Off to the floating market and leaving Bangkok

So there I was prepared for some evening thai boxing but instead got a call saying there had been a mix-up with my tickets and that they were valid on Sunday instead.
Since I am leaving Bangkok this evening there was no way I could go. Unfortunately that's the way it goes sometimes. But, I did get my money back so that was ok.
Instead I opted to jump on a tour up to the floating market. The tour itself wasn't the best, being one of those "ship tourists around, go and see some attractions and then stop at some shopping places where the organizer get comission" but it was alright. Had nothing really planned anyway and met with some nice people on the bus where we all agreed it was really funny being hounded around like cattle in little mini busses being traded of left right and centre depending on what tour we had signed up for.
Eventually got to the floating market which was quite cool. Old ladies navigated the boats with razor sharp precission and took us around corners like their life depended on it. The stall holders themselves had long hooks with which they pulled you in so there was no escaping even if you had no interest in what they sold. Most of the stuff was of course tourist crap (Mr...you buy t-shirt with picture of floating market on) as expected but I got myself a kilo of Looo apples which are great (red in a shape like a pear but tastes of apple but not as sweet). Breakfast sorted!
There were some inccidents of boat rage between different boat paddlers which only enhanced the experience. Don't think I ever has seen anyone swear for thirty seconds without breathing but these ladies did it without blinking.
Once we got off I jumped into one of the speed boats to take a turn down the river but I unfortunately had a huge (I mean massive) guy from Serbia-Montenegro in my boat and our speed was severely reduced. What was supposed to be travelling down the river in James Bond style (can't remember which movie) turned out to be more in James Pond style.
Eventually got back to the hotel and went down to the bar. Played some pool (which Kwong had me in training for in Hong Kong) with some Russians while Chelsea claimed the cup on telly and had a couple of beers. Then it was bedtime.
Leaving for Chiang Mai tonight which is in the north of Thailand to do some trekking for three days. Really looking forward to get into some nature after Bangkok which is drenched in eau' de exhaust fume'.
After Ching Mai I'm taking a slowboat down the river to Luang Prabang in Laos so I'll probably wont update for another week. Stay safe!

Going to Ayutthaya

Stumbled down to the hotel lobby at 6.10 since I'm supposed to be picked up a few minutes later but no one turned up for another thirty minutes. Checked the excursion start time and it say's it's on the 28 of April but my watch says 27'th. Must have done a misstake somehow with the booking so I headed back to my room for some more sleep. As soon as I got there I get a call saying that the pick up is waiting downstairs. Go figure, I turned my watch back when I got there but winded it the wrong way so the time date has not not kicked and thinks it's still 18.30 the previous evening..a lesson for us all.
Got on the bus and headed for Ayutthaya which previously was Thailands old capital. Apparently it was seized by Burma for many years until it got liberated again but by then the King of Thailand had already moved the capital to Bangkok. The town is an island surrounded by rivers and is very different from Bangkok with it's nature and rivers around it around it. These days it seems more of a sleepy town more catering for tourism.
We went around to quite a few temples in different styles. I can only imagine how great they must have looked before they were destroyed.
After feeling "templed out" we headed to a cruising boat where lunch was served onboard. It was just about the right time beacuse I was fading quickly. Haven't really felt hungry since I usually get full on all the water I drink to stay in shape in this warmth (33 degree's) but it was a great sensation to get stuffed again. The boat headed down towards the river towards Bangkok while we sat on deck watching the traditional Thai style houses pass us by. We were supposed to go trough the city by boat but the King of Thailand had other plans and had decided to throw a procession on the river that day. No big loss since I already saw that on my first day.
It was time for a couple beer and some sleep. Got tickets to a thai boxing match tomorrow which I'm very much looking forward to.

