The Girl in the Big Mango

Once upon a time, I went up to Chiang Rai with my friends.

We got there late evening, so once another friend came to pick us up, we went over the check the night market out and got something to eat. Not very eventful as they were closing the market already. So…… off for a good night’s sleep.

Next morning, we started early and went to Wat Rong Khung - the famous white temple. Very very beautiful.

No drunks allowed.

No pets as well. I told one of my mates to wait for the rest of us here as she was not allowed inside, and she called me a bitch!!

We then went inside the temple.

The place is very well maintained, clean, and beautiful. Well worth a trip up there just to see this place.

After the temple, we made our way to Mae Sai. On the way, there’s this cute little coffee shop that’s worth a stop too. It’s called Parabola.

Then, we continued our journey to Mae Sai. Got there and went to get a temp pass to cross the border.

And here we were… on the Burmese side. We spent a lot of time here checking out the market.

I wasn’t too mad about the stuff there, as quality might be a bit dodgy. So, I mostly just walked around and took a couple of photos.

Two girls in our gang were shopaholic. So, we finally left Mae Sai well in the evening, after hours of shopping. We came back into town, and went out for a few drinks with our local friends.

Next day was our last day up there, and we started early again. We headed to Doi Tung to visit the Royal Villa there. No dual pricing policy here, apparently.

We made our way from ticket booth up to the Royal Villa first.

Loads of flowers along the way.

We went inside to see the residence of the late Princess Mother. No photos allowed, of course. But we were allowed to take photos outside on the balcony, facing away from the Princess Mother’s bedroom.

After the villa, we made our way back out to go see the Mae Fah Luang Garden.

Drinking water provided along the way.

A huge beautiful garden here.

After our lovely walk around the garden, we headed to Chiang Saen.

We stopped for lunch near the river and noticed the ferries between Thailand and Laos.

There was this ancient temple not too far away. Wat Phra That Chedi Luang - the biggest Chedi in Chiang Saen.

After making some merits, we moved on to the Golden Triangle.

Not much going on that way, really. So, we went to our last stop for the day - the Anantara Golden Triangle. We had arranged a site inspection with the GM, who is a personal friend of mine, the day before. But he conveniently had to come to Bangkok on a very short notice. So, one of his staff showed us around. I have yet to get to work on a report on the place. Anyway, finished the site inspection and we came back into town. Had a lovely dinner with our local friends, then a few drinks - as usual.

We flew back to Bangkok early morning the next day. It was a nice trip, even though Chiang Rai was a bit quiet. The people in the North are definitely nicer than the twats in Bangkok. Enjoyed it.

So, it’s that time of year where TG miles were about to expire. My sister redeemed her air award and got a free ticket for me. We were heading to Bali.

Being an extremely organised person that I am, one month passed and I only had plane tickets and hotels sorted and paid for. Then, just two weeks before taking off, my aunt went back into ICU - last stage of breast cancer. Driving between Pathumthani and Thonburi nearly everyday took up a lot of my energy, so I decided to email a driver/guide out of the two names I had and pretty much left everything else up to him.

Day 1

8:40am on a Friday and wheels up. TG’s Boeing 777-300 have PTVs these days so it’s not too bad. We were flying through some turbulence at one point. The plane was shaking a bit and jumping up and down slightly which scared the shit out of me. But the good old captain brought us all to Bali safe and sound. The landing wasn’t quite Smooth as Silk, but whatever. Good to be on the ground again.

Not really too exciting at the airport. Immigration was painless. But my luggage took forever to come out. Once outside, I was looking for Putu - our driver. And there he was with a sign with my name on it. After saying a quick hello and all that bollocks, he dragged our luggages to the car park. And the silly bugger turned to us saying “Where is my car?”

Original plan for the first day was that he would take us to the hotel in Kuta, check-in, and we went South to see the Uluwatu and stuff. But he said traffic around Kuta was very bad that day, and that we should just check-in and walk around the beach and relax, the sightseeing would begin next day instead. OK then. So, he took us to our hotel in Kuta - the Alam Kulkul. Agoda charged us 105 USD, inclusive of admin fee. No breakfast.

When we arrived, I left my sister to do the check-in and I was led to a lounge at the lobby where the hotel provided snacks and some drinks.

When my sister joined me, she said she reckoned the front desk told her that our room type was full so they upgraded us to Villa.

The room was nice. The bathroom was even nicer.. and big.

From the dressing area, there was a glass door. And then you will find the toilet.

Further from the toilet, there was a tub/shower.

These three things smelled really really nice.

After a quick rest, we went out to check out Kuta town.

Like I read before, it was quite like Indonesian version of our Patong. So, not really all that exciting to us.

Apparently, there was a thing going on Kuta beach at that time called Kuta Karnival. But not much going on when we were walking along the beach. Then something caught my eyes. There were many people gathering on the beach, and local music were being played. So, we stayed to watch what was going on.

They were dancing while the sun going down.

It was pretty nice actually. All the kids were dancing with their teachers leading in front. I took a short(ish) video of it. I’ll see if I can upload it and post it later. After the dance, this guy (must be some kind of head of something) started walking round spraying water on the locals.

We didn’t do much after this as my sister wasn’t one to be out too late at night. We went back to the hotel to relax as the driver would come to pick us up at 8:30am next day.

Day 2

Putu turned up at 8:30am and we checked out of the hotel as we were staying in Ubud the next two days. I have to say that we were very impressed with Alam Kulkul. Service was great. Room was really nice. Staff were great. Can’t find anything to complain about the place. Oh wait, there is no wifi in room. Have to get username and password at the Reception and wifi is available around there.

Putu then took us to see a Barong Dance in Denpasar. It’s about a fight between the good (Barong) and the evil (Rangda). They provided a leaflet in English too, so you can read a bit of the story. Quite fun actually.

My sister said the Barong looked like a Shih Tzu.

Google is your friend, if you want to read up about the Barong Dance.

After the dance, we continued our journey to Kintamani and Putu stopped at this place for us to look at Batik stuff.

We agreed that this place was very touristy and way too expensive so we didn’t buy anything. So, we moved on. We were going to Kintamani first and made our way back down to Ubud in the afternoon.

Before hitting Kintamani, Putu stopped at this temple. You need to wear a sarong before going in. If you don’t have one, you can borrow from the temple and put some money in the donation box. At the gate, a bloke was standing there spraying water on people going in. It’s to clean you and your soul. When the guy is spraying water on you, you just raise your hands with your palms up, like in the last pic in my first day post.

