Back in Bangkok we made several day trips, one day inland to the atmospheric ruins of the previous capital at Ayuthaya, sacked by the Burmese in 1767 and the Summer Palace, a beautiful park and a curious mix of east and west building styles, delightful despite hordes of Thai school groups, their teachers using megaphones to address them. Very early starts are essential as by 10am the heat is draining. This guide was like talking wikipedia but we managed to slip away to enjoy the sites, which spoke for themselves.
Bangkok and the countryside around are criss crossed with waterways and boat tours along the river and canals still allow a glimpse of the traditional way of life with steep-roofed red and gold temples and traditional wooden houses on stilts along the riverbanks, people on the wooden jetties using river water for washing and food preparation and long motorised canoes to get around. Stilt houses protect from flooding, although some areas were damaged in last year's exceptional flood, and in the 40 plus degree summer it is cooler to sleep under the house.
One day we went to the floating market at Damnoen Saduak an hour plus to the southwest, where local farmers sell their fruit and vegetables from long canoe-like boats. It has become very touristy with as many tourist boats as sellers, souvenirs for sale from stalls on the banks and an opportunity to get your photo draped with a python for £4, not much to us but outrageously expensive by local standards, all colourful nonetheless and locals still buy breakfast of soup, noodles or rice improbably made on the boats, to eat seated, legs dangling, over the canal. We then cycled through villages and fruit plantations with coconuts, bananas, lychee trees, 30 km in all, which was fun in a masochistic fashion as despite the trees there was little shade from the midday sun and mid 30s temperatures. We stopped for a couple of welcome refreshment breaks and a large thai lunch but were whisked back onto our saddles all too soon so as not to waste any opportunity to cycle thru the hottest part of the day. Despite bringing up the rear most of the time, largely as it took me ages to find a decent gear, mostly my legs were pumping like pistons for little gain, I made it to the end. A couple of serious cyclists seemed to think it was a race and two Danes ended up in the minibus on the way, one fell off, possibly the result of an ill-advised lunchtime beer. Of course this gave us an excuse to revisit the massage shop for a foot massage which turned out to include an all-over massage lasting 1 hour for £6 lulled by the snores of an elderly Japanese client and the giggles of the masseuses. We are now seriously massage-addicted.
Today an hour's flight south we have escaped the traffic clogged streets of Bangkok. It is easy to see why taxi drivers seem to be the only non-smiling Thais we have found so far.