Tiger time and across the river Kwai

Woke up real early to head of for my first little Thailand adventure. It took about two hours to get up to the river Kwai and we started off with the Death railway memory museum. Quite a dark name and the information about it all was pretty gruesome. I must admit I knew very little about the whole thing apart from that a lot of prisoners of war were made to build the thing the museum wised me up. The japanese had intention of getting a supply route up to China across Singapoore but due to the Allied forces bombing the sea at such frequency it was decided to build a railway from Thailand up trough Burma instead. Initially the POW were treated ok but as the war deterioated for the Japanese so did the situation in the camp. Malnutrition and disease spread trough the camps and the bad working conditions took an awful amount of lives. Walking across the grave yard what struck me hardest was they all were so young. Most were between twenty to twenty five years old.
Time for some more upbeat stuff and we all got on the bus and headed for the Temple of the Tigers.
The first thing I saw when getting there was wild horses, buffalo's and birds walking around as they pleased. A moment later we came up to the tigers and it was quite a surreal to see the big cats in the flesh.
Even though they had a minder we were told to keep the distance until nine of the tigers were taken down to the water whole. There was one remaining that we walked down with and handed over our cameras to get out pictures taken while gently putting our hands on their back. My turn came and the tiger decided to spray me with tiger stuff. Now I'm sure that it means "piss off" in most cultures but I decided he just wanted to be friendly and I will from now on consider that "The lucky shirt" regardless of what anyone says :)
Once down to the water whole we were led in one by one and allowed to tuch the big beasts. I must say that it was an incredible feeling being amongst them all and quite scare as well regrdless of if the minders were there or not. You don't mess with all those kilos of predator!
After that it was back to the hotell and a beer to celebrate that I've done the right thing about the excursions. Viva la tigre!

Fear and Loathing in Bangkok

So, I arrived in Bangkok after a two hour flight from Hong Kong. Got to the hotell and was amazed by the standard. Beutiful ladies that invited you in and greated you with a nice drink. Pretty much went straight to bed since I was tired but managed to grab three JD's to ensure the evening kip.
Next day I geared up for some sightseeing and took a cab into the grand palace. It was then I realized that the Radisson hotel is situated in the business area and miles away from everything else.
Got to the palace ok though and immediately got hounded by hawkers trying to get me to somewhere else to which I pretended I didn't understand and walked away. At the temple entrance the hawking continued. I was offered guided tours, tours to go to after I've been guided and tours I should be going to after that....phew!
Brushed it off, went in and checked out the actual palace which was really great. Once I was done I intended to continue with more sightseeing but getting to the places was such a hazzle with all the hawkers that I went back and sat down by the exit. Immediately a guy came up to me and said he knew of a very good prostiute place called Candy that I should visit, "They open at six o'clock, you go early while they are still fresh" to which I waived my hand at and told him to go away. Was then approached by another man asking me where I was from and I said Sweden. He replied "You don't see many people from Sweden in Bangkok why is that?", to which I replied... "Because they're smart???".
It became clear I was approached because I was alone. Being out of the guided tourist groups I was the new born wilderbeast with the hyenas stalking for prey.
Since I had another five days to go there was only one thing to do. Went to the nearest good travel agent and booked myself in for daily tours and filled in my visa applications for Laos and Cambodia. Said and done...a 6 a clock rise every morning but everything is better than trying to navigate trough Bankgkok by yourself if you never been here before.

Last night in Hong Kong. Out in Sai Kung

Last whole day in Hong Kong (leaving tomorrow for Bangkok) and I spent the day checking out Kwong's hometown. The place is by the sea and is a thriving fishing town amongst other things.
Walking trough the old quarters there are loads of small little shops that sell everything from beach apparel to giant spirals of incense, which probably would take months to burn trough.
Kwong and me went down to the sea front where the fishermen sell their catch straight from their boats. You point at what you want and place your money in a basket and then get the basket full of your choice of fish...way cool.
We also walked trough the fish market and I can swear that there were so many strange kinds of fish that I stood there perplexed just staring at it. Wake up call! Maybe it was just me but when I saw all these new spices of sealife it made me realize that I've somehow stopped looking for new things when I was back in London. I know I did at first but then got stuck in some comfortable zone where I just plodded along. Great, now bring on the monkeys...just kidding!
We took a cab up to a nature park in Sai Kung and it was fantastic, such a lush landscape that had all these mountains in the backdrop. The fact that it was quite gloomy weather just made it better (it rained like mad last night with thunder and lightning). Checked out the insects and walked around having a look at the different trees, medicinal herbs and birds that resided in the park. Tonight we're going down to the fish restaurants where you point at what you want and then it's on your plate fifteen minutes later...great to be on to top of the food chain sometimes!
Last but not least I’d like to thank Kwong, his lovely wife Geanie and dear mother for letting me stay and for taking me out to all these amazing things theyWeve probably seen too many times by now.
I really appreciate it and am eternally grateful. If you guys ever need a guide in Sweden let me know...I'll be there!

