Ha! I bet you thought I stopped these!
Jun. 27th, 2004 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterMy legs hurt!
... that means I had a really good weekend!
Okay. Lie. I'm starting off with Friday, because I didn't write about that yet and lots of things happened on Friday, too. XP
FRIDAY:
Quite a good day all around, even if it got a bit busy at the end. I mostly stayed in my room after breakfast, working on some research for my paper. That and I was just lazy in general. ^^; By the afternoon I finally got off my ass and went down to find a travel agency to book a flight and hotel for Koh Samui.
I was intending to go to the travel agency on Khao San Road, but Miguel came by my room first, to tell me about how he was going to the tailor later than we had planned, and that he had booked HIS flight with a different agency; one that I had seen advertised before and checked out their website and -- YAY! -- was closer than Khao San Road.
So I went to Sala Daeng.
Of course, the first thing I did was walk the wrong way from the station, even if I had been there before -- when I want to Silom -- and KNEW where the agency was supposed to be. I had lunch at McDonald's, so I guess it all worked out in the end. >_>;;
I finally got to the travel agency, which was very small but they knew what they were doing. I booked myself a roundtrip flight and 4 days/3 nights at the Samui Park Resort (3 stars!) for 11,500 baht (a little under $300; I know this because I had to get my money changed at the bank across the street). I figure that if I don't like the Full Moon Party -- which might happen, because I've been Hearing Things (like... something about people humping dogs) -- I can still enjoy myself at a nice hotel on the beach. Ah! And the hotel is on Lamai Beach, very close to the Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks! They're natural stone formations in the shape of -- get this -- a penis and vagina.
XD
TEH PR0N G0DZ SMILZZ0R 0N M3!!!!!!11111
... yes, I will take pictures. ^___^
I hung around the area until my plane ticket arrived, and the immediately jumped on the SkyTrain to go to the tailor's.
My second fitting went rather well. I tried on the body of my suit jackets, as well as my dress and shirts. Except for the shoulders being tight, and around my hips, I was quite pleased. *^^* I have to go back... at some time for my third fitting (for the pants and the shirts again), and then I should be in the clear. I must remember to call Paul to make sure what time I can go.
Anyway, after the tailor I got a load of laundry sent to be done. *^^* And picked it up. I shall be sparing with my clothes, so that I have all my tank tops and things to take with me to Samui.
SATURDAY:
Busy busy busy day!
The first of the weekend's day trips started at 8 am. Today was Ayutthaya -- which was the ancient capital of Siam, before the Burmese invaded -- and Bang Pa-In, the Summer Palace (which is still used by the royalty).
BANG PA-IN --
We went to the Summer Palace first, which was REALLY cool. The ground were very large, so five of us (me, Weatherby [last name, because we have two Joes], JT, Zhu, and Amy) rented one of the little golf cart things to drive around. Very fun! Actually, the carts were only supposed to have 4 people, but Amy walked a little ahead (so the cart people didn't see), then hopped aboard. XD
I had the impression of being in a very nice park or garden. The best part (besides the golf carts) was the lake thing on the ground, and the Chinese-style mansion, which was actually given to the King of Siam by a Chinese Emperor! Or something like that. ^^;;
Also climbed up the Observation Tower, which was well-worth it for the views and the breeze from high up, even though the stairwell was narrow and vaguely claustrophobia-inducing. ^^; AND A LONG WAY UP. I was breathing hard climbing up and down.
We were there for an hour (that's how long the cart rentals are), and then we trekked off to the next site!
Literally.
We walked there.
SOME SORT OF TEMPLE --
I'll have to look up the official name of this temple, but it was the only Wat that was not destroyed by the Burmese when they invaded because the Wat looks strangely like a Catholic Church (the Burmese were being helped by the Portugese, and the Portugese are Catholics). The Wat was on the other side of the rive, and we got there by riding this... contraption. It's was basically like a swing that was propelled over the river on a line. There's a nice breeze in the middle of the river though, even if it was kinda scary. ^^
The Wat is also part of... I guess it's a monks' village. You could walk all around and see the houses of the monks. They live very plainly and simply, but I felt sort of awkward there. Like... it seemed not right to walk around where so many monks lived. I was glad to get back across the river and whisked off to our next destination.
