Hey all,
So because you're not here to see this, just wanna say that we spent an hour typing this up, then right as we were about to send it, the computer froze and we lost the whole thing.

TAKE 2

So we stayed with Carolyn's friend Rebecca Minty in Bangkok, in her luxurious highrise appartment, with a pool. Although we'd only been travelling a week, a hot shower and flush toilets made us feel like we were staying at the Hyatt, thanks Bec! On our first day in Bangkok we went to the (Carolyn has now taken over the typing because Niels got frustrated with mis-typing -keyboards are a bit different - and had a hissy fit) Chatuchuk markets via water taxi and skytrain, which was a great way to see the city (through the thick, smelly smog). For lunch at the makets we went to a place where you get a really plain soup and sit down at a table that has buckets of fresh herbs and spices, and you season the soup to your taste. We weren't really impressed with the markets so we headed to Khoa Sahn Rd, which is back packer hq. At Khoa Sahn Rd we wandered around Carolyn enjoyed watching Niels get hassled by dodgy suit makers. General exchange went:

Them: "Hello"
Niels "Hello"
Them: "Where you from"
Niels: "Australia"
Them: "Oh, Australia, you want to buy a suit, I give you special price"

Eventually Niels got so sick of this that a guy said "Where you from" and he replied "No thank you" the guy called after us up the street "Oh, you from No Thankyou?!"

That night we went, with Bec, to a jazz/blues joint called the Saxophone Pub. We had read that there was a jam on Sunday nights so Niels brought his horn. The jam didn't eventuate, but Niels played the last set with the Thai blues band that was playing. Pretty good band... (see pic)

The next day we went to the Grand Palace and the Wat (temple) that houses the Golden Buddah. At the temple we encounted our first scam. A guy at one of the gates, who told us he was a royal officer, told us that the palace was closed for the morning for a security check ahead of a visit by the Queen of Spain. He suggested a range of other attractions for us to visit for the morning, before returning to the palace in the afternoon. He had us fooled until he tried to hussle us into a tuk tuk "quick quick it's going to rain". We evaded the tuk tuk and kept walking along the palace wall and when we got to the main gate, supprise supprise it was open.

The palace and wat were stunning. Buildings covered in shining tiles of all colours. Niels thought it was a bit overkill - but amazing all the same.

That evening we went with Bec to get a thai massage - so so good.

The next day we went to Kanchinaburi. On the three hour train ride there, people constantly walked up and down the isles selling food and drink. We loved it that not only was drinking beer on public trasnport allowed - it was sold to your seat (with a straw!)

In Kanchinaburi we stayed at a lovely little guesthouse called C&C in a floating room on the River Kwai. the view of sunset (see pic) and the whole feel of the place was great so we regretted the fact that we had already booked our train ticket from Bangkok to Chaing Mai and so only had two nights in Kanchinaburi.

In Kanchinaburi we visited the Thai-Burma Death Railway Museum, which was very touching, the allied war cemetary and the famous bridge. We also went to the tiger temple where we got to pat tigers, which weren't in cages or on a leash. We also got to get up close to other animals like water buffalo and wild pigs and piglets.

We had originally typed up our Chiang Mai experiences too but will have to redo that next time cause we have to catch a bus to Pai now.

Hope all's well.

Carolyn and Niels xox

Hey all,
We're currently sitting in an internet cafe in Bangkok at six oclock in the morning having just arrived here from Krabi on an overnight bus. We've got three hours to kill before we call Bec Minty (Carolyn's high school friend for all of Niels' friends out there) so we decided we'd catch up on some emails, here where it is sooooo much cheeper that in Railay, Krabi where we've been for the past week or so.
So we landed in Phuket on the 14th at midday and being all flustered because we had to find a particular person by cab (more about her in a minute) and not having a feel for the currency yet first cab that got thrown at us, we took. 450 Baht ($15) for a half hour cab ride. Next thing we know is that our cab that's pulling up has leather seats, air con, DVD player and has "Limousine Service" written on it. Man we are suckers.... but it was already paid so we just enjoyed the scenery and consoled ourselves that we'll learn for next time, besides, $15 for a limo isn't bad.
So the reason we had to see this particular person was becuase we were hungry. As some of you know, we love our Asian food and have been hanging out for 3 months of it. So Niels had heard about this lady in Phuket who makes and sells home made Aussie meat pies. So the first thing we do in Thailand is enjoy an Aussie pie with peas,

Above, Rai Lay

potatos and a cold Heiniken.
Actually the real reason we went to see Susan aka Lady Pie, was that she is originally from Cooma and Carolyn had promised to do a story about her for the Cooma-Monaro Express (Gail, the story's coming as soon as we pick up a USB cord for Niels' digital camera beacuse someone forgot to pack his)
That afternoon, Susan drove us around Phuket and around all the areas that got hit by the Tsunami. Apart from a few ruined houses, they've done a phenomenal job at re-constructing it all.
We checked into the On On Hotel and crashed out at about 7pm local time.
In the morning, we got on a bus for Krabi on the coast. We got an introduction to Thai time on the way when we stopped about 3 times and the bus driver just ran off somewhere. about half an hour later each time, a new bunch of backpackers would climb on. On the bus, we met our first fellow-backpacker for the trip and you shuold have seen the look on Niels' face when he introduced himself as Nils!! He was from Switzerland and was in Thailand to do some rock climbing in Ton Sai (just near Rai Lay, where we were headed).
So from Krabi we shared the back of a ute to Ao Nang, where we got on a long tail boat for the short trip to the peninsula.
The peninsula that includes Rai Lay and Ton Sai is connected to the main land but is only accessable by boat because of limestone karasts - these karasts make for stunning scenery as they jut from the mainland and form islands.
We stayed in East Rai Lay at a place called the Cabana, which we loved, on the first night Niels brought his
soprano to the Cabana Bar (yes, John Mackey, I had to bring something but the case didn't fit so I wrapped it in foam). Turned out the bartender played guitar (all he knew were Bob Marley tunes) so we ended up jamming every night. This bar became our local and we met some other graet backpackers.
Some of the highlights of our time at Rai Lay included, sunsets on the west facing beach, a climb to a lagoon hidden amongst some of the carasts, kayaking around the islands, lounging at cool little bars (all playing reggae) and lunch of grilled chicken and green papaya salad (thanks for the tip Kyra - so good).
We left yesterday lunchtime to catch the boat back to the mainland, then a bus to Bangkok. Again the bus ran to Thai time - departing 40 minutes late, and stopping everywhere (for no apparent reason). But between Carolyn's book and my fingering practice (on Sax!!!!) the trip was actually pretty pleasant and we both feel well rested and ready to face the big city (well after we dump our packs, anyway).
Bye for now, love to all!!
Niels and Carolyn xox