Last night was once again a poor nights sleep. I think the fact I was trying to go to bed at 10 when it was actually 3 in terms of my body clock didn't help... but I'm getting there! It was nice to have my own room once again though with two beds which meant I had 4 pillows! I even had a bath this morning to treat myself, well because I couldn't work out how to use the shower until after I poured my bath! Breakfast this morning consisted of a buffet including fruit, toast and some weird Thai stuff.
The first stop today was a trip on one of Klongs along the river in Bangkok. A Klong is like a longboat primarily steered by rudder. We started out on the main river of Bangkok taking in the many temples and big buildings. We then turned into one of the canals which gave us an insight into the "real" Bangkok. We passed many peoples houses made just of old wood, and some people in small boats selling local goods. There were even large lizards on the banks as well! Many of the locals waved us past and this showed us how many people of Bangkok live their daily lives.
After coming off the river we visited the Wat Pho temple which included the reclining Buddha. This was a large Buddha statue of over 60m long made of gold! We had to take our shoes off in here. In addition to the reclining Buddha you could put 108 coins into separate pots and make a wish. This was due to the 108 images of Buddha. The temple also included other areas where we could see monks eating lunch, an area to pray, and an array of other impressive buildings and decoration.
From here we split up, and I took a tuk tuk ride to Wat Suthat with a couple of others after a local strongly recommended it to us. This was a large temple with a Buddha for prayer. We also got taken to the Thai Export Centre which sold cheap tailored suits and jewellery. I now have a largely annotated map of Bangkok as the locals like helping so much! It was from here we went to Chinatown and got slightly lost whilst winding through the narrow streets and bustling Kao Market. Goods like jewellery and gold/red Chinese goods were sold here!
After finally making our way back to the hotel we found a small cafe, and of all things I had lasagne and chips, followed by chocolate ice cream! We then stocked up on goods for the night train, where I bought things like lobster flavour crisps, and mixed meat croissants!
Departing at 6.10pm, we left Bangkok by sleeper train to Chiang Mai. We started out with seats and then tables were brought out along with loads of bug which had been where they stored. I had a meal including chicken with cashews and duck curry here. Then came out the beds, and me being the gentlemen let the lady choose where to sleep, so I ended up on the top bunk. The only from protecting me from rolling off were a couple of straps! Before I continue, I'll just show you a picture of a Thai toilet...
...it was a hole in the train. It was a real challenge keeping balance on such a wobbly train! Every Thai toilet also has a shower head section as well, which would actually be very useful back home! At 9pm came the food carriage turned party carriage. A few beers later and the Thai barman was singing Britney Spears, and the train was dancing macarena! By 11pm everyone had to sleep, so I wish you good night from the top bunk of this noisy train!
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