Alison had a weeks holiday over Tet and so we decided to have an adventure in Thailand which was a fantastc time.
On the way we had a day in Ho Chi Minh City and went to the Dam Sen Water Park in Saigon. The taxi driver warned us to watch out for pickpockets and it was PACKED full of Vietnamese families enjoying their public holiday. I counted a total of 12 other westerners sprinkled through the crowd of hundreds.
Lachy found it hard - he broke a bone in his hand at school and is in a cast so he wasn't allowed in the water. Alison was a great mother and comforted Lachy while the other three boys had an absolute blast. His broken bone brings the boys total up to number 5 fracture between the 3 of them !!!!
Tet lucky tree at the water park.
Flying out of Saigon later that evening - off to Bangkok!
Bangkok City
The hotel in Bangkok was along a canal and across the canal was a very different type of accommodation for an older man.
Bangkok is divided by the Mae Nam Chao Phraya river and a great way to get a different view of the city is to take a river boat.
With so many people in Bangkok the transport system has to be pretty extensive and includes a Sky Rail (train), and elevated freeways which leads to massive concrete structures.
Hairy Tuk Tuk ride Bangkok style.
We watched the sun set at the Moon Bar at Vertigo which is perched on the top of 61 floors of skyscraper and offers a unique birds-eye view of Bangkok.
Josh making the most of his new binoculars that he'd bargained hard for at Chatuchak Market.
Pete had to wear a traditional Thai lap lap as the dress code was long pants and he only had shorts!
As promised we headed to Dream World Bangkok and let the kids loose in the theme park.
Josh invited Lachy to join him on the first serious ride they found. Little did Lachy know what he was in for....
He will never make that mistake again!!
Josh on the other hand loved it
Havent seen Lachy look this pale for ages. We went for something a bit more sedate after that
The overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai was a fantastic experience even with smelly boys feet!
Relaxing by the pool at Chiang Mai after a long train journey.
Wat Phra Singh was an impressive temple with the famous Phra Singh (lion Buddha) in Old Town Chiang Mai.
In one of the temples they had four monks sitting very still meditating. It was only after a few minutes and some close scrutiny that we realized that the monks were made of wax!
The following day we went to visit the Elephant Nature Park and spent the day with rescued elephants, feeding them, washing them in the river and getting a great insight into the life of an elephant. The reserve was established by Lek, a local Thai woman. It was a great day, really special. They also had about 400 dogs they had rescued from the streets many of them from Bangkok during their terrible floods. We had to avoid the ones with the red collars - they were the unfriendly ones.
Elephant snacks
Josh made his usual special animal connection
No he hasnt taken up beer yet. This was Finn's latest culinary adventure - Thai fried whole fish. He's been surprisingly brave with food.
Chiang Mai Night Market - we spent a long time at the weapons stall. The boys could NOT believe the loot available in there . You name it, it was for sale. Finn picked up a genuine Taser at one point and got an accidental zap !
This turned into our favourit dessert snack stall run by a minority Muslim family - fried roti bundle smothered in chocolate sauce or strawberry topping
Next day we ummed and ahhed about how to fill the day while waiting for the train and not travelling too far out of town. Ended up at the Chiang Mai zoo which was a lot better than we expected.
These big cat enclosures werent very big. The boys got to feed the cats a hunk of meat - probably not very ethical in hindsight but both the boys and the cats enjoyed it.
On the train ride back to Bangkok we landed in the end carriage. Josh spent hours watching the scene out of the very back window and took some great photos (see below)
Back in Bangers
Life down the canals
Just before we left Bangkok we arranged to meet up with someone we knew of who's lived and worked in one of Bangkok's biggest slums for the past 10 yrs with her husband & kids. They do some amazing work - very hard core. We managed to spend about 3 hours together in a cafe project they've recently got up and running. Was great to hear about her life & their work.
http://www.cookingwithpoo.com/
http://www.unoh.org/
Bangkok airport
