Cycle tour of Ayutthaya

Another Grasshopper tour, this time to Ayutthaya, the historic capital of Thailand.  Last time I did this trip over 10 years ago with a not too well informed guide provided by my hotel, and the experience left a lot to be desired.  On this occasion we elected to see Ayutthaya via bike, and we were fortunate enough to have Thom from the previous evening as our guide. Again, his detailed knowledge of Thai history and geography really helped to make the tour much more interesting.
After a minibus transfer to a station about 15km from Ayutthaya, we set of on our bikes though the farms and small villages that typify rural Thailand. We were surprised to learn that the area around Ayutthaya has quite a substantial Muslim population and that people from many countries including Portugal and France settled in the area as in historical times as the city was a major hub on the trade routes between Europe and Asia.
After a couple of hours cycling we rode into the historical centre of Ayutthaya itself, and did the rounds of the various temple ruins, most of which are mere vestiges of the grand architecture that existed before the city was sacked by the invading Burmese, and the subsequent relocation of the Thai capital to Bangkok.  Nevertheless, what remains is still sufficient to give a good idea of what it must have looked like in its heyday.  The similarities between some of the temples in Ayutthaya and the Khmer architecture to be found in Siem Reap are particularly striking.
For lunch, another Thai feast by the river before a round up of the remaining archeological sites, then back on the minibus to Bangkok and the end of another great Grasshopper adventure.

Bangkok Food Adventure

Returning to Bangkok, we signed-up for a Bangkok Food Adventure cycle tour, organized by Grasshopper Adventures.  This entailed a night time cycle tour around the backstreets of Bangkok, sampling Indian, Chinese and Thai street food along the way.  With only the two of us on this particular tour, we were led by our Thai guide, Thom, through numerous offstreet alleyways and across several klongs (canals) that constitute the 'real' Bangkok, learning about some of the history of the city and its inhabitants.  Not forgetting to stop off at several points on the way to sample some of the diverse food offerings to be found in the different ethnic quarters of the city, which included sticky Indian sweets, and culminated in a massive feast of flash fried crispy pork and morning glory.  Alison also developed a liking for fried insects, particularly the tasty grasshoppers.
Definitely a great way to see parts of the city that one would not normally get to see on the standard tourist itinerary, with some excellent food and a history lesson thrown in.

Erawan Waterfall

The Kwai river valley region is home to several national parks.  Arguably one of the most spectacular is the Erawan national park, which is home to the very popular tourist destination: the Erawan waterfall.  The waterfall is made up of 7 levels, each of which provides varying degrees of opportunity for a refreshing swim in the various pools.  By the time you reach the top level, you will almost certainly be in need of a cool-down.  The pools also provide a free fish foot spar, if you can stand having your toes nibbled by the smaller inhabitants of the pool.

Death Railway

Travelled by train from Bangkok's Thonburi station to Kanchanaburi, location of the famous bridge over the river Kwai.  Except that it is actually the the Mae Klong river, but was renamed Kwai Yai because of the general expectation that the location of the bridge made famous by the novel was in fact over the Kwai.
On this occasion the journey from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi was on time (unlike my previos experience when it took almost 5 hours for a 2.5 hour journey), and provided a pleasant alternative to traveling by the rather boring road route.
Apart from the scenic countryside, one of the main reasons for visiting Kanchanaburi is to learn more about the building of the Thailand-Burma "Death" railway, and the appalling conditions suffered by allied POWs and native workers on this daunting project.  On day 2 we took a taxi to the Hellfire Pass Museum, which takes its name from the nearby railway cutting constructed by the POWs though the inhospitable jungle.   Prior to this trip I had been reading the novel: The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which graphically describes the horrific experiences of the POWs building this part of the railway.  The Hellfire Pass Museum helped to provide a complementary perspective on these events.
For our return journey to Kanchanaburi we elected to pick up the train at its terminus at Nam Tok and  ride back to base via the scenic route that runs along the Kwai river.

Thailand Revisited

We are taking the opportunity presented by Tim and KM’s forthcoming wedding in Koh Lanta to see some of the sights of Thailand, before heading down to Lanta for the wedding itself.  Most of the places on our itinerary are ones that I have previously visited during the 12 or so years that I have been working in Thailand, but which are new to Alison.

First off, a day and a half exploring Bangkok via the Chao Praya river, including a long tailed boat ride around some of the canal system that criss-crosses the city.  A good way of seeing the other side of Bangkok life.

We stopped off at Wat Arun, which has been significantly restored since I last looked around it over 10 years ago.