After the temple, we were back on the road. Not too long, Putu parked the car at a restaurant called Lake View for us to have lunch. From the restaurant, you can see Mt Batur and Lake Batur. They have tables on the outside, but we were not that lucky. But no problem, we didn’t take long to finish the buffet lunch (shit food) and we walked around to take pics.

The first time I saw a real volcano. Simply amazing. I was really impressed. We took quite a few pics with the volcano in the background.

While looking for Putu, I noticed this chap. The first soi dog I came across in Bali, and he was all the way up near a volcano.

Next stop, Putu was so kind enough to stop at a shop where they sold some spa products. He also asked if we liked coffee. Having done some research before the trip, I hesitated but said yes quietly. These spa products were very good quality, according to Putu. It’d better be good, cos it’s quite expensive. But at least, I got the Javanese Lulur stuff for my friend. I couldn’t find it elsewhere during the whole trip. Outside the shop, there was a little corner where they sold their coffee beans. They got a few different types. One of them, Putu said… they gave the beans to the civet, the thing would only eat the best beans, they waited till the civet had a shit and they collected the shit and proceeded to make coffee beans out of it. Yep, that pretty much confirmed what I suspected. So, I politely declined when Putu asked if we wanted to drink coffee. I ain’t eating no poop.

After the poop place, we went to Pura Tirta Empul (or Temple of Holy Water) in Tempaksiring. Before going inside, you need to wear a sarong also. But can borrow at the temple, with a small donation.

Before hitting Ubud, Putu stopped at Tegalalang rice terrace for us to take a few pics.

Then, straight to our hotel in Ubud - Champlung Sari Hotel. Agoda charged us about 60 USD per night, inclusive of admin fee and breakfast. We read a bit of reviews and we prepared for a run down hotel. It was indeed a bit run down. But acceptable for us, as it’s cheap as chips and location was pretty good. It is located on Monkey Forest Street. After a quick walk around, we thought the location was definitely what we paid for. Being very close to the Monkey Forest, we didn’t need alarm clock at all as the little buggers came down our roof early morning every day, on their way to the hotel resaurant to steal the guests’ breakfast.

On Monkey Forest Street…

We found Ubud market and Monkey Forest Street to be the best place to shop. Pretty good price for pretty good quality. Loads of stuff there that you can bargain the price down at least 50%. We did some shopping in the evening, had a nice meal and a long chat, and went back to hotel to sleep. Early start next day again.

Day 3
Next morning, Putu came to pick us up early morning again. We were heading to Besakih Temple (the most important temple on the island) today. Before going there, Putu informed us that the people there were not very nice and only wanted money. He trained us a bit on the price thingy as he wouldn’t be able to accompany us, mainly because he didn’t have permission to take tourists up to the temple, I think. So, we went to the desk to negotiate the fee to get a guy leading us up there. They originally quoted us ridiculous price, but having a trainer, we negotiated the price down a lot. We ended up paying 120,000 IDR for the guide. Don’t pay them 50 or 60 EUR. They are taking the piss.

So, we paid the money. Our guide didn’t look too happy when he knew how much we paid. Tough shit. The money guy gave in, so sort it out with him, silly cookie.

Walking up the hill turned out to be quite a challenge to me as I haven’t had much exercise the past two years. There were a few temples in the Pura Besakih. Can probably say the temple is like a complex. It’s not just one temple.

The mountain in the background is called Mt Agung - the highest mountain on the island. There were quite a few folks doing their ceremony that day.

Next stop, Putu took us to Klungkung, an ancient palace. Not much going on there really. Not really worth a trip there.

Didn’t spend a lot of time there as there was not much to see. So, we headed to Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave.

There was holy water here too.

And here’s the cave..

We went inside, even though I am no good with narrow places. I kept looking at the way out of the cave to reassure myself that it’s there and I could run out anytime. Too dark, too spooky inside. So, we came back out and walked around the place a bit.

With all this walking, I must have lost some more weight. Anyway, after the cave, we came back to Ubud walking around some more. We wanted to try out their spa. So, walk walk walk. Talk talk talk. Either they didn’t have enough therapists, or they were too expensive. So, we gave up and spent our money on silk scarf, massage oil, soap, etc instead. Our feet were really hurt today so we didn’t even go out for dinner. I just couldn’t walk anymore.

Day 4
Our last day, Putu wasn’t available so he sent another guy on his team to take care of us instead. The driver was coming to pick us up at 10am, so we finished breakfast pretty quick and walked around a bit. We went to see Ubud Palace, which didn’t have anything to do there during the day, but it’s worth to come down in the evening to watch some dance.

We decided to check out the Ubud Market - again - before heading back to the hotel to meet our driver.

I wanted to buy some slippers from here, but the slipper lady asked for 80,000 IDR. We (read My sister) negotiated the price down a bit, but the slipper lady wouldn’t go lower than 40,000 IDR. We walked away, and she screamed OK OK How much you tell me. My sister said 20,000 and slipper lady said 30,000. We walked away again, and the slipper lady said OK OK 20,000 IDR. This walk-away trick works very well at Ubud Market and Sukawati Market (not worth it, Ubud market is better).

We were going to go to Tanah Lot as our last destination and off to the airport after. On the way, the driver stopped at a shop for us to look at the wood carving. Pretty neat, I have to say. I kind of liked how they put flowers everywhere.

Even on the Ganesh.

Last destination, Tanah Lot, is a temple by the sea. It’s on the West of the island. Very famous for sunset. But I’ve been told it’s too crowded then as everyone wants to see sunset here.

There was a Holy Snake .. and some more Holy Water here. But you have to pay to see the Holy Snake or wash your face with Holy Water. Like I bloody would. So, that’s it. We were off to the airport. Maybe worth to remind everyone that, once you pass the Immigration at the airport, there is another counter where you have to pay 150,000 IDR to get out of the country. Make sure you don’t change all your money back to USD or whatever. While they accept other currencies at the counter, the rate is proper shit. Best to keep 150,000 IDR with you for them.

All in all, we had a great time there. Wish we had brought more USD with us, as the THB rate was proper shit there. I find the people to be pretty nice and friendly. Monkey Forest Street has really nice smell, because of all the oil and flowers and stuff. We will definitely return.

So, it’s that time of year where TG miles were about to expire. My sister redeemed her air award and got a free ticket for me. We were heading to Bali.

