2-23 February
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| Yak, gate guardian giant, Wat Arun |
Thailand? We probably
would never have considered it as a destination if Matty Senior had not been
running a tour there. We had gone with Matty to Nepal for a flying tour and had
had a great time, and people who had done his Thailand tour had good things to
say about that experience, too. After some discussion, we decided to go on the
early tour before the dry-season temperatures climbed beyond our narrow comfort
zone; but that would also mean that we would not find the cross-country
potential of the later tours. To make the most of a long flight from Seattle to
Taipei to Bangkok (BKK), we decided to stay an additional ten days so we could
explore Bangkok, and catch a one-hour flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia to visit
the Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The plan was to
spend two nights in BKK acclimating before the tour, do the ten-day tour,
return to BKK for two nights, fly to Siem Reap for three nights, and return to
Bangkok for our last two nights. We made reservations in advance for lodging at
MHC Guesthouse in the Sukhumvit neighborhood, but we waited until we had more
information before booking a flight and hotel in Siem Reap. It all worked out
amazingly well.
2 Feb, Tue – We had been packing and preparing for days so
by 1900 we were ready enough that we felt like we could go to our usual square
dance on the way to the airport. Leaving the Cedar Grange at Maple Valley
shortly before 2200, we were at the Sandstone Inn and parked ($120) early
enough to get a shuttle ride directly to the departures area for EVA Air
at 2240. That made it a little easier to lug our stuff in along with Matty’s
big bag of tandem paragliding gear. Fortunately, I found a loose baggage cart
and we were able to negotiate the long line of (mostly Asian) people, many with
big boxes of stuff. Maybe they were heading
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| Ministry of Defence near Grand Palace |
to visit family during the Lunar
New Year holidays.
At Sandstone we had met a 60-something couple who were also
going to Thailand but they were joining an adventure tour and would be biking,
hiking and kayaking and returning from Cambodia. After checking in we got
through a short line at the TSA security checkpoint quickly enough even though
we had to go through the whole screening since we were not TSA pre-checked this
time. C.J. lost her keychain Swiss Army knife to the TSA when she forgot that
she had her car keys with her in her carry-on. At the gate we met up with Jenn
and her dad, Jack, who were also going to 300 Peaks Paragliding in Pak Nam Pran
with us. We had already made arrangements with Matty and Graham to drop our
wings with Jenn at the Meeting Point at BKK for transport to PNP, leaving us
with just our wheeled carry-ons to bring into Bangkok.
3 Feb, Wed – Our flight left at 0100 and we managed to sit
together by switching with the passenger who was in the middle seat in our row.
It was something like 12 hours to Taipei and it was dark all the way. We got a
dinner soon after reaching cruising altitude and a breakfast about an hour
before we landed. Otherwise, I tried to sleep as much as I could. C.J. slept
and watched The Martian, recommended by Mark Forbes. Once in the Taipei airport
and through their security screening, we lost track of Jenn and Jack (and the
other couple from Olympia) but we figured that they would show up at Gate C9
for our flight in four hours or so. We were surprised when they never did and
assumed they must have gotten an earlier flight. This would mean that they
would be in BKK at least a couple of hours earlier than we so we would miss the
chance to get rid of our heavy bags. Bummer! We got another meal on this
much-shorter leg of our trip and I watched The
Martian and read. We did not have seats together again but by doing some
swapping, we got seats across the aisle from each other.
4 Feb, Thu - When we deplaned we could feel the heat and we
packed away our fleece which had been comfortable on the plane. There was the
usual long line for immigration and then a quite long wait for our bags to
appear on the carrousel but customs was a perfunctory glance (although others
had to put their stuff through a scanner). While waiting for our bags I took 7000
Baht from one of the many ATMs. We found the Meeting Point at Suvarnabhumi
airport easily enough and there were lots of people there with signs, but none
from 300 Peaks. I left C.J. with the two carts and all our bags and went back
to the crowded DTAC booth to get a SIM card for my NZ phone. I
couldn’t get one for C.J. because I did not have her passport. When I tried
calling Graham, the phone said it was on roaming but I used it anyway. Graham said
we were much later than he had expected (1430 instead of 1245) partly because
our plane was a little late leaving and partly because we were delayed by
Immigration and Baggage Claim. Anyway, we were stuck with all our bags –and
Matty’s – and had to find a large enough taxi to fit it all in. The taxi
system, although somewhat expensive compared to hailing one’s own taxi at the
departures level, was efficient and the queue moved right along. We got
assigned to a larger hatchback taxi and were soon on our way on the toll
road into Bangkok. Once off the highway, traffic was snarled and it took more
than half an hour to reach MHC Guesthouse on Sukhumvit, Soi 28. The girl at the
desk helped us bring all our bags in and store the big ones downstairs. Our
room was on the second floor, DC-6, and had an air conditioner for which we
were very thankful. We changed into lighter weight clothes and, after consulting
with the desk and an ex-pat Australian, we headed out to find some food and get
a little accustomed to the Sukhumvit area. We walked east to the Phrom Phong BTS
station and took the stairs to the ticket booths and shopping area. That level
also provided an entrance to a new supermall building, EmQuartier, which was
having some kind of Lunar New Year celebration with dances and most notably a
huge dragon with an animated head and mirror-like scales. We saw a True telecom booth
where they were giving away SIM cards and bought a seven-day package for C.J.’s
phone. Then we descended to the street level and continued east maybe a
quarter mile or more to the next station, Asok, where we ascended again and
this time entered another supermall, Terminal 21. We had been told that there
was a food court on the fifth floor and we found it as well as many other
places to eat. The food court, Pier 21, was busy and there were many choices,
none of them fast-food franchises. We bought a card for 400 THB which allowed us
to buy from any of the food stalls and then tried to choose which one(s) we
would get food from. C.J. went for a plate of sesame noodles with duck and
pork, I went for a soup described as pork and offal with rice noodles. All the
stalls had descriptions in Thai and English as well as pictures. We also got
fresh fruit smoothies and, later, a scoop of ice cream each (Nutella,
choc-banana). Then we walked back along the street in the early
evening darkness. There were lots of opportunities for street food and the
traffic was still just as tied up. Back at our room we didn’t stay up much past
2100.
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| Scaffolding on spire of Wat Arun |
5 Feb, Fri – Up EARLY partly due to jetlag and partly that
we were already pretty much caught up on sleep. No one was around downstairs to
make breakfast so we tried doing some planning and studying until the girl who
seems to do everything showed up around 0730. It looked like she had been out
shopping already. We had the lighter of the two English Breakfasts –
eggs, a sausage that looked a lot like a hot dog, toast and tea or milk; we
skipped the corn flakes. Then we headed out to get a day pass for the sky train
at the Phrom Phong BTS station. We took the
train to the Siam station where we switched to another line and went to Saphan
Taksin station where the pier is located for the various river boat companies.