Going to Macau

After forgetting my passport, which set us back an extra hour, we embarked on the ferry to Macau. The journey was little bit over an hour and went really smooth despite the waves. After getting of the ferry we jumped into a cab and headed to the Macau tower, which is 338 meters high and has a glass tiles that you walk on so you can look all the way down. Since I’m not a great fan of heights it was with very tentative steps that I walked out on one and looked down. Vertigo hit instantly but then it becomes sort of surreal and you forget about it. It was funnier to watch little children jumping up and down on the glass while their parents clapped in delight…loonies!
Got the lift down which went at 100mp and then went into on of the building’s casino’s. Spent all my travel money (just kiddin’) and then headed out to the old town.
Macau used to be a Portuguese colony until 1960’s and the remains of the Portuguese heritage is everywhere from architecture to the street names which are all written in Cantonese and Portuguese. These days the island is big on gambling and the casino’s are everywhere with styles ranging from stylish to downright kitsch. The whole city seems hell-bent on becoming the Asian version of Las Vegas and it doesn’t seems to have too far to go. It gives it all a weird feeling. As soon as you stumble across a casino there lots of shops and full of people. In-between very little at all, almost as if the parts are neglected in favor of the casino’s.
The big savior is the old town where the mixture of Portuguese and Chinese meets in a nice blend. We went up to the Ruinas de Sao Paolo, which used to be hailed as the biggest achievement of Christianity in Asia. The façade looked great but there wasn’t much left of it to be honest. Apparently the building caught fire during a typhoon in 1835 and that façade is almost all that is left of it.
After that we went down trough Largo de Senado and bought ourselves some cookies before checking out the local shopping which was big on antiques and clothes. It was a very nice end to the day before heading back to Hong Kong and some dinner in a great Taiwanese restaurant.

Time to count the ten thousand Buddha's

So, it was time to head check out the Temple of the ten thousand Buddha's. Apparently it's now supposed to be over 13 thousand but I must have missed a few 'cause I only got to twelve thousand eight hundred and forty.
It was a step uphill all the way, leaving overweight americans and locals behind on our way up the 400 hundred steps.
If the pathway up was impressive it was nothing compared to getting up to the actual temples. Was a bit surprised how little people was there since it was a really impressive piece of labour but that's their loss.
The statues ranged from the bizarre to the outmost serene and there was so much to take in that it was almost overwhelming.
On top of that there were a whole tribe of cheeky monkey's who had been around people for soo long that they lost all fear of them. You could see their clearly planned strategy to run off with your rucksack as soon as you turned your back on them. Seeing tourists fight off the monkey's with their umbrella's was as close as I got to a tag team match in Hong Kong...great fun.

Nunnery Temple

Went to the Chi Lin temple which is a nunnery. It is said that not a single nail has been used in the construction.
Personally I thought this was one of the most interesting temples. The site is so quiet and it the setting is just incredible in it's Tang dynasty style.
Me and Kwong walked around for a long time but there was so much to see that I could have stayed much longer than we did. Awesome place that I warmly recommend if you are going over here.

Stanley Island

We spent the evening going out in Stanley island where I tried some great Won ton soup. The beach running around the town looked incredible at dusk and Stanley's got a little pitoresque village part with lots of market stalls which sells just about everything.
If you need clothes, jewlery or an old pin ball machine...go to Stanley island.

The big Buddha

After breakfast we took a bus up to the big Buddha which is suppopsed to be the biggest statue of the man in Asia. The drive up was entertaining at best and terrifying at worst. A winding one lane road with plenty of meeting cars took us up to the place. I guess it's a sure way of imposing some beliefs about the afterlife before we got there.

Once we got off it was a fantastic, to see the big guy on top of the hill overlooking the whole thing was very humbling.I was told that the statue was golden in the beginning but judging by it's size I don't blame anyone for not polishing it. It's massive! And...Kwong was right, we did indeed need the food to get up there.