Being an extremely organised person that I am :rolleyes: , one month passed and I only had plane tickets and hotels sorted and paid for. Then, just two weeks before taking off, my aunt went back into ICU - last stage of breast cancer. Driving between Pathumthani and Thonburi nearly everyday took up a lot of my energy, so I decided to email a driver/guide out of the two names I had and pretty much left everything else up to him.

8:40am on a Friday and wheels up. TG’s Boeing 777-300 have PTVs these days so it’s not too bad. We were flying through some turbulence at one point. The plane was shaking a bit and jumping up and down slightly which scared the shit out of me. But the good old captain brought us all to Bali safe and sound. The landing wasn’t quite Smooth as Silk, but whatever. Good to be on the ground again.

Not really too exciting at the airport. Immigration was painless. But my luggage took forever to come out. Once outside, I was looking for Putu - our driver. And there he was with a sign with my name on it. After saying a quick hello and all that stuff, he dragged our luggages to the car park. And the silly bugger turned to us saying “Where is my car?”

Original plan for the first day was that he would take us to the hotel in Kuta, check-in, and we went South to see the Uluwatu and stuff. But he said traffic around Kuta was very bad that day, and that we should just check-in and walk around the beach and relax, the sightseeing would begin next day instead. OK then. So, he took us to our hotel in Kuta - the Alam Kulkul. Agoda charged us 105 USD, inclusive of admin fee. No breakfast.

When we arrived, I left my sister to do the check-in and I was led to a lounge at the lobby where the hotel provided snacks and some drinks.

When my sister joined me, she said she reckoned the front desk told her that our room type was full so they upgraded us to Villa.

The room was nice. The bathroom was even nicer.. and big.

From the dressing area, there was a glass door. And then you will find the toilet.

Further from the toilet, there was a tub/shower.

These three things smelled really really nice.

After a quick rest, we went out to check out Kuta town.

Like I read before, it was quite like Indonesian version of our Patong. So, not really all that exciting to us.

Apparently, there was a thing going on Kuta beach at that time called Kuta Karnival. But not much going on when we were walking along the beach. Then something caught my eyes.

There were many people gathering on the beach, and local music were being played. So, we stayed to watch what was going on.

They were dancing while the sun going down.

It was pretty nice actually. All the kids were dancing with their teachers leading in front. I took a short(ish) video of it. I’ll see if I can upload it and post it later. After the dance, this guy (must be some kind of head of something) started walking round spraying water on the locals.

We didn’t do much after this as my sister wasn’t one to be out too late at night. We went back to the hotel to relax as the driver would come to pick us up at 8:30am next day.

———-

Putu turned up at 8:30am and we checked out of the hotel as we were staying in Ubud the next two days. I have to say that we were very impressed with Alam Kulkul. Service was great. Room was really nice. Staff were great. Can’t find anything to complain about the place. Oh wait, there is no wifi in room. Have to get username and password at the Reception and wifi is available around there.

Putu then took us to see a Barong Dance in Denpasar. It’s about a fight between the good (Barong) and the evil (Rangda). They provided a leaflet in English too, so you can read a bit of the story. Quite fun actually.

My sister said the Barong looked like a Shih Tzu.

Google is your friend, if you want to read up about the Barong Dance.

After the dance, we continued our journey to Kintamani and Putu stopped at this place for us to look at Batik stuff.

We agreed that this place was very touristy and way too expensive so we didn’t buy anything. So, we moved on. We were going to Kintamani first and made our way back down to Ubud in the afternoon.

Before hitting Kintamani, Putu stopped at this temple. You need to wear a sarong before going in. If you don’t have one, you can borrow from the temple and put some money in the donation box. At the gate, a bloke was standing there spraying water on people going in. It’s to clean you and your soul. When the guy is spraying water on you, you just raise your hands with your palms up, like in the last pic in my first post.

After the temple, we were back on the road. Not too long, Putu parked the car at a restaurant called Lake View for us to have lunch. From the restaurant, you can see Mt Batur and Lake Batur. They have tables on the outside, but we were not that lucky. But no problem, we didn’t take long to finish the buffet lunch (shit food) and we walked around to take pics.

The first time I saw a real volcano. Fucking amazing. I was really impressed. We took quite a few pics with the volcano in the background.

While looking for Putu, I noticed this chap. The first soi dog I came across in Bali, and he was all the way up near a volcano.

Next stop, Putu was so kind enough to stop at a shop where they sold some spa products. He also asked if we liked coffee. Having done some research before the trip, I hesitated but said yes quietly. These spa products were very good quality, according to Putu. It’d better be good, cos it’s quite expensive. But at least, I got the Javanese Lulur stuff for my friend. I couldn’t find it elsewhere during the whole trip. Outside the shop, there was a little corner where they sold their coffee beans. They got a few different types. One of them, Putu said… they gave the beans to the civet, the thing would only eat the best beans, they waited till the civet had a shit and they collected the shit and proceeded to make coffee beans out of it. Yep, that pretty much confirmed what I suspected. So, I politely declined when Putu asked if we wanted to drink coffee. I ain’t eating no poop.

After the poop place, we went to Pura Tirta Empul (or Temple of Holy Water) in Tempaksiring. Before going inside, you need to wear a sarong also. But can borrow at the temple, with a small donation.

Before hitting Ubud, Putu stopped at Tegalalang rice terrace for us to take a few pics.

Then, straight to our hotel in Ubud - Champlung Sari Hotel. Agoda charged us about 60 USD per night, inclusive of admin fee and breakfast. We read a bit of reviews and we prepared for a run down hotel. It was indeed a bit run down. But acceptable for us, as it’s cheap as chips and location was pretty good. It is located on Monkey Forest Street. After a quick walk around, we thought the location was definitely what we paid for. Being very close to the Monkey Forest, we didn’t need alarm clock at all as the little buggers came down our roof early morning every day, on their way to the hotel resaurant to steal the guests’ breakfast.

On Monkey Forest Street…

We found Ubud market and Monkey Forest Street to be the best place to shop. Pretty good price for pretty good quality. Loads of stuff there that you can bargain the price down at least 50%. We did some shopping in the evening, had a nice meal and a long chat, and went back to hotel to sleep. Early start next day again.

———-

Next morning, Putu came to pick us up early morning again. We were heading to Besakih Temple (the most important temple on the island) today. Before going there, Putu informed us that the people there were not very nice and only wanted money. He trained us a bit on the price thingy as he wouldn’t be able to accompany us, mainly because he didn’t have permission to take tourists up to the temple, I think.