AYUTTHAYA --
Ayutthaya is actually a kind of natural island, ringed by the Chao Phraya River. It's full of all these huge old Wats (temples), most of which were destroyed or ruined by the Burmese when they invaded centuries ago. The best place we went to was this HUGE old temple, where all the statues had their heads gone, even the bas-reliefs with figures had their heads gone. It was so very old and you could FEEL it. I even climbed up the main temple part, which was a HELL of a climb. The stairs were REALLY high, and I was eventually going up using my hands to balance.
And this is where we had lunch. The spicy lunch. Harharhar.
We also saw two reclining Buddha statues. At the first, I bought postcards (finally!) for 5 baht each, and climbed up the temple again. That really is the best way to get pictures of the whole area. *pets camera* At the second Wat, it was an outdoor statue. Apparently numerous attempts have been made to cover the statue with a roof for a proper temple, and every single time, the place was struck by lightning. Then it was decided that the Buddha should not be covered up. ^^; I was attacked by the souvenier stalls here. XP I bought a little silver purse-like thing decorated with jewels and stones for 550 baht. And here I was getting proud of myself with going through the whole day and not buying anything besides the postcards (cheap), a book on Ayutthaya (interesting and cheap), lunch (good), and a bottle of water (necessary).
*beats self*
Wallet: T___T *cries*
But I bargained the guy down from 850 baht! So there! XP~~~
Then we went back to the hotel.
And I got my legs waxed. Harharhar.
SUNDAY:
OMGWTFLEGSHURT!
This was my first thought when I woke up. Very very sore from all the walking and climbing on Saturday, but now we were in for another full day of sightseeing fun, starting at 6:30 am. *dies*
What's funny is that once we were all in the van, everyone knocked out and fell asleep. XD The ride was 2 hours to get to Kanchanaburi Province, so we slept like the dead. I actually woke up first because of a bump in the road, so I took some pictures of everyone asleep. XD XD XD
Anyway, we got to Kanchanaburi Province (Land of the Blue Sapphires, the major jewelry/gemstone district) and started off with a high note. That was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell.
JEATH WAR MUSEUM --
A museum dedicated to the Death Railway (a.k.a. the larger part of, and including, the Bridge over the River Kwai), which the Japanese soldiers forced POWs and civilians to build between Burma and Siam during WWII. It was supposed to take 5 years to build, but the soldiers made the POWs work to build it in 18 months. It pretty much was set up like one of the POW Camps where the POWs from WWII stayed when they were working on the Death Railway. It's a very sobering thing to see first thing in the morning. It as filled with photographs and new articles and memoribilia and it was just... yeah. No words.
It was very quiet.
KANCHANABURI WAR CEMETARY --
We went here after the museum. >_O It was the larget of three cemetaries for the POWs and such who died while building the Death Railway. It was also very quiet here.
RIVER KWAI --
A rail bridge over the river. I don't think it's the ACTUAL bridge that was built, because that one was bombed by the Allied forces during the war. Still, there was a train there that went to other places, and... SHOPPING STALLS.
This being Kanchanaburi, there were MANY jewelry stalls and the like. I attacked without mercy. At the stall I found (and liked), I bought quite a bit for 2,400 baht. I got an emerald ring in 18k gold, two sets of loose stones (ruby and emerald), and then 5 larger loose stones (sapphire, ruby, emerald, citrine, and pink topaz). I bargained hard for these and I'm quite happy! At another stall I bought a set of sapphires for 250 baht. I would have bought more, but then the train came. I SERIOUSLY would make the trip all the way back, just to buy more jewelry and loose gems. I even helped Weatherby buy some sapphire earrings for his mom.
