My return to Georgetown was worth it, it's a great place to be, nice atmosphere and good fun and friendly people. One evening I became involved in a lengthy pool session at a bar with some locals and had a great night yet again. But it was time to move on, out of Malaysia and back to Thailand. It was a 1 day journey, leaving lunchtime and arriving the next lunchtime, I like these trips, plenty of time to relax, read, gaze out the window and chat with whoever is next to you, who on this occasion turned out to be three lucky Filipino ladies on holiday. They run a mountain climbing and adventure tour agency and I have a card, so if anyone is interested in that kind of thing in the Philippines, just let me know.
One evening I had a bit of a surprise when I heard my name being called out and saw Darren (who I had met in on the bus from Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands) in the street, so I joined him, Rachel and some others for a evening of live rock music in a Bangkok bar, good stuff. Anyway, after a week hanging around watching, I got a haircut, collected my Vietnamese visa and was off to the old capital of Ayuthaya. At the bus station I struggled to find anyone who understood me for a while, until I found out how badly I was pronouncing 'Ayuthaya'. Once one lady deciphered what I was trying to say, she pointed me through the busy market where I eventually found out I had been in the wrong bus station, or at least the wrong part of the dual bus station complex!
Left: Bangkok's infamous traveller's ghetto of Khao San Road.
Left: An iconic symbol of Ayuthaya, the Buddha's head embeded in roots of a tree.
Apart from the Buddhist ruins that take up your entire day(s), and the fact I improved my motorbike skills, I found a lively social scene in the evening, after chatting with one of the cafe owners who was full of information about the city, he invited me along to a local bar where the entertainment was provided by music and singing. At first there was just the guitarist, but he was later joined by drummers, singers and anyone else in there who cared to join in. After closing time the doors were shut and on it went through the night. Four hours later when I decided I needed some sleep before tomorrow's journey onwards and Northwards it was still going strong.
Left: Three stupas of Wat Phra Si San Peth.
Arrived at Bangkok and it's just the same as ever, hot dusty, noisy, busy and the tuk-tuk drivers still try to prey on naivety and try to take you somewhere to rip you off. I've seen enough of it before so didn't need to stay other than I wanted a Vietnamese visa and this seemed the best place to get one. So I had a break there, waiting, observing people, and checking out the latest t-shirts in Khao San Road. Along with the perennial "Singha Beer", "Beer Chang", "Beer Lao", "Red Bull" shirts, you now see, "iPood" with a picture of someone sitting on a toilet listening to a music player, the fine band "The Killers" get a look in, only the band members faces are no longer Brandon, David, Mark and Ronnie, but now Sadaam, Osama, Joseph & George, funny. Puma's famous leaping puma has been turned into a leaping fluffy dog with the name now "Poodle" and last but not least, for those who have been there, you'll know the Thai (And Laos/Vietnamese have picked it up too it seems) whenever using the word "same", always duplicate it, "Same same!!", this has also been adapted in the t-shirt collections in the funny and sometimes used phrase (honestly, I have heard them say this !!), "SAME SAME..... BUT DIFFERENT". That one always makes me giggle when I hear it.
Centre: My whizzy bike in Ayuthaya.
Right: Lotus flower, significant in Buddhism.In Ayuthaya I found a nice guesthouse and took a walk to investigate what would be in tomorrow's plan. A boat tour would have been nice as part of it, but alone it was an expensive option, a bicycle would have required many days to see everything I wanted to see, so a motorbike was the way to do it. Late in the day while riding out to the extremes of the city, heading to some site, I saw a large advertising banner, all written in that illegible Thai script, except for the words "BIG ASS" somewhere in the middle of it, I can't imagine what the rest of it said, but would love to know. Pity I was on a busy main road when I passed it and could not stop to photograph it.
Ancient Ayuthaya is set on an island formed by the convergence of three rivers; Mae Nam Lopburi, Chao Phraya and Pa Sak. The ancient town, a UNESCO world heritage site, has temples all around and between 1350 and 1767 was the cultural centre of the emerging Thai nation which eventually fell to the Burmese invaders who then looted the city's treasures. Even narrowing down the list of "should see" sites to a manageable number is a challenge, but then as I drove around, I realised there are far more sites than just the thirty or so recommended on the tourist maps. So, I made a selection, a proposed route and whizzed off on my motorbike to see a few, stopping now and again to see extra places that caught my attention on the way. Some of the ruins are quite amazing and there is a huge variety in the styles, age and historical importance of all the sites which inlude 'wats' (temples), 'chedi' (Bell shaped tower also know as a stupa), 'praang' (tall khmer style spires) and 'wihaan' (where the temple's Buddha sculpture is placed).
Right: Amazing Wat Chai Wattanaram in Ayuthaya.
Apart from the Buddhist ruins that take up your entire day(s), and the fact I improved my motorbike skills, I found a lively social scene in the evening, after chatting with one of the cafe owners who was full of information about the city, he invited me along to a local bar where the entertainment was provided by music and singing. At first there was just the guitarist, but he was later joined by drummers, singers and anyone else in there who cared to join in. After closing time the doors were shut and on it went through the night. Four hours later when I decided I needed some sleep before tomorrow's journey onwards and Northwards it was still going strong.
Right: Khmer style Wat Phra Ram surrounded by a moat of lotus flower.
1 comment:
A nice journey...it's great!
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