Back to Bangkok: Christmas time!

We'd been travelling for nearly five months when we arrived back in Bangkok. Our bus took a bit longer than expected, so we quickly dropped our bags off at the rather-lovelier-than-usual hostel we'd booked for Christmas Eve (http://www.cozybangkok.com/) and went Christmas shopping. The malls in Bangkok are massive - and varied, from the flash Siam Paragon to the everyday Central Department Store and the covered-market 'charm' of MBK. We did manage to find M&S, Mango, Uniqlo and TopShop though, which was a lovely surreal indulgence (though we were of course looking rather shabby in the lovely Siam Paragon!). 

We treated ourselves to an (actually rather disappointing) meal in the gourmet food court at the Siam Paragon, and also stocked up on wine and cheese in the gourmet food hall for Christmas day. It was almost like being in Harrods in the food court - and it had the prices to match, but it was good practice to get back to more familiar prices before the shock of arriving in New Zealand.

As we descended the steps from the mall later that day we were rewarded with a Christmas display and a festive performance by body-suited Santas singing 'All I Want for Christmas Is You'. We marvelled at this in the +30 degree heat and as the sun set and it stayed just as hot, we headed back to our air-conditioned room to watch Bad Santa.

On Christmas Day we packed up and moved to an even nicer place to stay: http://www.citrus13bangkok.com/en/.

It was a true indulgence and we had no greater plans than to Skype home, enjoy our wine and cheese, watch films on a decent-sized telly and venture out to find a half-decent Christmas dinner. After tracking down a HDMI cable so that we could watch our own films (rather than end up watching crap telly) we sought out our mythical roast dinner, but it was nowhere to be found! I'd been so sure that it would be an easy tourist win, to sell a roast dinner at any price to homesick travellers, but apparently not. Instead, we ended up in a sports bar eating bog-standard pub food. Ah well, at least we had the wine, cheese and Christmas films - and internet to Skype with!

After the most comfortable sleep in months, we checked out and used our final hours in Bangkok to go and see The Hobbit before our flight to Auckland. In Thailand, they play the royal anthem before every film, so we had a typically Thai experience even in a multiplex as we stood respectfully before the king. 

And that was that. After nearly five months, we were heading to New Zealand to try living in a whole new country. And we were ready for the change - Asia can be wonderfully exhausting, especially if you're on the move as much as we were in our last few weeks (desperate to cram in as much as we could with our remaining time). But we had fallen massively in love with Asia. I'd fallen hard for Cambodia in particular, but every country had charmed us at times and we knew we'd want to return one day. Until then... our thoughts turn, inevitably, to New Zealand, and our working visas. We had at least a year to experience all the wonder that New Zealand has to offer.

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Kanchanaburi: Bridging the River Khwae

We arrived in Kanchanaburi after an incident-free bus trip from Ayuthaya, and quickly checked into the Jolly Frog. It's a lovely place with a good restaurant, and even better, the grounds are scattered with hammocks and the whole place is right next to the river. Tempted as I was to pick up my book and lounge around, we were limited for time so we headed straight for lunch on the premises (check out the photo - that's a pineapple feast!) and headed out to hire some bikes (everything here is accessible within a short bicycle ride).

At the Jolly Frog... the cat's an added bonus!

Pineapple and cashew extravaganza - yum!

We were able to hire bikes from just outside the hostel, so we headed straight to the Death Railway Bridge. This is the infamous 'Bridge over the River Kwai' (although it's actually the Mae Nam Khwae). Whatever you call it, history remains the same - Kanchanaburi was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp where many British, Australian, American and Dutch POWs lost their lives during the second world war. However, though nearly 7,000 POWs are known to have died here in Kanchanaburi (with over 12,000 POW lives lost during the building of the railway), it's estimated that over 100,000 lives were lost from throughout Asia, so the toll on human life goes beyond the horrors of the POW camps. It also goes beyond Kanchanaburi - the railway bridge runs the railway line out of town, but the length of the railway is over 400km, and it was built at breakneck speed. Understandably, much of the sights in Kanchanaburi provide the opportunity to reflect on the hardships faced by the labourers and POWs caught up within this devastating period of the second world war. 

We crossed the bridge (it has been repaired since the Allied forces bombed the completed bridge and supply line in 1945) and felt small within the oppressive iron girders - on a bright sunny day, surrounded by tourists, it's difficult to imagine what really happened here during the war.