... I got a bottle of water, too. XP
The train was cool, too. It was open-air and kinda old with wooden seats/benches, but it was great. We got to see the pastures and farms and jungly places from the train. It's very very different from Bangkok, which is almost like being in any city in the US. Very rural and cool and the weather was nice.
We stopped at some place (Wang Po?) to have a buffet lunch at this restaurant that a lot of tourists go to. We stopped at an elephant camp (but we declines going on rides), then shuttled off to this really neat cave. We actually walked over the train tracks to the cave, where a big Buddha statue was. You could even climb in further to look at the cave -- but it was just a cave. ^^;
I did, however, whistle the theme of "Bridge Over the River Kwai" while walking on the train tracks. Tasteless, yes. I was more insulted that no one recognized it. *pouts*
There was another stall that was selling jewlery, but I restrained myself. Most of it wasn't even set in real gold, and the price was higher than I liked. *sighs* Too bad though, because there was a necklace in a nice design that I like. If it wasn't in fake gold, I would've bought it.
After this, we drove off to the next stop (yes, we all napped in the shuttlevan again), which was this AWESOME waterfall. I waded into the water and climbed around on the rocks and I was very glad that I was wearing my hipster capris. XD The water felt SOOOOO nice and it was very fun! If we could've stayed longer (and if I had other clothes), I totally would've sat in the waterfalls or swam.
My sandals were very wet after that, so I took them off and stuck them in the plastic bag I had for carrying my bottled water. ^^; And we all fell asleep in the shuttle again back to Bangkok.
... but damn Weatherby snapped a picture of me when I was asleep. MIguel warned me that he would have his revenge, too. *grump*
All in all, a very good weekend. I had much fun, took tons of pictures, and I'm sore in a good way. I still need to find out how to get back to Kanchanaburi though.
>_>
<_< I want to buy more gemstones and jewelry. ... I also bought a guidebook on Koh Samui and changed my money. Let's hope I last through the last weeks without having to make a withdrawl from my bank account! This is doubtful though. XD
... that means I had a really good weekend!
Okay. Lie. I'm starting off with Friday, because I didn't write about that yet and lots of things happened on Friday, too. XP
FRIDAY:
Quite a good day all around, even if it got a bit busy at the end. I mostly stayed in my room after breakfast, working on some research for my paper. That and I was just lazy in general. ^^; By the afternoon I finally got off my ass and went down to find a travel agency to book a flight and hotel for Koh Samui.
I was intending to go to the travel agency on Khao San Road, but Miguel came by my room first, to tell me about how he was going to the tailor later than we had planned, and that he had booked HIS flight with a different agency; one that I had seen advertised before and checked out their website and -- YAY! -- was closer than Khao San Road.
So I went to Sala Daeng.
Of course, the first thing I did was walk the wrong way from the station, even if I had been there before -- when I want to Silom -- and KNEW where the agency was supposed to be. I had lunch at McDonald's, so I guess it all worked out in the end. >_>;;
I finally got to the travel agency, which was very small but they knew what they were doing. I booked myself a roundtrip flight and 4 days/3 nights at the Samui Park Resort (3 stars!) for 11,500 baht (a little under $300; I know this because I had to get my money changed at the bank across the street). I figure that if I don't like the Full Moon Party -- which might happen, because I've been Hearing Things (like... something about people humping dogs) -- I can still enjoy myself at a nice hotel on the beach. Ah! And the hotel is on Lamai Beach, very close to the Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks! They're natural stone formations in the shape of -- get this -- a penis and vagina.
XD
TEH PR0N G0DZ SMILZZ0R 0N M3!!!!!!11111
... yes, I will take pictures. ^___^
I hung around the area until my plane ticket arrived, and the immediately jumped on the SkyTrain to go to the tailor's.
My second fitting went rather well. I tried on the body of my suit jackets, as well as my dress and shirts. Except for the shoulders being tight, and around my hips, I was quite pleased. *^^* I have to go back... at some time for my third fitting (for the pants and the shirts again), and then I should be in the clear. I must remember to call Paul to make sure what time I can go.