So, we went to the desk to negotiate the fee to get a guy leading us up there. They originally quoted us ridiculous price, but having a trainer, we negotiated the price down a lot. We ended up paying 120,000 IDR for the guide. Don’t pay them 50 or 60 EUR. They are taking the piss.

So, we paid the money. Our guide didn’t look too happy when he knew how much we paid. Tough shit. The money guy gave in, so sort it out with him, cheeky sod.

Walking up the hill turned out to be quite a challenge to me as I haven’t had much exercise the past two years. There were a few temples in the Pura Besakih. Can probably say the temple is like a complex. It’s not just one temple.

The mountain in the background on the way up is called Mt Agung - the highest mountain on the island. There were quite a few folks doing their ceremony that day.

Next stop, Putu took us to Klungkung, an ancient palace. Not much going on there really. Not really worth a trip there.

Didn’t spend a lot of time there as there was not much to see. So, we headed to Goa Gajah or Elephant Cave.

There was holy water here too.

And here’s the cave..

We went inside, even though I am no good with narrow places. I kept looking at the way out of the cave to reassure myself that it’s there and I could run out anytime. Too dark, too spooky inside. So, we came back out and walked around the place a bit.

With all this walking, I must have lost some more weight. Anyway, after the cave, we came back to Ubud walking around some more. We wanted to try out their spa. So, walk walk walk. Talk talk talk. Either they didn’t have enough therapists, or they were too expensive. So, we gave up and spent our money on silk scarf, massage oil, soap, etc instead. Our feet were really hurt today so we didn’t even go out for dinner. I just couldn’t walk anymore.

———-

Our last day, Putu wasn’t available so he sent another guy on his team to take care of us instead. The driver was coming to pick us up at 10am, so we finished breakfast pretty quick and walked around a bit. We went to see Ubud Palace, which didn’t have anything to do there during the day, but it’s worth to come down in the evening to watch some dance.

We decided to check out the Ubud Market - again - before heading back to the hotel to meet our driver.

I wanted to buy some slippers from here, but the slipper lady asked for 80,000 IDR. We (read My sister) negotiated the price down a bit, but the slipper lady wouldn’t go lower than 40,000 IDR. We walked away, and she screamed OK OK How much you tell me. My sister said 20,000 and slipper lady said 30,000. We walked away again, and the slipper lady said OK OK 20,000 IDR. This walk-away trick works very well at Ubud Market and Sukawati Market (not worth it, Ubud market is better).

We were going to go to Tanah Lot as our last destination and off to the airport after. On the way, the driver stopped at a shop for us to look at the wood carving. Pretty neat, I have to say. I kind of liked how they put flowers everywhere.

Even on the Ganesh.

Last destination, Tanah Lot, is a temple by the sea. It’s on the West of the island. Very famous for sunset. But I’ve been told it’s too crowded then as everyone wants to see sunset here.

There was a Holy Snake (!!!!) .. and some more Holy Water (!!!!) here. But you have to pay to see the Holy Snake or wash your face with Holy Water. Like fook I would. So, that’s it. We were off to the airport. Maybe worth to remind everyone that, once you pass the Immigration at the airport, there is another counter where you have to pay 150,000 IDR to get out of the country. Make sure you don’t change all your money back to USD or whatever. While they accept other currencies at the counter, the rate is proper shit. Best to keep 150,000 IDR with you for them.

All in all, we had a great time there. Wish we had brought more USD with us, as the THB rate was proper shit there. I find the people to be pretty nice and friendly. Monkey Forest Street has really nice smell, because of all the oil and flowers and stuff. We will definitely return.

PS. I think I forgot to mention all the six packs on Kuta beach. Aussie’s they might be. But still makes a nice change from all the beer guts in Thailand I see.

I don’t really know where to start. So, let me just say this first…

What a fucking trip.

We got a good deal on Nok Air, so I agreed with two of my colleagues (all girls) to go to Hanoi for 3 days.

We had booked a hotel (40 USD) and airport pickup service (12 USD) well in advance. When we landed at Noi Bai airport as scheduled, there was no one to pick us up. Strange town, strange people, strange language! After a while we decided to grab a taxi to the hotel ourselves.

The taxi we got from the airport agreed on 12 USD flat rate from the airport to the hotel. I had my guard up, having read so many stories about scams in Hanoi. When the taxi passed a toll-booth looking thingy, we saw his company (yes, he had a company!) paid something like 10,000 VND to someone before reaching the booth. But didn’t pay anything at the booth.

He asked us how much we were paying the hotel, and one of us told him we hadn’t paid yet. And he asked again how much, so I lied and told him 29 USD. He exclaimed “Expensive!” and started going on about 10 USD hotels, etc etc. None of his business really if we wanted safety and comfort.

And he finally parked in front of the hotel (I think it was), and before we could get out, a guy opened the taxi and said “You’ve booked a room right? Sorry, the hotel is full now. But I will tell the taxi driver to take to another hotel of us with the same quality and same price. It’s not too far. It’s also in town.”

I wasn’t too sure, but this hotel does have another branch.

And off we went.

The taxi driver dropped us at some sort of hotel (it’s actually a travel agent with rooms upstairs). When I gave him 12 USD, he started making a scene and showed me a A4 size paper - all in Vietnamese language with “300,000 VND” on it. He demanded we paid this 300,000 VND also (approx 18.75 USD) as it was “government fee”, referring to the toll-booth looking thingy.

Government fee my arse.

I asked him how come the toll booth fee was higher than the actual taxi fare. He didn’t answer, but started making a scene again that we had to pay. Then, we told him we would look at the room first and would come back to deal with him shortly.

The room was ok. And the hotel receptionist said “So that hotel charged you 29 USD right? We’ll charge the same rate.”

So, how come you knew they were charging us 29 USD then? And it wasn’t even the right amount!

We negotiated the price down, and done at 25 USD, including breakfast. And they confirmed they opened 24/7, e.g. not going to lock us out if we came back late.

And we went down to the taxi driver again. We decided to pay to end this hoo-ha as it’s a bloody waste of time. We gave him 300,000 VND with the “take it or leave it” remark. He took it while still complaining and drove off. I suspect the 300,000 VND thingy was in fact the car tax for the whole year. So, if you are sure you are safe from them, tell your taxi driver to fuck off.

We got changed and came down stairs to ask about one day tour to Halong Bay that we wanted to go the next day. The same receptionist quoted us 25 USD for ordinary tour and lunch. We negotiated down to 23 USD and couldn’t be bothered to negotiate further.