Instead of getting a 40B one way ticket, we got the full day pass for the
tourist boat so we could hop on and hop off. It worked pretty well but
there were somewhat long waits for the boat sometimes. We got off the boat for
the first time at Pier N6/1, Pak Klong Talad Pier (a klong is a canal) and made
our way to the flower market which was part of a much bigger market selling
vegetables and other things. Then we walked east/north along Mahraj road
heading for Wat Pho, home of the “reclining Buddha”. It wasn’t obvious where we
were supposed to turn to get in there and a tuk-tuk agent latched onto us as we
looked at the map. He was a real salesman (aka scammer) and talked us into
going with one of his drivers to visit several other sites and then return to
Wat Pho in the afternoon all for only 60, no, 50B. Once we were on our way and
were stuck in traffic we figured out that we were going to happen was that we
would
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| Stupas at the Grand Palace |
end up at a souvenir or jewelry or whatever shop and get the hard sell.
So, while we were idling in heavy traffic we jumped out. I gave the guy 100
just for the experience of the thing and we scooted on across a klong on an old
lift bridge. C.J.’s phone was able to get a fix on our location and we were
able to walk through the Royal Gardens to reach the Royal Palace, one of our
destinations for the day. [But not without a little adventure – the Garden was
surrounded by a fence and there was no exit on the side toward the palace.
Fortunately we lucked upon a Chinese woman and child who had talked the guard
into unlocking a gate and letting us all through.] The wall around the palace
seemed to go on for a long ways but eventually we reached the entrance gate
(after passing several other gates guarded by armed soldiers). There was a huge
crowd at the entrance both coming and going and it was just as busy inside. [A
warning was being broadcast near the gates about not letting anyone prevent you
from entering freely. We related to that as we had been told by the tuk-tuk agent that Wat Pho was closed.] Inside the walls, the scenery was magnificent
but it was hot and the crowd was thick. When we found out that the entrance fee
was 500B each and that C.J.’s capri pants might not be modest enough, we
decided to leave and get back on the tourist boat where it would be cooler. The
first boat to arrive at the Maharaj Pier was going up the river (well, north
west anyway) but we hopped on anyway. By now we were somewhat dehydrated and it
was after lunchtime for sure. There were plenty of restaurants and smaller food
places but they were all in the tourist area and were expensive compared to the
Pier 21 food court from the previous night. I did stumble upon a DTAC stall and
got the girls there to look at my phone to see why it was telling me that I was
on Roaming every time I tried to make a call or use the cellular data. They did
a few things and told me that it was working fine (later – it’s still telling
me that I’m Roaming). Everyone had to get off the boat at N13, Phra Arthit Pier
which wasn’t near anything that we were interested in. We finally succumbed to
a restaurant that had a jug (three glasses) of multi-fruit smoothie for 90B.
It tasted and felt really good. Since we had missed the next boat down the
river, we had a bit of a wait for the next one but not even 30 min. We got off
this boat at N8, Tha Tien Pier and immediately hopped on another boat
that took
us across the river (5) to Wat Arun, an amazing group of temples with Buddha
statuary including one large one in a temple that we entered after leaving our
shoes outside. The main temple was covered with scaffolding and was being
renovated, and another one was getting a new coat of steel roofing. We
took lots of pictures before we felt the need to head back toward “home” and
find something to eat. We took the shuttle boat (5) back to the other side and
got in the line for the tourist boat. Everyone in the crowd got aboard when the
boat arrived and we returned to the Central Pier (N-0) and the Saphan Taksin
sky train station. We backtracked to Siam, changed trains and got off at Asok
where we returned to Pier 21 “food court” and had a late lunch/dinner of
stir fried noodles and seafood, another stir fry that came with rice, two
smoothies, and ice cream for dessert. Later we found out that there was a
Swensen’s ice cream parlor on another floor in the Terminal 21 Mall. We ate
near a window with a good view out over part of the city. When we were finished
we crowded onto the rush-hour train and rode the short distance to the Phrom
Phong station and walked the rest of the way to the guesthouse. I had my key
but could not find the tag which had come loose. The tag had the transponder
that unlocks the door so we couldn’t get in. No one came when we rang the bell.
Finally I had to try to call the owner, Captain Max. No one answered but the
manager came down and let us in, and spotted the tag just behind us in the
street. It must have been pulled out of my pocket when I pulled the key out.
(Whew! That would have been expensive to replace.) I was still thirsty so I
bought a Singha beer which I drank while downloading and looking at our
pictures with C.J. Later we both got showers. C.J. tried working on her journal
but kept falling asleep, so went to bed early. We got a SMS from Graham that
his driver would pick us up at 1130 on Friday. That works because we don’t have
to check out until noon. C.J.’s charger for her camera blew out and tripped the
circuit breaker – our room got really dark until the manager flipped the breaker
back on. It looks like C.J. can charge either from the computer or by using a
cell phone charger. We may look into other options on Friday morning.
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| Matty, G at Khao Kalok on scooter tour |
6 Feb, Sat – We had breakfast at the guesthouse again
and then went got packed up and went for a walk in the Benjasri Park just past
the Phrom Phong BTS station. On the way back we went through the Emporium Mall
and asked about a Dtac shop. There was one in the newer Emquartier Mall across
the street so we went there to the 3rd floor and the agent reset my
phone and told me not to worry about the roaming messages I was getting just so
long as I was calling within the country. There was also a True shop where C.J.
asked about topping up her phone since it was registered for only one week. The
agent said to top up on or before the 10th. We got back to the
guesthouse by 1115 and the taxi driver was already waiting so we gathered all
of our stuff and helped him load it into the van. The trip out of the city was
slow due to the traffic but once on the highway, we made better progress. C.J.
and I grabbed some grilled pork on a stick and a container of rice for
lunch at a gas station/rest area. After driving through Hua Hin the driver took
a couple of wrong turns trying to get to Pak Nam Pran and had to turn around at
dead ends. Finally, he called his boss and got directions that took us to
303/11 in the Tropical Seaview villas. Matty showed up within a couple of
minutes and paid the driver. After greeting Jenn, Jack and Marcie (a friend of
Jenn’s son who is teaching in NE China), we put rusty motorcycling reflexes to
work following Matty on a scooter tour of the coast from Khao Kalok (Skull
Mountain) Rock north to Happy House where we were scheduled to have a welcome
dinner. We returned through the center of Pak Nam Pran and stopped for gas
across from the market and a Tesco convenience store (ATM). Back at the villa,
we unpacked and visited with Jenn, et al.
While waiting for the other three pilots to arrive; they were scheduled
to be lodged in the villa next door. Matty and Graham returned with a car and
truck to take us all to dinner to avoid any problems with driving the scooters
in the dark. While waiting for dinner to be served, we had a drink and
Matty gave an introduction to local flying. The weather had been windy from the
north all day and was supposed to continue at least for another day. Saturday’s
plan, then, would be a hike into the Khao San Rhoi Yot National Park and an
afternoon cooking class taught by Om from the Happy House.
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| Entrance "sign" for San Rhoi Yot NP |
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| At the market with Ane and Om |
7 Feb, Sun – The wind continued to blow hard from the north
so the alternative plan was a go. Graham picked us up at 0800 in a big Toyota
HiAce van with a driver. Matty was banished to Graham’s pickup as he was still
coughing. We drove along the coastal road to the south passing places where it
was clear that the wind waves had reached the road in places. At the entrance
to San Rhoi Yot (or Yod) National Park there were a number of open-sided eating
places and souvenir shops. We had breakfast there – omelet with pork and an
order of chicken fried rice, tea and a mango smoothie (230). Then we paid our
entrance fee and started the hike up a trail that went over the ridge and
down the other side to a sandy, coconut palm beach, Hat Laem Sala, with a park
visitor center, toilets (no tp, flush with dippers of water), and a restaurant.