Feeling troubled, we headed next door to the WWII museum. From here, you can see some incredible views of the bridge, but barely anything else within the museum walls offered any perspective on the experience of war. Yes, there were many cabinets filled with weapons (ranging from guns to swords), and yes, there were photos and uniforms and memorabilia galore... but it was like a strange dream, as the WWII museum mainly consisted of an indeterminate temple-styled building full of artefacts entirely inappropriate for a museum about the war. My perplexed expression in one of the following photos sums up our reaction!

Far more interesting, and certainly more relevant, were the Allied War Cemetery and the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre Museum, situated a short distance away from the bridge. The War Graves Commission keeps the cemetery in pristine condition, and it's very peaceful and respectful. They also provide a lot of information about the POW memorials within (including how to locate different people and nationalities), which I'm sure is some small comfort to the families.

In many ways it's good that the real railway museum is a little detached from the bridge itself, as the atmosphere at the bridge feels very different. The cemetery perhaps lends it an aura of respectful clarity - also, the bridge isn't the whole story at all, and you can better appreciate that at this museum. It's an authentic and educational experience after the tawdry surrounds of the bridge, and offers a far deeper sense of understanding about what really happened here during the second world war. You reflect not only on the building of the bridge, but also on the conditions at the POW camp, and the experiences of individuals. 

One thing I found particularly quaint, but beautiful: as you leave the museum, you follow a route into a café area. You're offered a free cup of tea (no apparent sales pitch to buy cake, lunch etc) and this allows you the chance to absorb what you've seen (and have no doubt, the museum is truly harrowing). This is a thoughtful enough gesture, but the view out of the window to the adjacent Allied War Cemetery perhaps solidifies the impact of your visit.

You can't take photographs in the museum - I'm not even sure they could have done the experience of the visit justice. But if you're ever in the area, it's not that far from Bangkok., and anyone with an interest in war or military history would find this museum well worth a visit.

We took our bikes back and returned to the Jolly Frog for dinner. We also messaged Kate and Pete, just in case they were still in town, and had a lovely impromptu evening with them in the Jolly Frog bar before they headed to Bangkok the next day. I'm sure I always say this, but I love the way that you reunite with other travellers while on the road! Your experience of a place always evolves in lovely and unexpected ways.

After Kate and Pete left, I Skyped home and virtually attended Laura's annual wine and cheese party - Jo led an excellent rendition of Jingle Bells (because it was the 22nd December, after all) and it was great to check in and hear about everyone's Christmas plans. It was also good to realise that, despite the Mayan prophecy, the world didn't end!

The next morning we hired bikes again and headed south to the Jeath War Museum. This was also a short distance away from the bridge (which translated again into a respectful if harrowing experience). It's only a very small museum, but it packs an emotional punch because as well as containing some very uninhibited exhibitions, it also shares more information about the experiences of the POWs in the camps (including torture and their hard living conditions). The museum itself is also built in the style of the shelters that the POWs stayed in, which is another somber reminder of the challenges faced by the POWs working on the railway.

After the museum, we stopped briefly at neighbouring Wat Chaichumphon. It's quite a startling contrast to the museum, especially because the monks at the temple actually run the Jeath war museum. The temple grounds also house a rather dramatic-looking monument of a horse - I have no idea what to compare that to!

 
At this juncture, we were quite hot and bothered (and in need of a lighter attraction) so we parked up our bikes, grabbed an ice cream and walked the nearby Heritage Walking Street (starting at the City Gate). There are over 20 different heritage buildings with information boards for each building of note. Hotels and shops, some over 100 years old, line the street and it's a peaceful way to spend an hour or two.

Feeling relaxed and refreshed, we braved the nearby Kanakan mall and stocked up on a few essentials (we even found a Converse shop, so bought some clothing that wasn't covered in red dust/general dirt that won't wash out, and we even got two free converse notebooks for our trouble) and I indulged in a Santa hat for Christmas. Not a lot of point having a massive spend-up though as we were heading to Bangkok the next day!

For our last supper in Kanchanaburi, we had dinner at Nut – a good recommendation from Kate and Pete (if I remember rightly). It's rather unfortunately named though, as it's branded in full as the ‘Nut Bar and Restaurant’. The food was amazing though, and they went out of their way for us. But Bradley was broken by the spiciness – his jungle curry was overwhelming (but delicious in small doses)! I loved their heart-shaped bowls though - I had crockery envy!

Jungle curry

Brad - broken by the curry!

We had time for a last drink or two by the river at the Jolly Frog before heading to bed for an early start the next day (we had a bus booked to take us back to Bangkok). We'd almost come full circle - Bangkok would be our first and last stop in Asia.

