5/12/09 Happy Birthday King Bhumibol Adulyadej

We woke up and packed ready to wait for the 10 am taxi to arrive. Phil had arranged a taxi the previous day with Mr Whiskey but when we saw him he said the tuk tuk would be there soon. We had already agreed a price to go in a taxi but Mr Whiskey said the tuk tuk would be the same. Phil argued with him about getting all our stuff in a tuk tuk and we wanted a taxi . Mr Whiskey got quite stroppy then and said a tuk tuk would be fine and he'd pay for it if it was a problem!! We had stayed in his hotel for 5 nights and booked a tour with him and also recommended two others to him, so it wasn't very called for. We all agreed the tuk tuk would be fine and he would pay for it but it was a bit of a struggle to get all our things in the tiny vehicle...Phil was buried under bags for the journey. When we arrived at the airport we checked in and went through to the gate. We had a bit of a suprise when a women walked through to the gate with her dog in her arms, not a normal sight at the gates. The plane was a bit delayed but eventually we boarded. Weirdly the 1.5 hour flight was on a huge 747 jumbo jet, the biggest plane we had been on so far. We had a meal and drinks then came into land at Bangkok international airport. We had hit civilisation again in this huge airport and noticed all the staff wearing pink, which we thought was a weird colour for a uniform, but of course it was all in honour of the king. We caught a airport shuttle into the town and got off it at the train station, which was supposed to be a few minutes walk away. Fortunately the directions were right and after a few minutes through some back streets we reached the Cozy Bangkok hostel. Our first impressions of Bangkok were huge, stinky and very busy but the hostel was an oasis of calm and immaculately clean, thank goodness. We had a nice room and the whole place was decorated in a meditteranean style with inner courtyards and water features. The only problem was its distance from the main sites of Bangkok but we could use the buses which would be fun. We wanted to get into town quickly to see all the build up to the main party in the city at 8pm so after a bit of advice from the hostel staff we went on a local bus. It picked up 5 minutes from our hostel and dropped us near a central Wat called Wat Pho. We were the only Westerners on the bus and all the locals were really friendly and helpful showing us where to get off. Another man showed us where we were on our map and we headed to where we knew some events were happening. At 7.59pm (we think this must be the time he was born) the prime minister was leading a candle lighting ceremony which the crowds would join with, followed by a huge 4D light and sound display around the city. As soon as we went past Wat Pho ,one of Bangkoks biggest and oldest Wats, we saw the crowds of people all dressed in pink. We followed the crowds passed the Royal Palace and onto a big main road joining the palace to the democracy monument (in the shape of four huge angel wings), similar to The Mall but longer. It was so rammed with people there that we went out to some back streets to bypass most of the people. We came back out to the main road but it was still quite busy. The road was blocked and a few official looking cars passed by before it was reopened. Then a procession of marching bands and youth groups began. The whole area was lit with twinkling white and coloured lights and there were huge pictures of the King and Queen everywhere. There were 13 days of celebrations planned which was a big party even by Thai standards. The King usual says not to spend money on his Birthday but the people said they wanted to make him happy as he is so unwell. We thought maybe this would be his last Birthday so a big fuss was being made of him. In all the recent pictures he looks very poorly and this was his 82nd Birthday !! He was coming out of hospital for just a few hours but wouldn't do any official work, his son the Prince would represent him. When we have spoken to any Thai people about the king they get very teary and upset as they realise how ill he is. By the time it was 7.50 we had reached a spot where we were surrounded by Thai people all listening to and watching a big screen. It was the Prime Minister making a speech and then at exactly 7.59pm he lit a big candle. Simultaneously all the people around us lit candles themselves then all started singing the National Anthem. Once they'd finished singing that thay all started singing another song, which must have been a song for the king and had turned to face the surrounding large posters. It was so moving to see such an out pouring of emotion for the man who the people obviously love to bits. At the end of the song they all lifted their candles to the King and cheered. We had goose bumps and the hairs on the backs of our necks stood on end too...it was amazing to be there. Then a firework display began above our heads and the sky was full of huge fireworks for about 40 minutes and other displays all around the city were lit at the same time. It was a brilliant display and we were so close that we were showered with the cardboard litter from the freworks above. By the time the fireworks stopped we were ready to get something to eat so went to find Khoasan Road, Bangkoks famous bar street. On the way we passed the masses of firework cannisters in the detonation area We had just witnessed a really special moment in Thai history and hadn't seen more than a handful of tourists there, but we found them all in the bars in Khoasan Road !!! The whole street is a market with stalls all along and has lively bars and restaurants as well as street stalls selling kebabs, Pad Thai, bugs and other Thai dishes for pennies. It had a real buzz but we couldn't believe the tourists had missed out on all the celebrations just to sit in a Western style bar....each to there own!! We had a meal and a drink there but went back to the main street to continue enjoying the celebrations. We went along to the democracy monument which had been transformed into a big stage. On the stage were many dancers in beautiful costume performing traditional Thai dancing. There were lasers and fireworks, bubbles and some fantastic music too and we stopped to watch for over an hour as it was so good. Again we were some of the very few tourists watching, but we were glad we hadn't missed the show in favour of a few beers. We went back to Khoasan Road and ended up watching a great Thai band playing some classic rock covers for a few hours. They were really good and their playlist was a real trip down memory lane. The bar was full of very drunk dreadlocked hippies so we had quite a good time people watching. After a few hours and very late we went to find a tuk tuk but they wanted to charge us far too much so we walked towards our hostel and got one for a 6th of the price then back to bed after a really great day !!