It was a join tour (16 pax) and it shouldn’t cost you more than 20 USD. So, again, if you are sure you are safe from them, tell them to fuck off. Or go to another travel agent. Someone will definitely start from 20 USD and you can probably get it at 16 - 18 USD.

After paying yet another overpriced tour, we went out to explore the city. Only took us 3 and half hours to get all this shit done.

Hanoi was very noisy. There were many many motorbikes. And everyone seemed to be going at the car/bike horn all the time. Madness.

We walked around for a bit (with a Thai older man we met at the hotel) and we got rid of him when we got annoyed. He was quite strange.

Anyway… so while we were making our way back to the hotel, we spotted a pub we had walked past earlier (and there were a few cute men hanging out there) so we went in for a cold one. It’s called Le Pub.

My cold one cost 16,000 VND (or 1 USD). Pho cost 20,000 VND here (7,000 VND on the street, but it wasn’t very comfortable to sit).

When we walked into the hotel, we saw the taxi driver there chatting away with the hotel boys.

Cheeky bastard.

So, they were in it all together.

Anyway… we got some rest as it was quite cold for us, it was a long day, and we had to get up early for the Halong Bay trip.

We went down the next morning around 7.30 AM for breakfast. Some dodgy french bread, butter and jam, and coffee or tea.

While waiting for the van to pick us up, we took a look around the area.

And the van finally turned up. So, we started our (approx) 3 hours journey to Halong harbour.

The van stopped for 20 minutes at a place where you could buy (overpriced) souvenir.

And not too long, we arrived at Halong harbour. At long fucking last.

There were hundreds of boats here, heading to Halong Bay daily. Here, your tour guide will give you a ticket which you have to keep on you. They will check this ticket again at the cave. The ticket is included in the tour price.

It was quite an adventurous walking through another boat, and hopping on the next one, trying not to fall off. Take your rucksack if you have stuff with you. Even if it was just a bloody book. Oh, and DO take your own drinks. It was expensive on the boat.

When everyone was ready, our driver started engine, bumping and pushing other boats to get out. And we were on the way to Halong Bay.

….. and no sign of lunch yet. Everyone was starving. We were wondering why they were not serving lunch yet. After 45 minutes into the journey, we knew why.

They stopped here, trying to sell you some fresh seafood. Errm.. very fresh.

These buggers cost 200,000 VND per kilo. That’s 12.5 USD. They were funny looking. And a few of them were so big they would take up the whole table after they were cooked.

No, thanks.

After a long while, the boat started moving again. And not long, lunch was served!! Yippee!!

There were also two dishes (fish and.. I forgot) after this, but we were too hungry to wait. So, no pics of them.

Stomach was full and we were happy again so we started enjoying the scenery in Halong Bay.

Kind of. I think the southern of Thailand is more beautiful.

Next stop was a cave. They did it nicely for tourists.

Let’s take a look inside.

Your tour guide will tell you all the stories about it. Their accent might be a bit difficult to understand, though.

After the cave, the boat made her way to Cat Ba island to drop people who were staying the night in Halong Bay off. The rest went back with the boat to Halong harbour and took a van back to Hanoi. We arrived back in Hanoi around 8.30PM.

Knackered.

But we continued our journey and went to the night market.

It’s located on Hang Dao street, and go all the way from Hoan Kiem Lake to Dong Xuan Market. Lots of cheap stuff you can get as souvenir and this is the best place to buy. But you have to be a bit patient, as the Vietnamese like to push their way. They probably don’t even realise they do it. I mean.. all of them. We got pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed. Until we had enough, and decided to go back get some rest.

The last day, we got our tickets for the Water Puppet at 2:45 PM. They do have an extra round on Sundays at 9.30 AM.

As it was our last day, we decided to go for a proper breakfast elsewhere. And here it is…

This one cost 25,000 VND, and the tea cost 10,000 VND. That’s about 2.19 USD in total.

After breakfast was shopping time. Around Hoan Kiem Lake, there were thousands of shops. Very good prices for shoes, boots, and bags. I was more interested in the Huc Bridge over Hoan Kiem Lake.

Then, we went back to hotel to check out. And got on cyclos for an hour tour. They asked for 5 USD per hour. But we got the price down to 3 USD. You can try for 2 USD as many people got it at that price.

Shophouses in Hanoi

When an hour was up, we got something to eat, and headed to the Water Puppet Theatre. The tickets are 20,000 and 40,000 VND. Though they write they charge 15,000 VND for photographs during show, and 75,000 VND for video, no one bothers to pay or to ask someone to pay.

The show takes about 50 minutes, I think.

After the Water Puppet, we walked around a little bit more and got back to hotel. We got a taxi to the airport via the hotel we stayed at 14 USD. And we made the guy promise us there would be no fucking extra fees this time. He did. So, although the fee was a little higher than it was supposed to be, we were okay with it.

Lots of people flying out. Most of them were Thai. And we had a pleasant journey home.

Oh how I missed civilisation.

More pics from this trip are here.

It was a 3 day weekend here (again), and my friend, Stephan, invited me to go up to Mukdahan with him. His family live there. So does our mutual friend, Patrick. So, off we went.

We left Bangkok on Saturday early morning, and arrived in Mukdahan 7 hours later. Stephan’s driver used to be in F1, I believe.

It was very nice to see Ta and Alex (Stephan’s wife and son) again also. It’s been a long time. The first night, they took me out to dinner by the Mekong River. Nice food. And a bit windy also. After dinner, we went to Boss bar where we started to wonder if it was a gay bar.

We seemed to be there a bit too early, as it was literally empty when we got there. After a few drinks, we moved on to Grand Hotel Karaoke. We were the third table in there.

And before we all fell asleep, we moved on to Grand Hotel Disco. Now, this place was supposed to be full of actions and shows and people, according to Patrick. It was almost empty again when we got there. Not sure what was happening. Or NOT happening as the case may be.

It was a Saturday night, and they got no shows whatsoever on stage. It’s about two hours later that a band started playing.

All teenage boys, with a singer who couldn’t bloody sing.

Noise pollution it was. And we headed home just in time before we all lost our hearings as the music was so unbelievably loud.

The temperature was about 19C at 1:30am. You would think it would not be too hot in the day.

Well, it was about 32C the next afternoon.

Patrick took me down to the Mekong river. Across the river, that’s Laos.

Along the river on Thailand side, there are many shops and stuff - called Indochina Market.

(Yes, some of the locals wear a jacket during the day where it is 32C.)

