-
Day 13: Kanchanburi-Bangkok-Hanoi
Today was a long day. As Mick Thomas wrote, “There’s no point writing postcards on your bad days”, so I’ll try to keep it short. L and I got almost no sleep last night. The combination of hard bed and threat of sleeping through alarms and missing the 7.20am train kept us restless. We made it to the train with plenty of time, thanks to a moped taxi with bolted on side seating, but when we boarded we ended up in the car with all the locals. Not a problem in the company, but this car just has two long bench seats with absolutely no padding, as in even less…
-
Day 12: Chilling in Kanchanaburi
After 2 days in the jungle (well, not far from the main road, to be fair, but the accommodation was pretty basic) it was time for a relaxed, pampering day. We didn’t manage the sleep in, while our guest house has great, firm pillows, the firm bed is a bit too, well, firm, but we did manage to put off entering the outside world for a while. Then it was breakfast on the corner, steamed rice, crispy fried pork, and a fried egg, so kind of bacon and egg, local style (with a nice bowl of chili fish sauce). Our mission was to check out the various places on the…
-
Day 11: Soi Yak/Kanchanburi, Mali and me
Elephants are amazing animals. A-maz-ing. Even to a cynical buffoon like me, elephants are something special. I’ve just had two of the most amazing days of my life, where from metaphorically dawn to dusk L and I were among 9 unchained, uncaged, free range elephants. Strictly speaking, we weren’t actually with them all of that time, it would be cruel and unusual to force almost any animal to spend that much time with me (the exception would be for cats, as I’m easily trained and put out a decent amount of body heat). L and I took the overnight option at the Thailand Elephant Sanctuary in Soi Yak, 40km from…
-
Day 10: Sok Yai Elephant Haven
Elephants! We’ve spent the day hanging out with 9 elephants. Our first cooking class of the day was banana sticky rice balls for our large four-legged friends, and chopping watermelon. Elephants are huge fans of most vegetarian options (except spicy food), and hand feeding elephants is a truly incredible experience, feeling the strength, flexibility, and dexterity of their trunks. Elephants are awesome. They are also the stealth bomber of the jungle, at least twice today we had one sneak up on our group, appearing out of nowhere. They could follow you and you wouldn’t hear a sound. They are also cute. Very cute. Hanging with elephants is mostly about food,…
-
Day 9: The slow and loud train to Kanchanaburi
We started the day in Bangkok, quite slowly as we’re both feeling a bit of the effects of unfamiliar beds, including pillows far too soft. Regardless of all the head and neck massages, these pillows provide all the support of your average conservative politician. I fought off the headache with paracetamol, caffeine, and some ordinary bacon and eggs from the hotel cafe breakfast, before feeling up to facing the day. Packing and checking out done, we were in a taxi and off to Thonburi station. For those not familiar with this place (including our driver, who had to use his GPS), this is the station where the third-class trains to…
