Buddha, boats and beers...

Our last day of work was spent among the ruins of the ancient capital of Siam, a UNESCO World Heritage site. About an hour from Bangkok, Ayutthaya is a beautiful spot full of ancient temples and lush gardens. It was truly stunning and a real privilege to have had such intimate access to some of the incredible locations there – including a view of the footprint of Bhudda.

As it was our last night in Bangkok and the three of us who had managed to escape illness decided to make the most of our last moments and make our way to the Chayo Praya River to see the city from a long-boat. We hailed a tuk-tuk to take us to a location where we could rent a private boat. He avoided traffic the entire way by using some (shady) back alleys and offered to wait the entire hour for us to return from our boat ride. A private boat cost us 1200 Baht and we grabbed some large size Singhas for the ride. It was perfect time as it was dusk and the sun was just getting ready to drop behind the amazing Wat Arun. Our boat, like most on the river, was brightly coloured, very long and was actually powered by a car engine. I will let my photos speak for themselves but the cruise was definitely one of the highlights of my stay in Bangkok…

Sure enough, our tuk-tuk driver was waiting for us when we returned to shore. We then decided to grab another drink and a bite. After a bit of shady dealings with our driver, and repeated offers to visit a ping pong show (yes…that kind of ping pong) we settled in at an Irish (strange I know) pub for drinks and dinner followed it up with a walk and some bartering for souvenirs.

I will definitely have to return to see more of Thailand but feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see even a bit of this amazing country and meet some of it’s truly beautiful people. But my journey isn’t over yet…trip number 10 of 2010 (yes, I’ve met my goal!) awaits me in Tokyo!