Anyway, after the tailor I got a load of laundry sent to be done. *^^* And picked it up. I shall be sparing with my clothes, so that I have all my tank tops and things to take with me to Samui.
SATURDAY:
Busy busy busy day!
The first of the weekend's day trips started at 8 am. Today was Ayutthaya -- which was the ancient capital of Siam, before the Burmese invaded -- and Bang Pa-In, the Summer Palace (which is still used by the royalty).
BANG PA-IN --
We went to the Summer Palace first, which was REALLY cool. The ground were very large, so five of us (me, Weatherby [last name, because we have two Joes], JT, Zhu, and Amy) rented one of the little golf cart things to drive around. Very fun! Actually, the carts were only supposed to have 4 people, but Amy walked a little ahead (so the cart people didn't see), then hopped aboard. XD
I had the impression of being in a very nice park or garden. The best part (besides the golf carts) was the lake thing on the ground, and the Chinese-style mansion, which was actually given to the King of Siam by a Chinese Emperor! Or something like that. ^^;;
Also climbed up the Observation Tower, which was well-worth it for the views and the breeze from high up, even though the stairwell was narrow and vaguely claustrophobia-inducing. ^^; AND A LONG WAY UP. I was breathing hard climbing up and down.
We were there for an hour (that's how long the cart rentals are), and then we trekked off to the next site!
Literally.
We walked there.
SOME SORT OF TEMPLE --
I'll have to look up the official name of this temple, but it was the only Wat that was not destroyed by the Burmese when they invaded because the Wat looks strangely like a Catholic Church (the Burmese were being helped by the Portugese, and the Portugese are Catholics). The Wat was on the other side of the rive, and we got there by riding this... contraption. It's was basically like a swing that was propelled over the river on a line. There's a nice breeze in the middle of the river though, even if it was kinda scary. ^^
The Wat is also part of... I guess it's a monks' village. You could walk all around and see the houses of the monks. They live very plainly and simply, but I felt sort of awkward there. Like... it seemed not right to walk around where so many monks lived. I was glad to get back across the river and whisked off to our next destination.
AYUTTHAYA --
Ayutthaya is actually a kind of natural island, ringed by the Chao Phraya River. It's full of all these huge old Wats (temples), most of which were destroyed or ruined by the Burmese when they invaded centuries ago. The best place we went to was this HUGE old temple, where all the statues had their heads gone, even the bas-reliefs with figures had their heads gone. It was so very old and you could FEEL it. I even climbed up the main temple part, which was a HELL of a climb. The stairs were REALLY high, and I was eventually going up using my hands to balance.
And this is where we had lunch. The spicy lunch. Harharhar.
We also saw two reclining Buddha statues. At the first, I bought postcards (finally!) for 5 baht each, and climbed up the temple again. That really is the best way to get pictures of the whole area. *pets camera* At the second Wat, it was an outdoor statue. Apparently numerous attempts have been made to cover the statue with a roof for a proper temple, and every single time, the place was struck by lightning. Then it was decided that the Buddha should not be covered up. ^^; I was attacked by the souvenier stalls here. XP I bought a little silver purse-like thing decorated with jewels and stones for 550 baht. And here I was getting proud of myself with going through the whole day and not buying anything besides the postcards (cheap), a book on Ayutthaya (interesting and cheap), lunch (good), and a bottle of water (necessary).
*beats self*
Wallet: T___T *cries*
But I bargained the guy down from 850 baht! So there! XP~~~
Then we went back to the hotel.
And I got my legs waxed. Harharhar.
SUNDAY:
OMGWTFLEGSHURT!
This was my first thought when I woke up. Very very sore from all the walking and climbing on Saturday, but now we were in for another full day of sightseeing fun, starting at 6:30 am. *dies*
What's funny is that once we were all in the van, everyone knocked out and fell asleep. XD The ride was 2 hours to get to Kanchanaburi Province, so we slept like the dead. I actually woke up first because of a bump in the road, so I took some pictures of everyone asleep. XD XD XD
Anyway, we got to Kanchanaburi Province (Land of the Blue Sapphires, the major jewelry/gemstone district) and started off with a high note. That was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell.
