISV corner

Our special ISV touch

In the afternoon we took another trip into town by songthaew (via a beach) for a bit of pampering after all our hard work: foot massages and pedicures all round (well, apart from the guys)…they’re so cheap, we just couldn’t resist! Another thing none of us could resist was the adorable kitten that lives in the salon we visited: even Steve, a self-proclaimed cat hater, had trouble ignoring it, although he did later blame it for giving him dengue fever…
Plus, I couldn’t resist taking a sneaky pic of project leader Claire having a bit of time off…

Steve, secret cat lover

Claire having some time out

We thought these were meant for food...

At the beach

For our last night in town, we had dinner and far too many cosmopolitans at a restaurant and then moved on to good old Tony’s Bar.

Brushing, cooking and dancing

lucy3119 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today our mission for the kids was...teaching them to clean their teeth properly! We gave them all their own tooth brush, but our attempts to write their names on them failed as the kids kept rubbing the pen off so that they could come back and get us to write their names all over again!

The brushing song

"Brush to the left and brush to the right, brush in the morning, brush at night..."

In the afternoon we decided to bake chocolate chip cookies for the kids, forgetting that in Thailand, people much prefer savoury to sweet. The suspicious and doubtful looks we got from the kids when we offered them the cookies were hilarious, and we ended up having to eat a lot of them ourselves! Meanwhile, Lauren, Sarah and I scrubbed up on our batik skills, and everything was going well until I tried to rescue a falling paint pot and ended up dumping paint all over my best batik so far...

Batik experts :P

My batik! (Background's black because I spilled paint all over it)

Later, we visited the gift shop and bought t-shirts, cakes, postcards and batiks, all made by the kids: half the money goes directly to the kid who made it, the other goes into maintaining Moo Baan Dek.

The kids are just going to love us...

We spent the evening practising a dance that we would be performing for the kids at the farewell show they had planned in our honour...inspired by watching 'Slumdog Millionaire' a few days ago, we decided to go with 'Jai Ho', the Bollywood dance at the end of the movie.

A.B.C.D.E.F.G...

lucy3119 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Back to work...we spent the morning teaching the kids their alphabet, giving them chalk so that they could practice by writing on the floor. We each worked with a two or three kids, but despite the individual attention some of the kids were soon off running around or napping in a corner...after all, they're not forced to learn!

Learning the alphabet

Our captivated audience

Balloons!

In the afternoon, we set about planting trees and flowers to brighten up the forest (yes, we were planting trees in a forest...). We were soon joined by some little helpers, and everything was going well until someone uncovered a nest of scorpions. Since they're poisonous they had to be carefully removed so that the kids wouldn't get hurt (although I'm pretty sure the guy who took them planned to keep them as pets!)

Planting

Scorpion!

We had a quiet but fun evening playing card games and chatting. I don't know how many times we played Uno while we were there...probably too many to count.

Hot springs, Hellfire Pass and yet more waterfalls

lucy3119 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We spent the morning at the Hindad Hot Springs, used mostly by locals for its health benefits. You have to spend a few minutes sitting in the cold River (while trying not to get swept away by the current) and then hop right into the hot (and when they say hot, they mean HOT!) springs. It probably took me about 10 minutes to lower myself into the hot springs the first time. But you get used to it. Sort of.
Towards the end, we met a friendly old woman who offered us coffee powder to rub all over our bodies...apparently it's great for cellulite! Not that I'm trying to find an excuse to post a bikini pic or anything, but we did look pretty funny covered in coffee.

Coffee treatment! (Not an excuse for a bikini shot!)

We also visited the Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, set up in memory of all the POWS who died during the construction of the Death Railway during WW2. Visitors to the museum should definitely go outside to the balcony, the view is INCREDIBLE! Yet again my camera couldn't capture that scene well enough. I guess I'll just have to go back there some day. The strangest part about visiting local attractions such as museums is that you have to take your shoes off to go inside...there's something so liberating about wandering around museums in bare feet!

Later, some of us ended up back at the Waterfall we visited yesterday (the one with the odd rock), and we had a great time trying to climb as high as we could (well, I couldn't be bothered, so I took the photos). Claire (who gets funnier everyday) took us to some stalls selling snacks: fruit and veg is sliced, fried and then coated in salt or sugar...but be careful or you might end up with salted Banana and sugared taro (a type of potato)...Thai food always seems to involve making sweet things taste saltier, and salty things taste sweeter!

Lauren on the rockiest bridge ever

Salty or sweet?

You can't tell, but this is really, really high

Back at the waterfall

A very busy day off

lucy3119 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On our day off from teaching (well, I say teaching, it's really more keep-the-kids-entertained-so-they-don't-resort-to-terrorising-innocent-animals) project leader Claire took us on yet another whirlwind tour of Kanchanaburi district. We began with a very speedy longtail boat ride (they use the propellors from old helicopters, apparently) up the River Kwai to visit a labyrinth of caves, each with its own shrine. Far from being cool below the ground, it was closer to a sauna in temperature, so this part of the day is all a bit of a haze to me now.

Longtail boat

Longtail boat ride

Second stop was the war memorial, commemorating those who died in Thailand during WW2 - many of them during the construction the Death Railway that connected Thailand and Burma. The POWS were mainly British, Australian and Dutch: it was odd and moving to see such familiar names all the way out here in Thailand.

The highlight of the day was a visit to a pretty amazing waterfall flowing down over a strange type of rock: we expected it to be smooth and slippery but it was actually rough like sandpaper, so that we could climb all the way to the top and sit under the water flow. It was a much needed chance to cool off and relax. For some reason, at this point we became tourist attractions ourselves, with a group of school kids asking to have their photos taken with us! (See below).

Who are the tourists here?

We also stopped off at a pretty awesome site (not sure where exactly) with a fantastic view of the Death Railway carved into the side of the mountains. We walked along the tracks a short way for some amazing photo opportunities.

At the death railway

Death Railway

Death Railway again

Then the monsoon began. We'd planned to go into town to finally sample a Chang or four...so that's what we did anyway. We stopped to pick up a very, very drenched Nicole and Tess along the way, extremely grateful for the songthaew that was keeping us dry. We spent the night at Tony's Bar, a little live music venue run by, you guessed it, Tony. We listened to the good old rock classics (and, for some reason, 'Achy Breaky Heart') sung in Thai, only interrupted by a group of very drunk Frenchmen who went and chatted up the Canadians (or was it the other way around?)

When we finally got back to the house, we found the monsoon had knocked the power supply out, which is pretty entertaining when you're drunk.

Tony's Bar

Tony!