Second day, dim sum breakfast

Next morning we went for breakfast and dim Sum was on the menu.
Now I've done my fair share of dim sum eating in my days, even been on a sort of strict dim sum diet a few years back with my good friend Konrad (which made me gain half a stone by the way) but to do the same thing in the morning is a completely different matter.
The bamboo baskets kept on coming while my eyes just got bigger (was I supposed to eat all this myself or were there a pack of wolves that I was supposed to shareit with?). Kwong reassured me that it was important to eat a lot since we were heading out to see the big Buddha on and without being properly fed we wouldn't make it up the stairs. I took his advice and munched away but had to see myself defeated by the treasures still remaining on the table.

First day in Hong Kong p.2

Waited for Kwong in Bar George and managed to down two pints of Guiness before he turned up. It's very important to not get dehydrated in warm climates!
When he turned up we checked out the evening shopping. Hong Kong seems to full of big shopping malls that goes on for ever. There's floor after floor with shops, each one with a speciality wheater that is electronics, outdoor clothing or make up. Escalators taking you up or down are everywhere to the point that it all gets confusing. Bought some needful things like extra battery for the camera and shirt...in case I run out. It was time for food and we indulged in some beatiful Cha sui pork before hitting the market stalls which was an experience in itself.

Walking trough narrow streets of Mong Kok filled with all kind of fake stuff imagineable and was offered a dodgy Rolex's every thirty seconds. Must be some old myth about westener's love that sort of stuff and I'm sure Kwong was quite jelaous becuase he wasn't offered one once.
Found myself a good pair of very needed shorts since I only brought trousers...I promise, it was planned that way.

First day in Hong Kong p.1

Was supposed to get up real early the following day but it didn't happen. Lagged out I stumbled into the shower at 12.30 and then hit the streets. Took a small little mini busses that runs from Sai Kung to get me to the nearest metro station. Always heard that the Hong Kong tube was supposed to be great and it was all true. Lots of space, everything clearly marked and it was clean close to immaculate. London has a bit of catching up to do.

Got off at Kowloon to check out the Wong Tai Sin temple which is one of the largest in Hong Kong. It was really cool to see an oasis of calmness in an otherwise really busy city and it did affect me in a very positive way. Sat there for a while, checked out the locals praying before heading down towards the south of Kowloon to catch the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong island again. Stopped outside the Space museum and the old Rail way station which used to be the stop of the Orient Express before jumping on the ferry and got safely to the other side.

Finally in Hong Kong

Arrived in Hong Kong at 16.15 and got the first stamp in my new passport, great! Phoned Kwong, a good friend to meet up later (he who used to work at Dorling Kindersley in London before moving over here for good) and it was decied that it was ok to stay with him and his lovely wife Geanie. Took the express train into Central station for the rendevouz and got lost straight away, go figure, I guess it's just something to get used to from now so I took it in my stride.

After a few deep breaths trying to get my Swedish winter lungs accustomed to the 30 degree heat we went for a swift beer to let the jet lag set in properly and then headed out to Sai Kung which is the island where Kwong lives.
Dumped the bags and then headed out to The Point to check out Hong Kong by night which was a truly spectacular sight. Since land in Hong Kong is running out faster than ice cream in summer everything is built vertically. There are so many sky scrapers that it's almost impossible to distinguish them during daytime but it all comes alive in the night....neon extravaganza is an understatement.

Flying to Hong Kong

Got on my 21.15 flight from Heathrow to Hong Kong and managed to sneak myself a window seat which was great. I hate sleeping on planes, there's never enough room and it's a physical impossibility to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
Woke up midway and looked out on the Russian tundra below which is one desolate landscape. All cold with deserts everywhere. Don't know what lives there but what ever it's hard as coffin nails and you don't want to mess with regardless if it's people of animals.

Pre-flight drama

Well, got everything sorted out in the end after serveral tribulations. Went to Sweden just before departing on the big adventure and was told that my passport wasn't valid anymore since the plastic containing the photo had dried up and was close to fall off.

Said and done. Went to the Police in Stockholm and there were signs everywhere saying that a passport would take at least 5 days which was no good at all since I was travelling in two. Said and done...went up to the counter and met the most helpful guy ever who manged to sort out a new passport for the following morning. Relief is a word not that doesn't do it justice I'll tell you.

Spent the next five days taking it easy in London and saying goodbye to people, packed and re-packed before everything fit properly.

So, off I went to Hong Kong.