We followed the signs for Phraya Nakhon Cave trail which also climbed steeply
up and then down into the sinkhole. We were right on time for the sun to be
illuminating the temple on a mound in the center. We got lots of photos and
Matty may have gotten some footage with his drone. We hiked back out against an
increasing stream of other tourists – good that we had gone relatively early.
From the national park we drove toward the Tesco superstore in Pran Buri, with
Graham pointing out possible bailouts and stopping to look at the “base of the
mountain” LZ. At Tesco C.J. and I used the ATM to get another 10,000Baht and shopped
for drinks, snacks and possible breakfast stuff then went to Swensen’s
for a shared strawberry hot fudge sundae and a scoop of chocolate rain forest
ice cream. Then we went back to the villa for a couple of hours of rest.
We put a load of laundry in the front-load washers along with a few ounces of a
mystery liquid that we hoped was detergent. Matty showed up sometime after 1600
and drove us and Loren to Ane’s restaurant where Om and she were going to teach
us how to cook Thai food, First they helped us choose what we wanted to cook,
then we walked across the street to the market and bought veggies, shrimp,
chicken, kale, green papaya and squid (the local area is a well-known squid
fishery). Back at the restaurant we cut and chopped and then cooked each dish
one at a time: green papaya salad, massaman curry, squid tempura, green curry
w/chicken, shrimp with wide noodles, stir-fried kale with carrots and ? Once
everything was finished, we all sat down (Matt and Graham had returned from
whatever they had been doing) and enjoyed the variety of dishes. (200 – for
beer and gratuity; Matty paid for the cooking class and materials). We were
back to the villa around 2000 and Graham came back to drop off a blender for
our use. We went to bed early again.
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| C.J. in the "bling van" |
8 Feb, Mon – Up at 0715, muesli and liquid yogurt (I thought
I was buying milk) with mango for breakfast. Matt picked us up with another
bling-y rental van and driver and we headed off to Pala-U Waterfall in Kaeng
Krachan National Park NW of Hua Hin, about an hour-and-a-half from home base.
Entrance fee was 600 for the two of us. We walked down the road from the
parking area and crossed a bamboo bridge, then another higher bridge. From
there it was 150 m to the first falls. We continued up alternately on trail or
hopping from rock to rock until we reached the 7th fall (or pool)
where there was a Do Not Enter sign. [Later Matt pointed out that we were near
the
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| G at Pala-u Falls |
border of Myanmar.] We didn’t get back to the van until nearly 1300 and
then it was about an hour drive to the Sanae Beach Club, a resort on the coast
just south of Hua Hin in Kao Tao village. We had good but not spectacular food
(too spicy green curry even though I had asked for “little spice”) served
slowly in a dramatic setting with the waves crashing on a nearby granite dome.
It was a short ride from there back to the villa where those who needed to work
on their flying gear brought it over to Graham’s house. C.J. got to hang in her
harness again and figure out where her radio and Delorme InReach were going to
go. I took the scooter and rode back
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| Thai flags at Sanae Beach Club |
to Pak Nam Pram to buy some laundry
detergent and to try to get some more fresh fruit. It looked like there was no
one at the market; in fact I missed seeing it the first time past it because I
was concentrating on the roundabout and traffic (which drives on the left in
Thailand). Later Jenn told me that I should have turned left because the market
was in a different place on Monday (Oh well, at least I got the laundry powder
. I stopped at the villa to pick up my fleece jacket and Jenn’s, too. When
I returned to Graham’s the equipment work was wrapping up. We had a short
meeting about how things were done and when/where we would go on Tuesday. We
have to pay a deposit of 3000 B each for the tow bridles to make sure we don’t
forget to return them. Graham showed me how he whacks the top off a green
coconut to access the juice. We scooter-ed back to the villa in the dusk. Jack
and Jenn were going to Happy House to meet Chase and Marcie and then go to
dinner. They invited us to join them but I didn’t want to ride all the way up there
and back in the dark. So C.J. and I decided to drive down along the coast road
and see what we might find; Graham had pointed out that there was a place
called Ley Café that served ice cream which sounded like a possibility. We
found it easily and had stir-fried seafood with rice and garlic prawns and
broccoli. Both were good but a couple times more expensive than the food in the
Pier 21 food court. We each also had a scoop of gelato – mango and passion
fruit. We were warm enough eating outdoors and the wind was not a
problem. Pretty soon the strong winds are going to abate and we’ll be wishing
for cooler weather. Driving the scooter at night, at least on the not-busy
coast road, was not a problem and we didn’t have far to go to get home. Jenn
and Jack didn’t get back until much later. We’ll probably eat a light breakfast
at home and then go out for a late brunch on Tuesday. There’s no place to eat
at the Pran Buri lake/reservoir (“dam”) so no food until 1800 or so.
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| G on tow at Pran Buri Dam |
9 Feb, Tue – We had the morning free to do whatever so we
caught up on our journals and I looked into places to stay in Siem Reap,
Cambodia. After talking it over I went ahead with a booking for a guesthouse
with good reviews and free airport shuttle for $108 for three nights. We went
out for an early lunch to a beach restaurant with Jenn, Jack, Chase and
Marcie. Debu, our SIV guide, met us with the less-blingy van and we drove
the hour-plus to our launch point on Pran Buri Reservoir. Graham and Matty were
already there and had two shade shelters set up along with chairs and a cooler
of cold drinks. We got the gear sorted out and added tow bridles and inflatable
PFDs. Matty took the first tow to show how it worked. I went next, towed to
700-1000m and did recovery from surge, front collapse and B-line stall. Lorenz,
“Sam” (Georg), C.J. and Jenn did the same program (although C.J. did not get
high on tow and could not complete the whole thing). Then I went again and did
asymmetric collapses – steer straight, and asym collapse – steer 180 to 360,
then big ears with hard, quick weight-shift to lose altitude. That was enough
for me but C.J. was up for another round before we packed up and left for the
villa. So she had three tows/flights and everyone else had two. Debu did a
debrief on the way back and Matty invited us to go to a restaurant with him at
1930. After getting a much-needed shower, we rode the scooter along the No. 2
road to the “little girl restaurant” where the only person in the family to
speak English was the youngest girl (who was about six, Matty guessed, when
they ate there the first time; now she is a couple years older). The beer was
available only in 620 ml bottles so C.J. and I shared one Chang. The food was
very good – vegetables with prawns, and fried chicken with cashews (yum). The
bill was in Thai and it wasn’t clear how to figure who had what so we just
split the 1250 B nine ways. We had no change, only a 1000B bill so next time we
owe the group 280B. No problem driving the scooter on the 2nd road
in the dark because it was not much traveled. The plan for Wed is to do a foot
launch and soaring flight somewhere 1hr15min to the north.
