"Our Queen should allow tuk tuks in England," David declares. Tuk tuks are the only vehicle that can beat the infamous Bangkok traffic jams. They weave between stationary cars, squeeze past enormous trucks, drive through shopping mall car parks and, most hair-raising of all, drive contra to traffic flow! At times, being in a tuk tuk will replicate the adrenaline flow your body gets on a roller coaster ride. We LOVE it! So why the reference to our Queen? Over here in Thailand, the King is ...
Travel
Finally arrived in Bangkok
We finally arrived in Bangkok after a delay of one day due to the immigration mishap at the Thai/Malaysian border. The Thai train was due to arrive at 7am but was delayed till 1pm. The traffic in Bangkok was really bad. It turns out the distance between the railway station and the hotel was really small, however due to the traffic jams it took a long time for us to get there. So I arrived at the hotel feeling a bit grumpy. But all the grumpiness dissipated then Hotel Vie upgraded our 2 ...
Sharing my heritage on the train journey
People have asked, 'Why travel by train?' To fly would have been much faster and efficient. The trip back to Kuala Lumpur in August was originally planned for me to spend time with my mother in hospital. After Mum passed away in June, and with a dear friend facing terminal illness, my thoughts turned to my own mortality and what I would leave behind for my children. How can I share my heritage, family history and traditions? Especially when it is so different from what we have in ...
Ever have a synchronised massage?
We had time to kill in Haadyai. We arrived here by car, bought our train tickets to Bangkok and had 5 hours before the train leaves. So we checked out the massage places near the train station. 2 hour Thai massage for 240 baht, i.e. £5! Yes, that is correct - I did not forget to put in a zero, it is indeed £5. This was not going to break my bank - so we had a family massage with three of us in a row of mattresses with David in the middle. It was unlike any other massage I have ...
A Drive-Through Immigration!
We left Penang island very early in the morning on the ferry. We met two girls on board the ferry who have been backpacking in Malaysia and were now on their way to Thailand too. They were catching the same train as we were. John was very happy to chat with the girls and hoped they would be in the same train carriage as us. The distance from the ferry terminal to the train station was not far at all and we soon got to the platform and boarded our train. To John's delight the two girls were ...
