Kanchanaburi - Tiger Temple.

Wed 2nd May.


We drive for about 1/2 hour to Tiger Temple - what we have both been waiting for. The temple is operated by Buddhist monks as a sancturary/home for tigers.
This was an incredible experience - we where able to sit next to the tigers, stroke them & have our photos taken - and they weren't even chained up. I must admit I was a wee bit nervous....they are mainly controlled by squirting water at them if they dare to misbehave & voice recognition. There is definitely a special relationship between the tigers & the monks, you can see a mutual respect.
Tere & I felt so privileged to have come that close to these magnificent creatures. Something we will both remember for the rest of our lives.

Kanchanaburi - Elephant Camp

Wed 2nd May.

Kanchanaburi - River Kwei

Wed 2nd May.



Picked up by our tour mini-bus - 2 1/2 hr drive north west of Bangkok.
Another speedy driver. VIsit the World War 2 cemetery to acknowledge all allied forces whom lost their lives, the grounds are immaculately kept - emotional experience.

Then to "Jearth Museum" - museum documenting how prisoners of war were kept when the Japanese forced the m to build "Death railway". Very interesting, photos, weapons, articles.

Then we caught a Thai speedboat (long narrow boat with car engine attached) we sped down Kwei River at high speed.
Then up to Kwei Bridge we were able to walk across.

Then drove up to train station & we climb aboard train over "Death Railway" - spectacular scenery of lush green countryside.
At end we are picked up by our minivan & transported to Elephant Camp - where we have lunch Thai style - vege rice with chilli - the food here is sublime!!

BANGKOK

Mon 30 April - Thurs 3rd May.




Walked out onto the streets - hit by the heat, hot air!
Streets are absolutely lined with stalls everywhere - food/clothes/jewellery/shoes/bags - anything & everything!!
We seem to be in a "touristy" area.
The tuk tuk drivers are very cheeky - they follow you down the street trying to get you to go with them - we are good at igoring them now.

Bangkok is so colourful - particularly the area we are staying, we don't even know where we are geographically in the bigger picture of Bangkok..huge.
Seems to be a poorer area - lots of derelict buildings, dirty streets.
We go to one of the wats & speak to a local - who arranges a mini expedition for the rest of our day. He gives us handy tips including phrases ' Pang Pai' means too expensive..
We hire a tuk tuk driver to drive us around for the rest of the day - he is a maniac driver as we speed through the streets of Bangkok weaving in and out of trafffic- at one stage we are driving on the wrong side of the road with a car coming towards us & we pull out of the way at the last minute...like something out of James Bond movie..

We go to a travel agent to arrange rest of itinerary for Thailand, another wat (temple) with HUGE Buddha statue, then dinner at a fancy seafood restaurant & yes I even try some of Tere's squid/prawn noodles! YUMMY food :-)

An exhilarating first day/night in Bangkok - the kind of experience/culture shock we were both after.

SINGAPORE SNAPS

SWEATYPORE SLING

Over 24hrs into our journey. Singapore. Heat and humidity. A real contrast to Wellington, but I get the feeling a very gentle introduction to the rest of Asia. Lots of english, easy to follow public transport,a bit of haggling, and the temperature is quite bearable.

Staying in Little India. Last night we came back to our room for a rest after walking for most of the day. An hour later we stepped onto the streets and they were absolutely packed with people. Some sort of Indian / Hindi Festival before a public holiday the next day. We were completely naive to this. These sorts of unplanned things are what we are really looking forward to.

Purchased a camera yesterday, so pics will be coming in upcoming posts. Off to Bangkok tonight.

'Brainwipe' Highlights:

There's been a few already, but the one that takes the cake, was the guy selling a natural rememdy for hemorroids on the street, complete with large full colour before and after photos. Nice.

- For those unfamiliar with the term "Brainwipe", this is a term coined at Natcoll, and basically describes something we find, see, or hear which changes the whole concept of what we previously thought was acceptably humourous. I'm sure they'll be plenty on this trip