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| Jenn launching at Khao Dhen |
10 Feb, Wed – We had muesli with mango again and left around
1000 for a foot-launch site NW of Phetchaburi, Khao Den (or, Dhen), a 250m
takeoff above a 65 m LZ, both operated by a local flying club. We made a junk
food run at a gas station, then stopped for lunch near
Phetchaburi and had a couple of hardboiled eggs, mushrooms in broth and
another indeterminate dish served on rice. We shuttled to the LZ over a rough
road in Graham’s 4WD pickup. We waited there in a grass-roofed shelter for a
local ex-pilot to arrive with another 4WD pickup. The road to launch was
definitely fit only for 4WD and appeared to be a wide streambed in some places
although it was unusually dry. So dry, that there were small ground fires all
along the route to the takeoff. Matty showed Lorenz, Sam (Georg) and Jenn how
he recommended we deal with hooking in and clearing our lines on a windy
launch. Debu launched first and sank out. I took off 10-15 min later and caught
a decent thermal right away and never got below launch until I went out to land
50 min later. It was a long wait for someone else to launch and when C.J. took
off she caught a bad cycle and had a 15 minute flight. I went left (north)
along the ridge and climbed to 833 m, at least 1000 ft over launch and above
the tallest peak on the ridge. I returned to launch and then flew north
paralleling the ridge, then out to the east where I hit strong lift of over
1000 fpm. I toured a little bit of the flats out in front and then set up to
land in the thermally LZ. Jenn landed shortly (short) after I did and everyone
else was down before I landed except maybe Sam who launched late. We all packed
up and went back up to launch. Jenn decided not to fly again but everyone else
did including Matty who got up right away and could have gone XC. I launched
after Lorenz and then C.J. launched. I had already had a good flight so I went
down to land in a still-thermally LZ after 30 min. C.J. got high with Matty and
Manu, getting above the highest peak and flying for 1hr15min. By the time we
had packed up it was after 1800 and it was full dark by the time we got back to
Tropical Seaview around 1945. C.J. wasn’t up for dinner out again so she stayed
home with Jenn while I and Lorenz went with Matty, Graham and Debu to the Very
Good Restaurant. I ordered barbecued pork and also chicken and veggies in
oyster sauce because I wasn’t sure how much vegetable
I’d get with the pork. The chicken dish was more than enough so I brought home
most of the skewers of BBQ pork for C.J. Meanwhile, C.J. had done a load of
laundry and we hung it on the outdoor rack to dry. Tomorrow the guides are
offering a hikeup, early morning ridge site which we are going to skip, and
then towing on Paradise Bay north of Pak Nam Pran. We’ve got to get C.J.’s
phone working by adding $$, mine, too.
11 Feb, Thu – As the wind dies down, the temperatures
increase. Although, Matty tells us that this is cooler than usual. Jack made a
big American breakfast feast this morning – fruit salad, bacon, eggs and toast,
a nice change from muesli every morning. Around 1000 we got picked up by Graham
in the truck with the boat in tow. We stopped at the 7-11 near the octopus
roundabout and bought 400 Baht each of cellphone credit. Then we drove to
the marina on the north side of the river and C.J., Jenn and I rode down the
river with Matty past many fishing boats. The beach we were towing from was
just north of the Milford Paradise resort hotel on Paradise Bay. Just to the north of the
beach was a rocky headland and behind that was a royal compound where we were
forbidden to fly. The wind was not what the guides were expecting since it was
still slightly north of east and they were hoping for southeast and a bit
stronger. We were all able to do a first tow which got us close to 2000 ft
above the sea. I went last hoping that the wind would switch and/or get
stronger so it would be soarable. No luck, even though I came back from the tow
(to near the mouth of the river) high enough to fly out to the end of the
headland and then back to the 30 (?) story resort building where I made a few
passes before landing – about 15min in the air. Matty and Graham suggested we
take a lunch break since it was a little after noon and the conditions hadn’t
improved. We ate at the Milford Resort – pad si ew and a smoothie and
Graham worked on C.J.’s phone depositing the credit we had bought (I had
already done mine) and trying to install a package for data. Finally he had to
call True Mobile and do a bunch of inputs to get it to work. When the lunch
bills came, we paid for his just to show we appreciated all his effort.
Back on the beach, we did another round of towing with the same results
although I carried my instruments and heard a couple of beeps as I flew back and
forth in front of the resort -17 min On his landing, Lorenz landed with his
feet just barely in the water and dropped his wing into the sea. Luckily, there
was no surf and his wing was easily retrieved. The rest of us did a third tow
(except for Jenn who was tired). On my turn, I went right across the bay to the
headland hoping to find some lift. There was nothing and I left and, still
high, flew behind the tall building over the golf course and a low hill still
finding no lift. However when I started flying directly over the resort
building, I was getting zero sink and sometimes, near the ends of the building,
I’d get a little pop of lift. I was able to hang in there and at times even
climb a little bit. I soared the building for ten minutes or so before leaving
as C.J. arrived (and Sam behind her). I went back to the rocky headland and
found no lift, but also very little sink so I was able to make several passes
in the smooth air close to the rock and trees. I landed easily in the slightly
increased wind for a total of 30 minutes, almost twice what we were getting
before. I had been flying in shorts and t-shirt all afternoon but apparently
the sunscreen was doing its job. We packed up on the tarp under the tree that
had been providing shade all day. Then we returned to Seaview where Marcie was
making cocktails. After a shower I figured out how to convert about 200 Baht of
credit on my phone to 500 MB of data using the DTAC Smartphone Monthly 199
package (100-min FREE calls to all networks, 500 MB internet at maximum speed of
42 Mbps (After complete, able to use internet at maximum speed of 128 kbps)). We joined Matty and the rest of the
clients (and Chase, Marcie and Jack) for dinner at the Venezia. I had an
excellent lasagna, C.J. had tortellini and we shared a big mixed salad.
During dinner we discussed the plan for Friday – Dolphin Bay towing and a trip
over to Monkey Island (aka Chicken Drumstick Island).
12 Feb, Fri – 0900 or so found us on our scooters and
heading south to Dolphin Bay. We parked at a resort and set up on the grass and
sandy beach across the street. Originally we were going to go over to Monkey
Island in the morning and wait for conditions to improve but there was a decent
breeze blowing into the beach from the ENE on the ground. Debu launched first
and was able to fly to the mountains to the west and stay up. I launched next
even though I wasn’t quite ready: I hadn’t turned on the AirTribune live
tracker and I hadn’t put my phone in my flight deck. The tow went ENE then
curved to the south where I was pulled to 2600 ft. On release I went directly
toward the highest point on the mountain ridge trying to remember where the LZs were
that we had visited on the ground the first day. I finally spotted the school
LZ by the markings on the soccer field and then I felt more comfortable. The
bailout z was pretty obvious when I got closer to the mountain. As soon as I
got close in to the slope, I began to climb in what I think was ridge lift. I
made several passes and got back up to 1900 ft or so. Then, since nobody was
going to join me (C.J. had not been high enough to cross to the mountain
because the wind direction had changed to SE or S), I started back toward where
I thought the Dolphin Bay TO might be. I used GOTO on the GPS to head in the
right direction and as I got closer I could see someone taking off. I used some
speedbar to push into the wind and made it to the beach with altitude to spare.
[During the flight I had noticed my phone was sliding out of my pocket and
pushed it back in, but as I approached the beach, I could no longer feel it in
my pocket. I landed (34 min?) and immediately searched the area where I landed
for the phone which I was hoping had fallen out of the harness as I stood up to
land. It was nowhere around on the ground and did not seem to be in my harness.