This one reminded me of Tom. Want some more garlic? Hehehe.

Next stop was Mukdahan Tower (the locals call it Hor Keaw).

Admission fee was 20 THB, which is the same price for a Thai and a foreigner. No dual pricing policy here. You can walk 360degree up there to enjoy the view. In the ball on top of the observation deck, there were some Buddha statues.

After this, Patrick took me to a temple on a hill. I can’t remember the name of the temple.

This’s where the monks live.

Here’s where they keep drinking water.

We then came back home for a little rest. Then, drove down to the Indochina Market again, this time with Stephan, Ta and Alex.

Cute little boy he is. While he was running around, he actually fell and landed on his forehead before bouncing back. He didn’t cry. I mean… he didn’t even make any noise out of it. And not too long, he started running around exploring shops again. Adorable!

We didn’t do anything much this evening, just dinner and karaoke, as we planned to get up early the next morning.

We did wake up early. Ish.

Before it started getting too hot, we made our way a bit out of the city centre to Ta’s village. She lived there for about six years, and her mother moved to the city centre.

From the looks of things, it must be freezing at night out here.

In front of many houses, they have this thing in front.

Apparently, there is a Widow Ghost around. So, they put this in front of the house to fool the ghost so she leaves the real men inside the house alone.

We spent some more time down the Mekong river, discussing how illegal immigrants come into Thailand.

Then, back to the compound where I started packing. And found a mobile vendor. I mean, literally mobile.

After some rest, Stephan and Patrick took me to the Night Market for a bite to eat before my journey back home.

Quite lively for a tiny town.

I took a photo of one certain street vendor..

When the flash went off, the guy in the photo jumped probably thinking he was struck by lightening or something, which made all his “colleagues” laughed.

I took a VIP bus (24 seats) back to Bangkok, leaving Mukdahan at 8:10pm and arriving Bangkok at 4:45am.

It was a wonderful weekend. Lovely to see everyone again. And Alex is definitely adorable! A big Thank You to Stephan, Ta and Patrick. You all are great.
A few more pics from this trip can be found here.

Things have finally calmed down and so here I am again.

Been busy moving office, then a few trips here and there.

We went down to Phuket for a couple of days, but didn’t take many photos as the weather was absolute shite. Lots of rain. Which forced us to spend a lot of time in bars.

Tom took me out to a rather romantic dinner for belated birthday.

After coming back to Bangkok, we were still busy with stuff. Things were getting tense with work and stuff, so we went on a roadtrip for a week.

Our first stop was Ayuddhaya province. We walked around to see old temples (ruins) for a bit.

There was a fair at a temple nearby. I felt like a kid again.

There was a nice bar there, which the name escapes me at the moment, will have to check with Tom. All the staff were really nice and friendly. They had a guy called “Mr Lek Clapton” playing guitar at night. He was pretty good, really. He was good fun also.

The next day, we stopped in Lopburi province, aiming to see the sunflowers. Accommodation in Lopburi is really poor. Not many choices. Let alone “good” choices.

We drove around trying to find the sunflowers fields, but couldn’t find the bloody thing. When we stopped at a petrol station to ask for directions, the gas boy was more interested in laughing at the Missing Trainer.

Thing is, Tom stuck his trainers on top of the car (under the rails) and drove off. Just noticed at the petrol station that one of them had fallen off. So, not much fun after discovering that, we decided to drink instead.

RIP, my friend. You (both of you) served Tom well.

After a rather long session of drinking, we were walking back to the hotel, then Tom decided he was hungry and wanted to walk further to 7-eleven to get something to eat.

Just before reaching 7-eleven, there was one angry dog barking at us. The bloody thing didn’t stop just that, he walked to us, barking all the time. We were scared shitless, but kept walking. The bloody thing still followed us. And we got into the 7-eleven. There was no way we were going to walk past that bloody thing again. So, we had to take a detour - walking through a market (which was already closed and it was dark).

Of course, there were a few more angry dogs in there. But at least, those bloody things didn’t follow us.

Oh, for what it’s worth, Lopburi only has ONE bar in town. But the guy who runs it is very nice.
And there are millions of monkeys there. They are everywhere, seriously.

Anyway, so next day, we drove to Nakon Ratchasima (Korat).

After a hectic and long night in Lopburi, we took it easy. That, and because we got there a little late. So, we walked around town a little bit, and went for dinner in a pub, Bule Saloon. Not long until The Saxophone Band started playing. We really enjoyed their music.

Our next stop (and destination) was Surin province. We went out drinking with my mate, Yorky, and the locals. Played some snooker. Continued drinking. It was a long night. And my stomach started acting up.

So, the next day we decided to stay there another night as the hangover was bad and my stomach was bad also. We didn’t do anything much. Really took it easy. I just took him to the Silk Village. Tom was very impressed.

That evening, we drove out to RID canal and went to Good View for dinner. The food was absolute shite. Very disappointed.

Next day, time to start heading back home. Tom was driving (as he was 99% of the trip) when reaching a check point. The policeman asked for Tom’s driver license, which is NOT an international one. But luckily, the policeman noticed Tom was English so he told us that England had lost to Croatia the night before. We had a quick chat and he waved us goodbye saying “I’m sorry England lost”.

Thank you, England, for losing!

It was a long drive, and it was getting late again. We decided to make another stop before coming back to Bangkok. We drove up to Khao Yai from Saraburi side.

Didn’t go so far up as we were tired. So, checked into a resort so Tom could jump into the pool to relax. We had dinner at Dairy Home. Tom said his steak was really nice. My stomach was still acting up so I decided to go for salmon. Not bad too. Very happy with this meal. That definitely made up for the shite one at Good View.

There was nothing to do up there, so we relaxed in the resort. It was nice, actually.

The next day, we started our journey again, but the car started to have serious problem when we were driving around in Bangkok, so we decided to go to the outskirt of Bangkok - not too far from my Dad’s house.

The next night was Loy Krathong festival, so we still stayed there as it was near the river.

There were not many foreigners in the area. And Tom was the only foreigner at the pier when we went to float our Krathongs.

It was good fun for both of us. Tom was very excited about it all. I hadn’t joined this festival for years also. So, it was a great night.

That was the last night on this roadtrip. We drove back into town the next day.

There were lots of things happened during the entire 8 days on this roadtrip. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Well, okay, maybe could of changed a couple of nights.

But all in all, it was good fun. And I will never forget it.

Thanks, Tom, for everything.

