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Day 4 - Bangkok to Phitsanulok
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We woke at 7am (I don't know how you worker bees do it !), grabbed some brekkie and then got in a taxi to the station. Thus began the most entertaining taxi ride of my life so far...
Our driver, "Mr John", looked like a fat Thai Elvis impersonator... He started off abruptly, more than a little rude, then he started asking questions about us. By the end of the 8 minute journey he had warmed to us and was serenading us with Engleburt Humperdink and Elvis numbers !! Katie was nearly in tears she was laughing so much ! All very bizarre.
The only trouble is that now whenever we have a nice peaceful moment all I can think about is him singing "PRRREASE REREASE MEE, RET ME GOOOO" at the top of his voice while nearly wiping out a few tuk-tuks !!! Classic.
Oh, and boys, he gave me some pulling tips: apparently all you have to attract the woman of your dreams is sing "Hello" by Lionel Richie to a girl, look her in the eyes, and then right down your number after nailing the line "is it me you're looking for ?" and winking. Can you imagine ?!
We got to the train station in 20 mins, and we were sitting down in the centre of the concorse when this music gets pumped through the loud speakers. On cue, a load of soldiers march in and stand to attention and we realise that it's the national anthem being played, where EVERYONE is expected to stand, even tourists. We were nervous to say anything in case we got shot (!) but thankfully survived and caught our train.
The train itself looked horendous from outside but was surprisingly decent inside, you could even swivel the chairs around to change direction. Clever. We also got free breakfast and dinner, which was good work. It's a bit embarrassing that you can pay GBP 1.50 for an 8 hour journey which is nicer than using an English train for which you pay an absolute FORTUNE ?!
We arrived in Phitsanulok a bit late (just like home !) at about 3pm, found our "hotel", which cost an OUTRAGEOUS 150 Bahts per night... which is about GBP 2.50 !!
We thought we'd found a real bargain, but sadly you normally get what you pay for and after a terrible night's sleep on a bed which made the floor seem comfortable we felt somewhat less smug... and a great deal sweatier !
Phitsanulok is located in the north part of the Thai mainland, and is where they say the culture of the north meets the culture of the centre. Fascinatingly (?!), it is also the crossroads for the Thai vegetable economy, so it has allegedly the highest quality of vegetables in Thailand. (Nearly as high as in the Man Utd team apparently...)
We struggled to find anywhere for lunch as most places were closed at 3pm, and so ended up in a 7-11 convenience store ! Katie went for a rather controversial fish balls & rice combo which was apparently "rank", but my chicken & rice was an absolute legend, for 60p ! Result ;)
We then walked to the local temple, home of a beautiful Buddha statue & more German tourists than you could shake a stick at...
Both the temple and statue were really beautiful, so we hoped the rest of Thailand would be of the same standard...
We walked back down the other side of the river, admiring a few temples from a distance...
...and we watched a dragon boat in training for a boat race next weekend.
When we reached the last bridge we saw a bar which had just opened, so popped in for a couple of beers...
...stroked a couple of very cute cats (they have the cutest & friendliest pets here), and went back to the room.
Soon it was dark so we braved the night market, which was full of 16 yr old schoolgirls and fake Abercrombie tops... could have been worse !
We found a nice place for dinner, I had chicken with cashew nuts for a less-than-eye-watering 80p, and Katie had 2 whole fish with ginger for a rather bourgeouis GBP 1.20.
The beer over here is also dirt cheap, so 2 large Changs will generally set you back about 160 Bahts, or about GBP 2.50... nice work.
Normally you wouldn't catch me drinking a beer which sponsors Everton FC, but I'm economising by drinking Chang rather than the 'super-luxury' Singha, which is normally about 60 Bahts for a small, compared to the bargain basement 45 Bahts for a Chang !
With full stomachs and a few beers inside us we went back to the room, and probably had about 8 minutes sleep in TOTAL before morning, it was a shocker.
The bed was as soft as a lump of steel, and had no sheets on it, so Katie was convinced that we'd catch scabies if we slept on the matress ! So she suggested that we should use our sleeping bag liners instead, which are basically like cotton sleeping bags. They were like sleeping with the lack of movement of a sleeping bag, but without the comfort or cushioning. Horendous.
The fan whirring above us made about as much noise as a Boeing 747 on take-off, so it was basically a choice between trying to sleep in a sauna (heat), or trying to sleep in a nightclub (noise).
(Should probably have phoned Als for some tips on the latter ?!)
Unsurprisingly both choices proved absolutely impossible, so we slept very badly. We just prayed that sleeping conditions in the rest of Thailand would improve !
lots of love,
Al & KT xx
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