I was bummed and spent time looking on the beach and in my gear without any
luck. Finally, I asked C.J. to call my phone and we could hear it ringing
somewhere under the seat of my harness. That made me feel much better about my flight.] I
was the last person and only client to make it over to the mountains but later
people were able to soar a low ridge north of the takeoff. The wind picked up
still more and we broke to have lunch at the resort – sweet and sour pork
and pork fried with lime leaves. After lunch Matty took C.J and me on a boat
tour past Monkey Island part way up the river where they launch the boat. We
saw two big (monitor?) lizards swimming and crawling in the mangrove forest.
Then we beached on Monkey Island and handed out four bananas to some pretty
aggressive monkeys (rhesus macaques?); one even climbed up onto my shoulder. We
got lots of photos while waiting for Matty to bring the rest of the clients and
family over. Returning to the resort beach we got Lorenz and Jenn launched and
they were able to soar the ridge. By the time it was C.J.’s turn, the wind was
gusting and she got jerked into the air several times before calling it a day.
I didn’t have any better luck and the wind was starting to come around
offshore. Lorenz got his glider wet and so did Sam; C.J. discovered an L-shaped
rip in her wing tip. After packing up we rode our scooters back to Seaview and
got showers. Matty met us at 1900 and took us to the night market in Hua Hin.
We had a lot of fun in the food court trying various dishes. Afterward we
looked at some of the stalls but found nothing we had to have. We met at the
truck at 2130 and headed home.
13 Feb, Sat – We ate breakfast
using up the milk and the last mango and then continued to pack up for our
departure at 0900. We took one rolling carry-on plus our backpack, and of
course our wings. We had a new van and the driver had brought along his
wife/girlfriend. Our first stop was about 20 minutes down the road at Red
Mountain Temple which was actually several temples set against the steep rock
walls of the Sam Roi Yot (300 Peaks). I never saw the monkeys but C.J. got some
photos. Quite a ways down we stopped for fruit (bought mangos) and for a detour to
look at a launch at Pho Am which requires permission from the military to fly
it, and only on the weekend. [This site is closed at present because a
foreigner flew it without permission.] Then we went into the town of Prachuap
Khiri Khan (which has a big teak temple with a Hollywood-like sign in Thai
script on the hill above town. We had lunch at a restaurant right across the
street from the beach. We arrived just before a two-bus tour group arrived.
They were finished before we were. I had squid tempura and C.J. had fried sea
bass and Chinese vegetables. It was another two hours plus to the Khao
Phang LZ, carved out of a palm oil plantation where we met Tim, an ex-pat from
Australia, the owner, who drove us to the launch up a really rough road in his
4WD pickup. The non-flyers stayed in the LZ, but Lily, Sam’s wife, came up with
us to fly tandem with Matty. Launch was right above the LZ at about 860 ft near
a radio station antenna. I launched after Matty and climbed above the ridge in
mixed ridge and thermal. I made several circuits of the 3km N-S ridge before
heading upwind to the east as far as the river. It took more than a quarter
hour to get low enough to the LZ to make an approach and land near the center
of the slightly down-sloping, grassy field. (1hr19min). I think I got as high
as 1800ft but C.J. got to 2270 and stayed up for 1:40. By the time we landed
the LZ was in shade but that didn’t keep it from being lifty. After everyone
from our group had landed (1830 or so) we drove to the resort area of Chum
Phron (Thung Wua Laen Beach) to our hotel room where we would stay for the next
two nights (Talay Sai) We were really
glad to get into an air conditioned room and take a shower. At 2000 most of us
met in the lobby to go to a nearby restaurant on the beach for dinner. We could
see the bright green lights of the squid boats on the Gulf of Thailand. C.J.
had cashew chicken and I had a very good omelette with crab. We also had a
couple of magnum bars for dessert. Tomorrow we are scheduled to go out
on a boat and do some snorkeling and, if anyone is not too tired, fly again in
the afternoon. It’s really hot down here in the south so I might not be up for
another flight.
14 Feb, Sun – We got up at 0700
and tried to find a place to have breakfast since it wasn’t included in our
room. Nothing was open and we ended up paying for a mediocre breakfast at the
hotel buffet. We met at 0815 for a short ride to the office of the outfit
that was doing our snorkel trip. We got our fins and then took a truck shuttle
to the marina in Chum Phon. We got a big boat all to ourselves (Matty, Jack and
Marcie did not go) and cruised down the river lined with fishing boats of all
kinds. Out in the Bay of Thailand we motored out to the islands of the Mu Koh
national marine park. We snorkeled at three small islands in shallow water
(near the steep, rocky shore) and had lunch after the second swim. C.J. and I
wore t-shirts in the water to avoid getting sunburned (except for the last
island where I skipped the covering and ended up with moderate sunburn, also on
the tops of my feet). We returned to the marina after 1500 and got a ride back
to our hotel where we grabbed our flying gear and went back to Khao Phang. Tim
drove us up again and we launched after 1700. Lorenz and Sam took off first in
light conditions and sank out. C.J. had several aborts and let me go next. I
got off with a reverse and went right, around the corner, to where the SE breeze
should have been creating lift. I didn’t find anything and returned to a point
just below launch where there was enough lift to keep me from joining the P-2s
in the LZ. C.J. launched and soared above me on her way to the SE point where
she had no trouble getting up. I headed north and climbed above the ridge.
During my flight I reached 1250 ft and flew for about 0:47, making several
circuits of the ridge. As the sun began to set, I headed out to the E as far as
the river again. On returning to the LZ, I was low enough to not have to make
any S-turns, but I landed a bit beyond the spot Graham had put out. Matty hit
the spot and C.J. came in the opposite direction in the no-wind LZ and had a
good landing. Sam and Lorenz had already gone back with the van and we drove
back with Matty and Graham via a circuitous route. At the hotel we took quick
showers and then at 2000 walked with Matty, Lorenz and Graham to the MaliBlues
Bar and Restaurant which was pretty busy. It took a while for our food to get
to us but the beef in oyster sauce and the chicken with cashews were both good.
C.J. and I walked back to the hotel along the dark beach with the green light
of the squid boats to light our way. Tomorrow we leave at 0830 and go right
back to Tropical Seaview, then south to the edge of Sam Roi Yot NP to scooter
tow on the beach.
15 Feb, Mon – We ate some mango
and had a hot drink before venturing out with our stuff all packed up at 0800.
Matty, Graham and Lorenz were eating breakfast at Pirates Café so we joined
them for a bowl of fruit, muesli and yogurt (200). The van took off around 0830
and we made only two brief stops along the way arriving Tropical Seaview around
1145. There was just time to get sorted out with the gear we needed for flying
before the departure time of 1245. First we tried to find a restaurant south of
Khao Kalok but they were either closed or too busy so we drove the short
distance back to the restaurant in the forest on the side of Khao Kalok where
the breeze kept us relatively cool and there was a view of the fishing boats,
most grounded due to the low tide. Food was inexpensive and quite good; C.J.
had prawns and asparagus and I had fried rice with pork plus drinks. We
drove south to a small beach village on the south border of Sam Roi Yot NP (Kui
Buri?). The beach was roomy enough for towing but the sand and mud looked kind
of wet for laying our wings down. Also the wind was light, too light to soar as
Matty showed on two flights. On the third flight, however, he found enough lift
to stay up and I decided to give it a try – it would make the sixth new site in
seven days. The tow was really easy after one abort when Graham was not ready.
