October 31/24 we remained in Bangkok,still had a few things to do, aiming for a quiet day. We headed to the flower market via the River taxi. It was a huge amazing area full of stalls selling live flowers, silk flowers, vegetables, and fruits. We were surprised to see a lot of of the sacks of onions and garlic, coming from China and a lot of the fruit coming from Australia.
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| Marigolds |
Back on the river taxi as far as we could go into and past the downtown area. We then decided to take a bus to go to Lumphini Park, a nice green area with a lake in the centre of Bangkok, famous for large monitor lizards. We were hungry so we headed for an area of tents and small tables and food stalls. Not sure what to expect. Mainly locals,lots of taxi and motorcycle for hire drivers eating there and that’s where we stopped. A young woman asked if we had found this place because of a YouTube video which had made it somewhat famous, but we said no we had just stumbled upon it. And so we proceeded to pay our ฿50 each ($2) and load up on a buffet - very spicy,somewhat questionable, but overall delicious food. And so far, we feel fine.
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| View from the bus |
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Mahanakhon building, has a rooftop skywalk, not for me!
But a cool looking place |
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| Fountain in Lumphini Park |
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| Monster lizard, 4-6 ft long, wandering all over, in & out of the water! |
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| “Food court” |
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| The Buffett, rice plus 12 options, plus refills for $2! |
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| Ravens & monster lizard |
I decided that I needed another massage, this one more similar to what I’m used to back home and it cost me $16 for one hour massage.
We managed to fit all of our belongings into our backpacks, but it was a stretch and we headed for our transport to the island of Koh Chang. We decided a good 10 minute walk to the pick up point wouldn’t kill us and we’re too cheap for a taxi. It was a minivan for 10 people and our belongings, a drive of five hours then a ferry ride of 30 minutes & a hotel drop off. This cost us $39 each.
We checked into our hotel called Paradise Bungalows, just up the hill from Kae Bae Beach and we’re happy with what we saw. A week here, including A/C cost $260. The room may be small, but it’s clean and from our deck we can see into the property next-door, which is an elephant camp! We are so close that we definitely hear the elephants and occasionally even smell them!
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| A “wet bath”, you just have to remember to move the toilet paper |
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| Our bungalow |
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| We are not happy with them being ridden & chained, but it’s cool to see them |
The beach is a five minute walk away. The water is almost bathtub warm, calm and a nice sandy bottom. We also have a 7-11 about a two minute walk away and countless restaurants within 5 to 10 minutes walking. It may sound strange, but the 7-Eleven’s here are where everyone shops - you can get everything from beer to toiletries and countless options for food. If you choose a meal, a sandwich or a burger they heat it for you on the spot and the prices are ridiculously cheap. Sandwiches - $1.50 to 2 dollars, beer is about $1.65 a can. Meals in restaurants are a bit more expensive here than in Bangkok, but can be easily had for $3-8.
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| If you pay they take an elephant to the beach for photos |
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| A selection of tasty sandwiches |
We are enjoying our downtime here, taking it easy, having naps, watching the elephants and the birds and enjoying the beach.
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| Making roti |
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| Roti pancakes, I got my peanut butter fix, Robin got chocolate & pb |
The food is definitely different, but we’re making it work and enjoying ourselves while we do it and we’re still Living the Dream!
Those flower smells must of been over whelming, and the food looks inviting
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