Feeling a bit weird last week, I went down to Hua Hin for a relaxing weekend with a friend.

We booked a room at Sundance, a new hotel, located right behind the San Paulo hospital. We booked a room through an agent, but slight error, so we managed to upgrade the room, paid the difference of room rates there, and we couldn’t be happier.

Our deluxe room was nice, big, clean and comfortable. Hotel staff were polite, friendly and helpful. Highly recommend. Hotel review can be found here.

We just went down to the beach, had good food, and went to an open-air bar.

On Sunday, before coming back to Bangkok, we went up to Khao Takiab. Fed some monkeys. Had lunch at a restaurant at the bottom of the hill.

Then, we went to Hua Hin Train Station. I didn’t realise it was so close to that bleedin’ traffic lights. I had always thought it was hidden somewhere. Duh.

Next stop was Mrigadayavan Palace, in Cha-Am.

Look for this sign at the main gate on the main road.

The palace is located 14 kms north of Hua Hin. It was constructed in 1923 under King Rama VI’s command to be his summer palace. The palace was built from materials from the dismantled buildings of the old residence at the nearby Chao Samran Beach.

Before getting into the buildings, the staff will advise if you need to dress more appropriately. No shorts, sleeveless shirts, short skirts. And no shoes allowed. For ladies, if you don’t dress appropriately, they will lend you a shirt and a sarong. As for shoes, you can leave them at the front, but then you will need to walk back with bare feet on the ground (one-way traffic on the buildings). But you can get some sort of bag so you can take your shoes with you also.

Mrigadayavan was known as the palace of love and hope because when Queen Indrasakdi Sachi was pregnant, King Vajiravudh was extremely hopeful in anticipation of an heir. The king took great care of her throughout her pregnancy. Regrettably, the queen miscarried. King Vajiravudh finally got a daughter, Princess Bejaratana, born to Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana just one day before he passed away.

It was fashioned in Thai-Victorian style with an elevated airy walkway that connects all the rooms in the compound.

The palace was initially designed by King Vajiravudh himself. And the king appointed an Italian architect, Ercole Manfredi, who worked in the Civil Works Department, to put the finishing touches to the design.

High ceilings and fretwork on all walls facilitated good ventilation and made the most of sea breeze. Building the entire construction on stilts ensured that the compound could be easily kept clean. Ants were controlled by niches for water around each concrete pillar and along the walls connecting to the ground. This is a good example of using a simple and non-chemical method to control these annoying creatures. There is a total number of 1,080 concrete pillars.

Mrigadayavan Palace consists of 16 golden teak buildings which are divided into 3 groups. All are linked together throughout the palace by verandas on stilts. Details of each group of buildings are as follows:

1. Samoson Sevakamataya Group of Buildings
This group of buildings is part of the front court where official business was dealt with. Both men and women worked together there. It consists of a pavilion-like theatre, an audience chamber, an office for the Royal Aide-de-Camp General and a room for night duty chamberlains.

Audience Chamber

The apartment of the Grand Chamberlian and Chief Aide-de camp General

The Front Court Dining Pavillion

2. Bisansagara Group of Buildings
This group of buildings was the king’s personal residence (no photos allowed). It consists of a Royal Suite which has an office, a bedroom, a dressing room, and a bathroom. Inside the bedroom, there stands a four-post bed with a white canopy. The office, in which King Rama VI loved to sit and compose his poetical works at night, now accommodates only a desk and chair once used by the king. Nearby this group of buildings are lodges for royal pages, next to which is a royal kitchen.

From this group of buildings, at the end of the verandas on stilts, you can see a beach pavilion whose roof supports a cross-like post. The post was not intended as a symbol of any religion. Instead, it was used as an indicator of the king’s activities. That is, when the yellow lantern was on, it meant that the king would be ready to grant an audience. And when the green lantern was shown, it was known that the king was not in residence.

Visitors are not allowed to walk down that corridor.

3. Samudabiman Group of Buildings
The Samudabiman group of buildings constitutes the inner court of the palace where men except the king were forbidden to enter. It served as the residence for HM Queen Indrasakdi Sachi (no photos allowed). In the same cluster are buildings for her sister and her entourage, a dining pavilion and a beach pavilion. King Vajiravudh usually had his Thai-style lunch at the dining pavilion in the inner court.

The palace had been neglected since King Rama VI passed away in 1925. It was not until 1965 that King Bhumibol, the present king, ordered the palace to be renovated.

On the way back to the front, there is another building with a few more rooms.

Ironing, Sewing and Darning

Room for female attendants

The palace is open from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm (closed on Wednesdays). Admission fee for adults is 30 THB.

Another place well worth a visit.

More pics from the palace are here.
Source of info on the palace:
http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/hua_hin/hua_hin_attractions_mrigadayavan.html

Very interesting story: A Royal Love Story, Mrigadayavan Palace: A place of love and hope

After a year or so of “wanting to go there”, I’ve finally made it oop norf for a few days.

It was basically pissing down just before my flight to Chiang Mai (at 1:15pm).

But the flight was not too exciting, compare to my flight back from KL.

I made it up to Chiang Mai safe and sound. I was quite excited as I hadn’t been oop norf for at least 20 years. I took a tuk tuk from the airport to Inspire House on Rattanakosin Road for 80 THB. Apparently, there are metered taxis in Chiang Mai also, but not too many of them that I could see. Many tuk tuks and songtaews though.

My aircon room at Inspire House cost 500 THB (room only). Wifi is available, for a fee. See my review on the hotel here.

After checked in, I grabbed the map and went out for a walk. I was trying to find my way around town, so walking was the best way to do it. Took a few photos around town. And ended up walking all the way from Rattanakosin Road, to Thapae Gate!!!

The next day, I moved to another guest house, Banilah (pronounce Ban-I-Lah), located behind Sote Suksa School. The single aircon room I got was 500 THB (room only). Wifi is available for free. See my review on the hotel here.

I went to Chiang Mai Zoo on my Day 2. Entrance fee for a Thai national is 50 THB. Probably 100 THB for a foreigner.

The place was too big to walk around. So, it’s best to drive. But if you don’t get a car, there’s also a shuttle service available for 20 THB/round. You can hop on and off, no problem.

The stars of the Zoo must be the Pandas, Chuang-Chuang and Lin-Hui. Visitors must buy another ticket to go in to see the Pandas (50 THB for me). Before you walk in, the staff will put a sticker on your camera’s flash as it will damange the Pandas’ eyesight. When you walk in, you will see the signs repeatedly warn you to keep quiet and not to use flash on your camera. Because their ears can hear noise a lot better than human beings. And their eyes are sensitive to light.