I climbed to 525 ft, released and turned 180 degrees to fly quickly back to the
100m ridge behind where we launched. It was just barely soarable when I got
down to the top of the ridge and I managed to eke out 17 min by flying close to
the rocky slope covered with trees and cactus. I landed right behind C.J. who
was in position to get towed up. She ended up with 21 minutes and was the only
other person in our group to fly. We returned to Seaview by about 1830, took
showers and were ready to go to the end-of-the-trip banquet at Happy House. The
barbecued skewers were tasty, the green curry was spicy and we had a gin and
tonic each. By 2130 we were ready to head back and get packed up for our
trip back to Bangkok leaving at 0830.
16 Feb, Tue – C.J. had a rough
night with an upset stomach but was more or less feeling better in the morning
when we got up at 0630. Everyone was gone having caught their ride at 0200. We
ate some of the fruit with our muesli and took some of it with us. Our van was
there at 0800 to pick up Lorenz, Sam (Georg), Lily and us. Three and a half
hours to BKK and then another half hour or so to MHC Guesthouse. We paid for
the second night and made a reservation for the last two nights in
Bangkok for when we get back from Cambodia. We walked over to Phrom
Phong (stopping at an ATM to take out 7000 B) and went into Emquartier on the
ground floor where we found a gourmet grocery store and gourmet food stalls.
After consulting the mall directory we took the elevator down to Emquartier’s
more-expensive version of a food court. It was more internationally-oriented
and it took a bit of looking to find just what we wanted – C.J. had stir-fried
phad Thai with glass noodles and I had Tom Yum soup with squid. Then we
went back to the ground floor where we had spotted an upscale gelato stand. The
chocolate was excellent, the coffee, oreo and miele were not as flavorful
(180). We walked back to the MHC Guesthouse and cooled the room down enough
that we could nap until after 1800. About an hour later I went out to see about
getting a replacement battery for my Samsung S4 at the Samsung store in
Emquartier. They didn’t stock anything so out of date but the salesman tried to
explain where to get one (MBK Center 5th floor). I dropped down to
the basement food court and had a mini pulled pork pie and a mango smoothie
then headed back to the guesthouse.
17 Feb, Wed – Up at 0700 for a
much-needed shower (should’ve taken one last night). We had eggs for breakfast
downstairs and talked about taxi vs train/shuttle to the domestic airport
380 vs 160. Around 0930 we left enroute to the Sky Train station at Phrom Phong
where we bought discounted day passes. We rode the crowded train to the Siam station
and changed to a train that took us to the Central Pier at the Saphan Taxsin
stop. We bought the day pass for the tourist boat again just to give us
the freedom to decide what we might do on the fly. There was only a short wait
before we got on the crowded boat. It was pretty clear that it was going to be
a hot day when it wasn’t a whole lot cooler on the Chao Praya R. We got off at
Tha Tien and went directly to Wat Pho. Right near the entrance on Tha
Maha Rat was the temple of the reclining Buddha. It was huge – the largest in
the world. There were scores of other Buddhas including the one in the main
temple, lines of them in the collonades, and one in each portico. The
stupas/pagodas, resting places for the first four kings of the Chakri Dynasty,
were fascinating, fanciful works of art. We covered almost everything in the
temple and the only crowds we encountered were at the reclining Buddha. In
addition to all the temples (we took off our shoes numerous times) there was a
school for traditional Thai massage and a children’s school (and a crocodile
pond which we never got to see). A nice aspect of the entrance was that the
ticket was also good for a free bottle of cold water, much appreciated on such
a hot day. After leaving the temple grounds and walking down Maha Rat (or Maha Raj) for a
ways we retraced our route back to Tha Tien Pier and boarded our boat. I
thought C.J. was tired and hungry/thirsty enough to want to head back to the
Sky Train and home but she had had a serving of mango sticky rice gaining
some energy and wanted to get off at Ratchawongse Pier and do the Lonely Planet
Chinatown walk. We walked along that street to the unmarked junction with
Sampeng Lane and ducked into the narrow alley which was crowded with vendors
selling stuffed animals, cheap jewelry, cosmetics and other unnecessary stuff.
At the first major intersection we turned left and walked out to Tha Yaowarat
and went right along the street of the goldsmiths for a couple of blocks before
turning back to Ratchwong and our boat. Somewhere during the day C.J. bought a
pair of lightweight pants printed with elephants and two pashmina scarves. We caught our boat, or at least a boat, and returned to Central Pier and
the Sky Train. We got off at the end of the line at National Stadium and went
into the MBK Centre through the Tokyu entrance. (C.J. finally found the bubble
tea she had been looking for. I was looking for the electronics section of
the mall and didn’t find it until much later. But it was interesting to see
another, and different, kind of mall. Eventually we made our way to the sixth
floor and the MBK Food Island, another buy-a-card place and use that to pay for
the food you order from any of the 20-30 food stalls. C.J.’s stomach was still
upset so she did not order a meal but I got fried noodles with seafood and
a serving of lemon-lime soda with lots of ice. Once we slurped the soda
out of the cup, I poured in my bottle of water and we had nicely cold, slightly
flavored water. Down on the 5th floor on the way out we found the
electronics warren and I asked about a battery for my four-year-old phone – no
luck. We exited MBK and walked the short distance through the Siam shopping
area to the Sky Train station and rode to our stop at Phrom Phong without
having to change trains. It was a relief to get our air conditioner running and
cool down our room. And get a shower.
18 Feb, Thu – taxi to Don Mueang
Airport at 1100, had a Blizzard for a snack (nothing served on the no frills Air Asia flight). When we arrived at Siem Reap, first we
had to apply for a visa ($40) and since we didn’t know that we were required to
submit a passort photo, we had to pay a fine for that (14). That took quite a
bit of our US cash. Our driver was waiting for us when we cleared customs and
we took the tuk tuk to Oriental Siem Reap. Stopped at an ATM near the Cultural Center to withdraw
$200. Booked tuk tuk for the day incl sunset ($18) and a guide ($35). Hotel
three nights ($108). Dinner near the Old Market at Father’s (Cambodian Amok,
stir-fried Khmer noodles and pork). Oatmeal, TP, and liquid yogurt at
mini mart. We walked through the Old Market but didn’t go as far as Pub
Street.
19 Feb, Fri – Up at 0630 to give
us time to shower and make breakfast before meeting the tuk tuk driver and our
guide at 0800. It was a short drive to the entrance station (but that may have
been because we were concentrating so hard on understanding what the guide was
saying). We got a three day pass which cost the same as two one day passes; we
might want to go back into the temple area on our last day. Our first tour was
Angkor Wat. We entered at the West Gate after crossing the 200m-wide moat on a
causeway, and eventually came out through the east gate where the driver picked
us up. It was near 1100-1130 so after a toilet stop (our guide had some
digestive upset) we went to Ta Prohm, the temple which is well-known for its
walls covered with the roots of Spung trees and strangler fig trees. Once again the driver met us on
the far side of the temple. We drove to a restaurant and had lunch (pork and
eggplant, stir-fried chicken with “hot basil” and green peppers, rice) –
more than we wanted to eat, but then we would not need a full supper. Around
1400 we started off for Bayon, famous for the 216 sculptural faces on its 54
towers. We stopped on the way at the Elephant Terrace to view the bas-relief
elephants on a long wall. Bayon was one of the best sites for the big faces and
all the intricate carved panels. By then it was about 1600 and we were beat,
hot and ready to head home without staying for the sunset which we were told
was going to be crowded and require a long time standing in a line anyway. Back
in Siem Reap we stopped so I could get another $200 from an ATM then returned
to the hotel. While we waited for the room to cool down, we sat out on the
patio and I uploaded all of our photos to my computer. C.J. was not at all
hungry so we did not go out even to find any ice cream.