6/12/09

After a bit of a lie in we got up and spent a few hours looking for some accomodation in Kho Phi Phi for Christmas and Phuket for New Year. We are having a difficult dilemma as hardly any of the internet accomodation is available but we know there are hundreds of rooms not online so its a risk not to book but very expensive to book !!! After booking a place on Kho Phi Phi for Xmas we are going to take a risk with Phuket and look when we arrive. Everywhere we have been on this trip so far has been so quiet with tourists that there are plenty of rooms available and we are always offered lots of choice when we arrive anywhere so theres no real panic. We decided to take a walk into the town to see how long it would take. Our hostel was close to Chinatown so we strolled through there through the China gate. We passed by Wat Tramit but didn't go inside as we had a long way to walk and it was closed for the Kings Birthday. Chinatown was very rundown and dirty area and we wandered through the busy Talat Kao market packed with stalls selling allsorts. Phil was videoing the market when a horribly burned lady was being pushed along in a wheelchair. It looked as though he was videoing her but of course he wasn't but it was too late, the lady pushing her gave Phil a really filthy look. We passed a shop selling shark fin soup with many shark fins in the window...shocking !!! We kept walking in the direction of the democracy monument and called into Wat Thepthidaram. Inside there were pyrotechnic guys setting up the fireworks for more displays that evening. Liz had a chat with one of the monks and we had a quick look round before we left to carry on. We went past the King Rama III monument, past the democracy monument and into Khoasan Road. We went to a travel agent called Sai who was really helpful and had great English. She advised us on some accomodation and dive courses in Kho Tao, Thailand's 2nd best dive site, as Liz was going to try and dive there. We booked tickets for the train to Kho Tao but delayed booking the dive course until we had clearance from a dive doctor in Thailand. We had the number for the Dr on Kho Tao so would speak to him first. Next to the travel agency there was a really smart looking guesthouse and we popped in to see what the prices were. We went to see one of the rooms which was good and it had a pool and a lovely courtyard with koi carp in a fish pond at the back. The price was quite cheap so we booked a room for two nights for when we returned from Kanchunaburi. We had another wander around the streets to soak up the festivities which were still in full swing . We tried some absolutely yummy pork sticks from a street vendor and walked along towards the hostel again getting a tuk tuk when we could find one. We had an early night feeling knackered from a couple of busy days.