Bangkok and island escapades

A few days in Bangkok now and for the first time we're getting a feel for the place. You sort of have to if you stay outside Khao San Rd. We''ve been on all sorts of trains and ferries. The ferry along the canal from Pantip Plaza (computer geek heaven! I dispute this but Delia insists I went all googly eyed the moment we went in. I confess there were some rather tasty laptops).

I digress.

Back to the ferry: the narrow ferry along the canal was remarkable. Hurtling along at quite a rate of knots with a handle to pull on to bring up a tarp along the side so the spray of passing boats didn't drench us. We saw some old wooden houses that look like they've been there for hundreds of years. Anyway not the Bangkok we remember and at the end of the canal boat ride we got to the Golden Mount, another temple one of the oldest in Bangkok. 
This time a lot of steps to climb. Finley thought it best if I did the climbing for both of us but Ben, the Super Stamina Boy, just went straight up no questions. In fact Ben's walking and climbing stamina have so impressed us that the poor lad has now been signed up to trek in the Himalayas for the next big trip. He doesn't know this yet. Theere were a lot of bells to chime in a Buddhist kind of way and a great big metal drum to bang which both the boys enjoyed belting

the Golden mount

The boys being very reverential inside the Golden Mount Temple

Despite all the walking around town, up and down mounts Ben got home with still too many beans for us so I had to literally walk him up and down 6 flights of stairs in the hotel to tire him out. Twice!

After the Golden Mount we ended up in another street stall, this time selling iced coffee. Heaven. It really is pretty hot here. We then tried to find the street where they make the monk's alms bowls only to discover that they were all shut. It was Sunday and apparently the monks are the only Thais who take a day off. Fair enough I reckon. In fact the poor chap who owned the shop where I got my suits made (hey, I've got a grown up job alright! And I'm turning 40 in September. Aaaaaagghhhh). Anyhoo that poor chap opens his shop EVERY day of the year. He said he couldn't remember the last time he had a day off. Blimey. I know I'm a bit lazy but he made me feel REALLY lazy.

So it will have to be another day to buy a bowl and back to our little sanctuary via tuk tuk and metro again. Bangkok is an interesting place and a shopper's paradise but the heat, humidity, whistles, horns and hectic traffic can get a bit overwhelming. Especially when hauling around 3 kids all day long, usually carrying 2 of them most of the way.

The next day we ventured beyond the bounds of Bangkok with a little bit more carbon footprint to fly down to Phuket (Ben informs us the "Ph" is pronounced a "P" not a "F" as that would be rude. Quite). Uneventful flight and then taxi to a remote pier on the eastern side called Bang Rong. The 2 o'clock ferry to Koh Yao Noi left at 2.30 so we had a bit of time at the floating shack/restaurant watching the fish swim below us through the large cracks in the floorboards. Lovely.

The boat holding about 15 of us was speedy and splashy. Lots of fun and we ended up at the end of a long travel day via another taxi at our luxurious beach side hotel.