20 Feb, Sat – Same as Fri: up at
0630 and met our tuk tuk driver, Sarith, around 0800 for the “Grand Tour” (just
means the larger circuit, not an increased level of grandeur). Thank goodness
we had bought the three-day ticket because there was a real crowd at the ticket
booths; we were able to bypass the whole mob by showing our tickets at a brief
stop on the road. Then we drove past Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (Bayon) to our
first stop at Preah Khan. Being without a guide felt a little strange at first
but we enjoyed moving at our own pace. We went in through the west gate and out
through the east where we found our driver. C.J. couldn’t resist a bargain
price on two silk scarves that a persistent young girl was selling. Next
was the water temple of Neak Poan (or Pean) which had a central square pool
with a temple on a circular island, and four surrounding square ponds, all on a
300m mebon (island) in the baray (reservoir) of Preah Khan. On the
way in we bought a guidebook Ancient
Angkor for $10 from a young man who said he was a student ($10). The book appears
to be of high quality and the list price is shown as $27.95 on the barcode but
it is probably not the genuine edition. We crossed a long causeway to reach the
four ponds surrounding the central pond and retraced our steps. Next was Ta Som
(12-13 c.), a semi-ruined miniature version of Ta Prohm, and has faces on the gopuras (gate towers) like Bayon. Next
was East Mebon (mid 10th c.), a temple on an island in the East
Baray (now mostly dry). The construction of the base was the usual laterite but
the towers were made of brick which once had been faced with stucco. The
lintels were supposed to be the most interesting features, but we found the
large elephants at each corner to be more worthy of photos. After returning to
the tuk tuk we took a lunch break at a restaurant across the road from the Srah
Srang, a small (700m x 350m) baray (10th
c.) We shared a stir-fried pineapple and pork dish and two drinks on the
second floor porch overlooking the lake. Just as we arrived there were several
water buffalo browsing at the edge of the water and I took a couple of
pictures. Our last temple was Pre Rup (mid 10th c.) memorable mostly
for the very steep stairway to the highest part of the temple-mountain; the
risers must have been close to 14 inches high. I was glad to find a wooden
staircase with handrails on the north when it came time to descend. A Cambodian
man convinced us to enter a shrine and burn incense in front of a Buddha on the
upper level, a strange experience. Much of the temple mountain was made of
bricks on a base of laterite again, like East Mebon. Back at the tuk tuk we
headed home even though it was only 1500. We passed on suggestions from Sarith that
we go to the National Museum or get a massage; we were hot and tired. At the
hotel we paid for our day and got a shower, downloaded photos
and cooled off. Around 1800 we wandered over toward the Old Market and Pub
Street. First we got some ice cream at Blue Pumpkin in the Kings Road Center.
Then we crossed the brightly lighted bridge and wandered past a plethora of
restaurants and bars. It was early enough that there was not a lot of action
but there were an incredible number of tourists. It reminded me somewhat of
Lakeside in Pokhara, Nepal. We finally settled on a place in The Lane which
turned out to be Le Tigre Papier, recommended in Lonely Planet. It was the “stir-fried
lotus roots” that drew us in. We also ordered some fresh spring rolls, a draft
beer and a water. It was all pretty good but we were sweaty again by the
time we finished and walked back to the hotel.
21 Feb, Sun – We slept in until
0745 then wrote and read until we felt like eating our last batch of “overnight
oatmeal”. Around 1000 we went out to wander around to see what we could see nearby.
We crossed the river one bridge upstream and arrived at the gate of a temple
that was not-a-ruin. We took some photos before moving along to the market near
Pub Street. Today there was a food market that spilled into the aisles so the
way was narrow. There were lots of fish, a forest of chicken feet, and tons of
veggies. We crossed the old pedestrian bridge to another market, the “art
center”. It had the same souvenir t-shirts, elephant pants, jewelry and carved
wood. The day had been reasonably comfortable up until we got out of the wind
in the art center and it was pretty sweaty as we walked back to the hotel for
our noon checkout time. After clearing out of our room we turned in our key and
sat on the third floor balcony in the shade where there was a decent breeze. At
1330 we met Sarith, our tuk tuk driver and rode with him to the Airport. We were a
little early for checking in but the counter opened a few minutes later and we
dropped off our one checked bag and got our boarding passes. The airport was
pretty interesting as it had art that related to the main attraction of the
area - Angkor Wat. C.J. got some photos of paintings, statues and timelines (including
a reproduction of the horse sculpture at Peak Pean; we had seen it on our
arrival in front of the terminal but we didn’t know what it was then). Since we
had not had any lunch I was hungry enough to order a Burger King Whopper meal
(part of it – the $0.50 – we paid using some of our Cambodian riels.
Boarding went quickly and we walked out on the tarmac to the plane. We were
seated near the front just behind the mostly empty “Hot Seats” which cost
extra, and in front of the wing. The view was not great because of the hazy
air; we climbed up into clear air above some building cumulus. On arrival at
Don Muang Airport, we weren’t sure what to do about a visa; we hadn’t done
anything about applying for one before the trip or on our first arrival in
Thailand, so we just went to the Immigration/Passport check and sailed on
through. There was no check of our bags at Customs and the airport was a
contrast to the crowded Suvarnabhumi. We went to the taxi stand and had no wait,
but the fare would include not only 120B for the tollroad but an additional 50
B for the driver over what the meter said (440B). The driver claimed not to
have any change but the MHC manager came to our rescue with change for 1000B
(actually, we made the exact change ourselves by taking C.J.’s 200B and opening
the suitcase to get out 20B in coins. We got a new room – this one on the
second (up two flights) floor – Comet, with a view of The Address condo across the
street (Soi 28). After getting the room cooled down and unpacking somewhat, we
went out for a light dinner. We grabbed four pork skewers from a street-food
vendor and then went looking for a shake or something. We ended up at
Harrod’s Café in the Glass Quartier of Emquartier where we had small scoops of
mango-passionfruit and caramel-sea salt-macadamia. We took the plastic
bowls and spoons with us so we could do a self-catered breakfast early Monday
and get an early start to the Royal Palace. 7-11 supplied us with some drinkable
yogurt for the rest of the muesli we had left in the rolling duffle.