JEATH WAR MUSEUM --
A museum dedicated to the Death Railway (a.k.a. the larger part of, and including, the Bridge over the River Kwai), which the Japanese soldiers forced POWs and civilians to build between Burma and Siam during WWII. It was supposed to take 5 years to build, but the soldiers made the POWs work to build it in 18 months. It pretty much was set up like one of the POW Camps where the POWs from WWII stayed when they were working on the Death Railway. It's a very sobering thing to see first thing in the morning. It as filled with photographs and new articles and memoribilia and it was just... yeah. No words.
It was very quiet.
KANCHANABURI WAR CEMETARY --
We went here after the museum. >_O It was the larget of three cemetaries for the POWs and such who died while building the Death Railway. It was also very quiet here.
RIVER KWAI --
A rail bridge over the river. I don't think it's the ACTUAL bridge that was built, because that one was bombed by the Allied forces during the war. Still, there was a train there that went to other places, and... SHOPPING STALLS.
This being Kanchanaburi, there were MANY jewelry stalls and the like. I attacked without mercy. At the stall I found (and liked), I bought quite a bit for 2,400 baht. I got an emerald ring in 18k gold, two sets of loose stones (ruby and emerald), and then 5 larger loose stones (sapphire, ruby, emerald, citrine, and pink topaz). I bargained hard for these and I'm quite happy! At another stall I bought a set of sapphires for 250 baht. I would have bought more, but then the train came. I SERIOUSLY would make the trip all the way back, just to buy more jewelry and loose gems. I even helped Weatherby buy some sapphire earrings for his mom.
... I got a bottle of water, too. XP
The train was cool, too. It was open-air and kinda old with wooden seats/benches, but it was great. We got to see the pastures and farms and jungly places from the train. It's very very different from Bangkok, which is almost like being in any city in the US. Very rural and cool and the weather was nice.
We stopped at some place (Wang Po?) to have a buffet lunch at this restaurant that a lot of tourists go to. We stopped at an elephant camp (but we declines going on rides), then shuttled off to this really neat cave. We actually walked over the train tracks to the cave, where a big Buddha statue was. You could even climb in further to look at the cave -- but it was just a cave. ^^;
I did, however, whistle the theme of "Bridge Over the River Kwai" while walking on the train tracks. Tasteless, yes. I was more insulted that no one recognized it. *pouts*
There was another stall that was selling jewlery, but I restrained myself. Most of it wasn't even set in real gold, and the price was higher than I liked. *sighs* Too bad though, because there was a necklace in a nice design that I like. If it wasn't in fake gold, I would've bought it.
After this, we drove off to the next stop (yes, we all napped in the shuttlevan again), which was this AWESOME waterfall. I waded into the water and climbed around on the rocks and I was very glad that I was wearing my hipster capris. XD The water felt SOOOOO nice and it was very fun! If we could've stayed longer (and if I had other clothes), I totally would've sat in the waterfalls or swam.
My sandals were very wet after that, so I took them off and stuck them in the plastic bag I had for carrying my bottled water. ^^; And we all fell asleep in the shuttle again back to Bangkok.
... but damn Weatherby snapped a picture of me when I was asleep. MIguel warned me that he would have his revenge, too. *grump*
All in all, a very good weekend. I had much fun, took tons of pictures, and I'm sore in a good way. I still need to find out how to get back to Kanchanaburi though.
>_>
<_< I want to buy more gemstones and jewelry. ... I also bought a guidebook on Koh Samui and changed my money. Let's hope I last through the last weeks without having to make a withdrawl from my bank account! This is doubtful though. XD
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-27 07:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-28 02:47 am (UTC)And I saw the avatar pic on your LJ!!! I LOVE IT!
*GLOMPS!*
*molests*
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-28 10:57 am (UTC)*grins* *is molested*
That's the small version, I do have a big version linked at my art thread.
*laughs muchly at your icon*
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-28 12:09 pm (UTC)