Lin-Huih

More pics in Chiang Mai Zoo gallery

The next day, I made a quick trip to Chiang Rai. I took a 40 seat Green Bus from Chiang Mai bus station (Arcade). Maybe it’s just me, but I tried to phone the number advertised on their website, but no one every picked up. So, if anyone tries to call their customer service number but can never get through, try these numbers instead: 053 266 480 to 4.

Bus takes about 3 hours. Chiang Rai was quiet. Even the Night Bazaar was not that lively. Or maybe I just don’t know where the bars are.

I haven’t done a review on the hotel I stayed in Chiang Rai yet. Can’t quite bring myself to. I didn’t enjoy it at all. Ok, except free Wifi.

Anyway, I did some walking around Chiang Rai town. Saw some beautiful temples there.

Wat Prakaew, Chiang Rai

When I took the Green Bus back to Chiang Mai, I decided to get a 24 seat VIP bus. Oh, it’s much more comfortable. I usually have enough patience to handle a two hour journey on a bus. Plus, Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai, you have to drive up and down, left and right, along the hills. Headach!!! So, VIP bus was best option for me and my limited patience.

When I got back to Chiang Mai, I checked into another B&B, 3Sis Bed and Breakfast. This one is located on soi Prapokklao 8. Perfect location for the Sunday market on walking street. See my review on 3Sis is here.

There are lots and lots of stuff for any shopaholic people. Plus, many street performances.

I did buy some good stuff from there. Hehehe.

Before coming back to Bangkok, I did some walking around town again, mainly to take photos of those beautiful temples.

Wat Loke Molee, Chiang Mai.

More pics of the temples are here.

Chiang Mai was lovely. The air was better than Bangkok. And the culture… historical stuff. There are many temples in the old town. Very beautiful.

It was a very nice trip, bar some bollocks I got from a certain someone. I’ll definitely go up there again.

About time I update this blog.

Not much has been happening though. Just a lot of work. So, I’ve been very tired.

I haven’t been down the pub for two weeks now. Got bored. Didn’t want to drink.

Anyway, I had a free day last weekend, and I was home in Pathumthani. So, I decided to go to Bang Pa-In Palace (Summer Palace) in Ayuddhaya province.

From Wikitravel

Originally built by Ayutthayan King Prasat Thong in 1632 but abandoned after the sack of Ayutthaya in 1767, the site was partially restored by King Mongkut (Rama IV) in the 1850s. The site as it stands today, however, is largely the work of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), who expanded the area into a Versaillesque garden filled with European-style buildings in 1872-1889. Last restored in 2001, the palace and its grounds are maintained in immaculate shape and well worth a visit.

I think it was my first visit there. Admission fees are 30 THB for a Thai, and 100 THB for a foreigner. Open from 8 am until 4 pm.

The entire place is rather big. So, if you are with a couple of people, or with elderly people, there are these little thingys available for rent.

There is a lot of green areas.

Main buildings in the “outside” zone are…

Exhibition Hall (Saphakhan Ratchaprayun)
Built in year 1879.

Ho Hem Monthian Tevaraj
Built in year 1880.

Divine Seat of Personal Freedom (Aisawan Thiphya-At)
Built in year 1876.

Excellent and Shining Heavenly Abode (Warophat Phiman)
Built in year 1876. No photos allowed inside this building. The Royal Family stay in this building whenever they come to visit Bang Pa-In Palace. All female visitors have to wear a skirt. If wearing pants, there are sarongs you can borrow there.

In the “inside” zone, this’s where the former King and Queens, Princesses, etc stayed.

Between the “inside” and “outside” zone, they were connected by a bridge. Along this bridge, no one could look into the “inside” zone, while the “inside” zone could look out.

Tevaraj Kanlai Gate

Uthayan Phumisathian
This was the most favourite building of King Rama V. Unfortunately, the whole building was damaged in a fire in year 1938. However, H.M.Queen Sirikit managed to have the building rebuilt in year 1994.

Sages’ Lookout (Ho Withun Thasana)
Built in year 1881.

Heavenly Light (Wehart Chamrun)
Built in year 1889, by Chinese merchants for King Rama V.

Rajanusorn and Queen Sunanda Memorial
In year 1880, Queen Sunanda passed away in an accident while travelling by boat to Bang Pa-In Palace. King Rama V built a memorial to her.

Three years later, King Rama V then lost three children in one year. This is the memorial.

Residence of H.M.Queen Sawang Vadhana

There are more pics from Bang Pa-In Palace in the Gallery. It is definitely worth a visit.

Last Saturday, I decided to do some touristy stuff.

I took a boat trip on Chao Phraya River.

I searched for information and went down to the Pier to go on the journey on my own.

I took the BTS (Skytrain) to Taksin Bridge station, and got down to Satorn Pier. There, you can see the Chao Phraya Express Boat booth. If you plan to hop on and off the boat a lot, instead of paying for the fare everytime, you can buy a one day pass for 100 THB. With this one day pass, you will get a guidebook full of useful information about the Piers the tourist boat stops at, time table, etc. And it is also good on other boats of the same company.

Guidebook

On the tourist boat, there was one guide onboard explaining things, telling what were on both sides on the way. There are quite a few beautiful buildings by the river.

Holy Rosary Church

Chinese Pagoda

Santa Cruz Church

Royal Seminary

My first stop was Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn).

My next stop was Wat Pho.

And Wat Prakaew (Temple of Emerald Buddha).

And the Grand Palace.

My last stop was the Royal Barge Museum.

To get here, there used to be (sort of) shuttle boat from Pra Arthit Pier directly to the museum. But no more. So, nowadays, as advised in the Guidebook, you need to hop off the boat at Wang Lang Pier, and either take a tuk tuk (about 50 THB ride), or walk (directions stated in the Guidebook).

I don’t remember admission fee. It’s definitely 10 THB for a Thai national. Different price for a foreigner. But same fee if you want to take a camera to take photos inside, which is 100 THB. I think it’s 200 THB for video camera. Once you pay the camera fee, you will get a tag saying that you are allowed to take photos inside.
Suphannahong

Narai Song Suban Rama IX

There a few more photos already uploaded to the Gallery.

All of the places I mentioned above (except the Royal Barge Museum, of course) can be accessed easily by boat. There are a few more temples along the river, but I was totally exhausted from the heat so I called the day after the museum.

I had a great time.