50shadesofbrave

Where do I start?

I suppose it would have to be with the jet lag! An ‘overnight’ flight from Heathrow to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi, where the clock said it was morning but my body thought it was 2am… When we landed in Bangkok, local time was 6pm and by the time I made it to my hotel, gone 8pm… I think I should have hit the sack but I decided to go out and ended up making myself thoroughly miserable by sitting in a sports bar watching Wales lose at rugby! When I did head back to the hotel, sleep evaded me for *hours* – I saw 3 am before dropping off, and woke again just after 8:30.

Not one to hang around, my day 1 in Bangkok was a biggie involving the three main tourist attractions. I had joined a couple of ‘Thailand Solo Female Traveller’ groups on Facebook in advance of my trip and during breakfast I made a plan to meet up with a 58 year old Canadian woman to explore. We met at Sathorn Pier, hopped on the Chao Phrang tourist boat, and headed up to the Royal Palace. We were there a couple of hours, marvelling at the amazing buildings, and taking loads of pics.

From there we walked to Wat Pho, stopping for lunch (Veggie Thai Green Curry) en route. Saw the ‘Reclining Buddha’ – huge – and some other sparkly buildings.

We hopped back on the boat and off again at Wat Arun – the Temple of Dawn. I think this was the one I was most eagerly anticipating and it did not disappoint. Being there later in the day was a good decision – not only was it cooling down, but also the changing sunlight on the temple was magical. We wandered round and round, climbed steep stairs, watched Thai men and women in costume posing for photos and generally soaked up the wonderful atmosphere. I loved this temple.

Our final stop was IconSiam – an upmarket shopping and entertainment complex, where we had some enormous iced dessert made from Thai tea, before returning to Sathorn and going our separate ways, me on the Skytrain back to Sukhumvit.

Thank you Bev for your company on a very enjoyable day!

Day 2 saw me leave Bangkok for a 2-day trip to Kanchanaburi province. On recommendation from a friend, I had bought a package via Float Hotel River Kwai to see the main historical sights pertaining to WW2 – the bridge over the River Kwai, Hellfire Pass and the Death Railway, plus Kanchanaburi Commonwealth War Cemetery, in which I saw so many young British soldiers’ headstones. I had a wonderful personal guide for my visit – Mr Kat was very knowledgeable (once I had tuned in my ear to be able to understand him!).

The absolute highlight of this part of the trip was my overnight stay at the Float House. This is a 30-room hotel on the river – and I mean ON the river. Each room is its own little raft, all joined together, with a pontoon along the rear and terraces fronting the river. The restaurant was also open to the river, and was a magical setting for dinner and breakfast. I so needed the level of relaxation offered here – I loved my room, I loved jumping in the river to be carried downstream (not so much the struggle to get out against the very fast current though!), I loved that the room gently rocked every time a boat stopped outside, I loved that I could hear no traffic, just birds and flowing water… and I slept like a log in the most comfortable bed I’ve been in in ages … including my own! I only wish I’d booked to stay longer…

Back in Bangkok on Tuesday evening, I changed hotels to somewhere more central. Waking distance from Patpong Night Market, that was where I headed for dinner. I picked up the most delicious Pad Thai and a beer for about £4 before getting a foot massage to set me up for a relatively early night.

Wednesday was a deliberately bitty day. Air quality in Bangkok was poor, so I started with a visit to Lumphini Park in search of clean air! I then treated myself to a pedicure before some down time back at the hotel.

In the afternoon I decided to visit a particular temple and then walk back into the city centre along the canal. I decided to push my comfort boundaries hard by taking a ‘Bolt’ … but not the taxi variety, the motorbike variety! I felt like my heart was in my mouth the whole time as we wove through the traffic and I periodically apologised to the poor driver for grabbing his waist so tightly!!

The walk was long but interesting – I was hot and tired by the time I reached pick up point for my evening tuk tuk tour with food. I’m not going to write about that here – my battle for a refund is ongoing after a very disappointing experience.

Thursday saw another early start, for a day trip to Ayutthuya. This was a well organised tour. Just enough information and a good balance between that and free time to wander round the temple ruins at our own pace. It was a roasting hot day, but a really interesting one – I would recommend a visit. Once back in Bangkok I had a swim in the hotel’s rooftop pool and headed to Chinatown for another street food experience – two taxis and two courses for less than a tenner!

My final day in BKK saw me treat myself to an overnight in a very posh hotel! Tower Club at Lebua. My 53rd floor suite (living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, balcony) included club privileges in the form of free flowing food and drink between 6am and 6pm. Plus the hotel is home to the Skybar on floor 64, made famous by the film The Hangover part 2. I enjoyed a cocktail whilst watching the sunset and Bangkok nighttime come to life, which was quite special if a little pricey. What a privilege to stay in such a place… you might think… But honestly? I hated it. I will talk more about why in my final blog about my trip, but staying there has taught me a few things about myself (not the least of which is that I suffer from vertigo!!!)

Anyway.

As I write this I am waiting for my taxi to the airport to fly up to Chiang Mai. Part 2 of my adventure begins here!