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Ayuthaya: Riverside Charm

Awestruck still from the dramatic bat display of the previous evening, we pitched up at the train station bright and early to check out another of Thailand’s cultural jewels, Ayuthaya. We also had the good fortune to meet some fellow friendly Brits, Pete and Kate, on the train to enjoy the journey with. Pete and Bradley got chatting straight away as they both work in the architecture industry, and we all had plenty to talk about as the Thai countryside rolled past and the sun dazzled us in our creaky carriage. It was quite luxurious to be on a train after weeks of cramped buses and minivans, but all too soon we were drawing in to Ayuthaya and saying goodbye to Pete and Kate, who were heading off towards Kanchanaburi. We exchanged details in case we might catch up with them there or in Bangkok (which we did), and hopped off the train.

Ayuthaya was the second Thai capital city, taking over from Sukothai in the 14th century. 400 years later, the city was sacked by the Burmese and the capital collapsed, eventually rising again in Bangkok. While Bangkok is a hectic, beautiful drama of a city, and Sukothai is set apart peacefully from its current town centre, the temples of Ayuthaya are scattered throughout the small town (which is cut out by an encircling wide river). To get across the river and into the heart of Ayuthaya from the train station, we had to cross this calm watercourse - but that was easy, as the ferry was moments away from the train.

Everything fell naturally into place as soon as we left the train: the ferry crossing was ready to go as soon as we shuffled over with our bags; the hostel was a simple five minute walk away from the other side of the river; there was a laundry opposite our hostel for us to offload our festering washing pile; and there was also a bus booking office for us to plan our next steps right next door. The best bit though was the funky bar a door or two down from the hostel – a live music place, Street Lamp, that had a proper pub feel to it (as much as was realistic this far from home). Street Lamp also boasted a decent menu, so that was lunch sorted (plus a cheeky beer or two). Ayuthaya was off to a great start!

Street Lamp bar

Bus booked, laundry in motion and bellies and hearts full, we decided to explore on foot for the rest of the afternoon. Ayuthaya is a bustling maze of tiny roads all knotted within the looping river. There was no shortage of convenience stores or food – eating would be easy here! After criss-crossing the main centre, we walked the inner loop of the river to Sai Thong, a riverside bar. It was a great place to relax and watch the sun set, before after-dark entertainment arrived in the form of multiple karaoke riverboats nipping past booming ‘Gangnam Style’ on repeat. Deciding that we’d experienced our limits of Psy, we beat a hasty retreat onto the darkened streets, and wandered home via the brightest road we could find, rewarded at one point with the illuminated sight of our first Ayuthayan temple.

Sai Thong restaurant

The next day we hired bikes from our hostel (convenient again – hurrah!). Most of the temples are located on the main ‘island’ of Ayuthaya, but a few can be located off-island, using bridges and ferry crossings.

We started out at Wat Phra Mahathat, where as well as several headless Buddha’s and partially-ruined temple buildings, there’s a Buddha head tangled up in the roots of a tree. Allegedly the most photographed point in Ayuthaya, this is quite an unusual and moving sight. Well, it would be moving if you weren’t surrounded by people taking photographs…The whole site is rather peaceful on the whole though, and offers plenty of opportunities to pause for thought at the sight of the many headless Buddhas lined up within.

The next stop was Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Ayuthaya’s largest temple, housed in the Ayuthaya Historical Park. This complex included some remarkable buildings, including the Old Royal Palace.

 

We tried to visit Wat Chai Wattanaran, located just off the central 'island' of Ayuthaya, but this was closed (though we could photograph the site from afar), so we headed back onto the island, cruising past the museum (also closed – we must have picked the wrong day!) and across the river on the other side of town to visit Wat Phanan Choeng. 

Wat Phanan Choeng was by far one of the most bizarre temples we’d ever visited – an onslaught of gold, with queues to view the central Buddha amidst people feeding fish in the surrounding ponds.

We escaped as another bus-load of people arrived (perhaps there was a festival of some sort happening, but from what we’ve read since it sounds like it’s often a dizzying experience) and returned to the main road and headed towards the floating market on the outskirts of town. Which was like going from mad to worse, as it was a terrible tourist trap sitting awkwardly alongside a surreal toy-town type venture, with wide-eyed plastic animals lining the walkways.

The sun was starting to set, so we ferried back into the island and returned our bikes, before collecting our freshly cleansed laundry. We couldn't resist another dinner at Street Lamp as the food was great and there was live music again, so that was our evening - a perfectly chilled end to a hot (and occasionally exasperating) day.

The next morning we had another early start to get to Kanchanaburi - back on the bus this time. Thanks Ayuthaya, sorry we couldn't stay longer to finish exploring!