22 Feb, Mon – Up at 0700 and out
around 0830 thinking to get an early start and beat the crowd at the Grand
Palace complex. We were surprised to find that the trains weren’t crowded at
all after buying our one-way tickets at Phrom Phong, 42 each, instead of the all-day
pass which was 140 each. At the Chao Praya Express Boat dock we also bought
one-way tickets to Tha Maharaj the pier for the Grand Palace. The boat was
really full and when we reached the vicinity of the gate, the place was a mob
scene with tons of people and tour groups. We soon found out that it was a
national religious holiday (Maghah Puja) and some of the buildings would not be
open. We flowed in with the crowd and once we bought the expensive tickets and got
through the temple compound gate, the crowd was not quite so dense. Except for
trying to get into the temple ordination hall or ubosot (Wat Phra Kaew) containing the revered Emerald Buddha
(actually jade). It took a while but we inched in with everyone else. There
were a sizable number of worshippers as well as the usual horde of tourists so
it was even more chaotic than usual at a temple. After retrieving our shoes
from the pile, we toured around looking at the stupas, the huge model of Angkor
Wat, demons holding up the pagodas, and galleries with paintings telling the
Thai version of the Ramayana. Monks were
chanting and were echoed or responded to by other worshippers. It was an
amazing scene. Wilting a bit under the sun and humidity (in spite of a pretty
decent breeze) we left the temple compound to view the Grand Palace and other
buildings (all closed except for the Emerald Buddha Museum which was
interesting). To bolster our flagging energy we grabbed a couple of Magnum bars
at the snack bar. Feeling a bit revived, we toured the Queen Sirikit
Textile Museum which was blessedly air conditioned. Then we left the Grand
Palace to walk down along the nearby street looking at all the street vendors.
We were sort of looking for a t-shirt for me but never saw any. Eventually we
went back to the Tha Maharj pier and had a couple of tasty schwarmas wrapped in a
pita bread substitute and drinks. There was quite a large number of fancy
stalls set up in the market place near the pier – lots of opportunities for
lunch if we hadn’t already eaten. Still on the t-shirt/pillow cover quest we
decided to walk down to Tha Tien where the Flower Market was located (and where
C.J. got her elephant-print pants). We must have missed Tha Tien, and the
Flower Market was winding down (although we did see some boxes of apples from
Manson, WA). We ended up on the dock south of Tha Tien, Yodpiman River Walk
Pier. We got our tickets and it was only a ten-minute wait and we were
soon back at Sathorn where we caught the BTS Sky Train back to Asok and
Terminal 21. It was after 1730 and I knew I would be hungry again later so the
Pier 21 Food Court was my goal. Besides, I wanted to see if our tickets would
allow us to stop before our terminus. Nope, didn’t work – the turnstile kept
our tickets when we got out of the station. Pier 21 was pretty busy but there
wasn’t much wait time as we each grabbed a fruit smoothie and then I got a
plate of chicken yakitori with rice and another smoothie for dessert. We
walked all the way back to MHS, although it would only have been 30B to take
the train. We stopped to buy another bottle of drinkable yogurt to make
overnight oatmeal for breakfast but didn’t think to get any more water for
drinking. And there was none in our fridge back at the room. C.J. bought a
bottle from the guesthouse and I used the Steripen to purify three more bottles (I had to cut
the top off one bottle in order to submerge the head of the Steripen. Not sure
what we are going to do on our last day. We have to get a taxi to the airport
about 1400 for our 1700 flight, so that leaves the morning for?
23 Feb, Tue – last day in BKK – We
got up around 0730 and spent an hour or so packing before eating our last apple
with the overnight oatmeal. I got some hot water from the lobby and checked
with the manager about a taxi – a larger one, and the cost – 500B (good thing
we still have 900B left). When I asked, she told me that Graham had not picked
up the keys to Tropical Seaview that we had carried away from there a week ago.
I sent Graham a message and he responded that he and Matty had forgotten but
had had copies made so we could throw away the old ones. Around 1030 we asked
where the post office was and went to get stamps to mail three postcard
then we returned by walking down the far side of the street and ducking into a
couple of alleys to see if there were any t-shirt/fabric stalls. However, it
was mostly street-food stalls so we went back to MHC and asked where we might
find that kind of market. The manager sent us Chit Lom on the BTS where
we walked NE on the elevated sidewalk a ways before descending to the
Rataprasong intersection, then west past Central World Mall to finally reach
the air-conditioned Fashion Mall and another market (Pratunam) with a maze of
tiny shops selling wholesale and retail fabric/clothing. It definitely wasn’t a
tourist place and we didn’t find anything in the few minutes we had before we
had to turn back in time to meet our taxi at 1400. I tried a shortcut through
Gaysorn upscale mall and then needed help to find my way out (but the air
conditioning felt good in the 37 deg C heat). Back on the BTS to Phrom Phong
and the MHC where we just beat the taxi to the door. It was a SUV with
plenty of room for our seven bags. There was no meter so I confirmed the 500 B
fare before we left. The driver took the surface streets to the airport rather
than pay the 120 B to use the expressway. It still seemed to take the same
amount of time. We were at the airport just before 1500 and got checked
in for our EVA Air flight to Taipei and on to Seattle. After getting through
Passport Control and Security, we stopped for lunch. Unfortunately the service
was slow at the Thai restaurant so we ended up leaving and snagging Blizzards
at DQ which got rid of most of our paper Thai money. Suvarnabhumi Airport
has the same system of boarding gates as Taipei – passengers gather in a
waiting room and then proceed downstairs to the gate waiting area when that
area is opened. We had seats together on the aisle for the flight to Taipei, a
two-hour layover and then the long trans-Pacific flight to Seattle. As we were
going through transfer security in Taipei we ran into Chris and Christine
Culler who were returning from a dive trip to Wakatobi, an Indonesian
island north of Bali near Sulawesi Is. They were on the same flight to Seattle
as we were so we hung out with them while waiting. On the plane we napped most
of the time and had two meals before arriving around 1820 at SeaTac. It took
the usual long time to go through Passport Control (although maybe less time
now that the new kiosks are in use) and wait for our bags, transfer the bags to
another conveyor belt after getting through a perfunctory Customs check, take
the train to Baggage Claim and wait a short time for our checked bags to arrive
there. I grabbed a cart and we donned warmer clothes for waiting for the
shuttle to Sandstone. It was close to 1930 by the time we were heading home - a
little late to be thinking about attending the square dance, besides, I felt really
grubby and my clothes were dirty from handling the luggage. We got home shortly
after 2000 and warmed the house up with the furnace and wood stove, sorted some
laundry and relaxed a little before going to bed around 2300. Despite the rest
we got on the plane we were still pretty beat.
Three weeks seemed like about the optimum time for travel to faraway
places and soak up some sunshine as well as a new and exotic culture. C.J. and
I do not consider ourselves city people but Bangkok was interesting even if we
barely scratched its surface. We visited the three tourist attractions that would
rate high in any guidebook: Wat Arun, Wat Pho and the Grand Palace/Royal
Monastery and did it on three separate trips. I had thought that we would need
to pay for a guided tour but the public transportation was so easy to use that
we could get to the attractions on our own. Eating the local food was fun once
we determined that everything was not highly spiced and that menus were often
available in English and with pictures. Eating in the food courts of the
supermalls was simple and inexpensive, but we also ate food from the street
vendors a few times. Going to Angkor Wat was a whole new adventure and it was a
good break from our days in Bangkok. It was surprising that food and lodging
was more expensive in Cambodia, at least in Siem Reap, but tuk-tuk transportation
was cheap and, unlike BKK, not a scam. As far as flying went, our total flight
time was pitiful (and XC miles were non-existent), but we did manage to fly six
new sites in the seven days of flying out of the ten-day tour. Unusually windy
weather canceled our first two days on the tour and the other day was a travel
day. All-in-all we’d have to give high marks to a flying (and culture) trip to
Thailand.
