 |
|
Wednesday 11 April 2018
Preparations........For no logical reason I'm starting my travels in Thailand late this year. At least that’s allowed me to carry out major upgrades to my website in the meantime. However as April is generally the hottest month in Thailand, I’ve tried to avoid it like the plague. Not so this time when I shall be celebrating Songkran (traditional Thai New Year) for the first time for many years. That these festivities begin very soon after I arrive in Thailand it could cause logistical problems. Let’s hope the only full day before my travels goes smoothly! With some relief I will initially be returning to Loei province where it’s traditionally cooler than in Bangkok but let’s get the preparations out of the way first.
Plan A........The plan prior to departure seems simple. I need to exchange money and then on this occasion collect a hire car later in the day. What could go wrong? A few days before my departure from the UK I learnt that Katoon was obliged to work on this preparation day. Nonetheless it should only be for the morning and provided we have the full afternoon that should be enough; the hire car is not due for collection until 5pm but by the time we finish lunch it is past 1pm.
Plan A (deceased)........The long ritual begins as we head downtown, the route swollen with holiday traffic. The first port of call is the money changer in Pradiphat Road. That goes smoothly enough and I’m happy with the rate. It’s now back to BIG C shopping centre where Katoon has some banking to do. It’s already 3pm as I then disappear to get a data package for my phone, a mere formality I would have thought, Oh no! My mobile phone has developed a fault seemingly between the UK and Thailand. I just don’t believe it; the screen has locked out. Even though the phone is still under contract and insured how cruel is this? There's nothing that can be done except buy a new one and that will take time to set up. To make matters worse there are a couple of other chores to take care of. As I didn’t get a replacement for my bridge camera in time for departure from the UK, I bought a cheap compact the morning I left but forgot to change over the SD card, another additional expense. In addition I cannot put my hands on a UK/Thai power plug: Neither chore is complete as we sail past our intended collection time for the car and have to call ahead to revise the time.
Back to Suvarnabhumi Airport........Leaving it as late as we dare we head for the skytrain at Suphan Kwai. From this station we head for Phaya Thai where we can pick up the airport rail link. All this adds time and the service to the airport is jammed with passengers. It’s well past 7pm by the time we reach the AVIS check-in desk at Suvarnabhumi Airport where I arrived just 24 hours before. From there we are transported to the car rental parking lot to complete formalities. At around 8pm that’s complete as we head back through traffic chaos towards Minburi. The final chores for the day, to obtain an SD card and power adaptor, are completed an hour later at Tesco Lotus. Not completely satisfied with what’s available, I turn my attention to finding something to eat, the first chance to do so since lunch. A KFC will just have to do. Back at the residence Katoon works beaverishly to get things ready for tomorrow’s travels but I’m knackered and have to leave most of it till the morning. I guess it’s near midnight before sleep finally closes out the day. Not an ideal start for another heavy day tomorrow but we've survived.
Thursday 12 April 2018
Loading provisions........ I manage about six hours sleep before breakfast and packing ensues. Any idea of that 6 o’clock start disappeared long ago. Around 8am we’re ready to depart but there’s one more chore to do. As part of the Songkran festivities we will need to eat and we head for the fresh market primarily for seafood which is scarce where we’re headed. With the boot now loaded we can finally depart north.
Gridlock........ As I start the first driving stint I’m painfully aware that it’s the start of the Thai New Year festivities and that invariably means travel chaos. Initially I don’t see a problem but oh dear! As I approach the major intersection at Bang Pa In north of Bangkok there is gridlock. It takes an hour to negotiate this section; thereafter the traffic is moving but slowly. By this time Katoon is driving as we make our way around the Saraburi bypass heading for Lopburi. Here I get a couple of vital spells of sleep which will keep me going. It’s time for lunch which consumes the best part of an hour.
Preparations........For no logical reason I'm starting my travels in Thailand late this year. At least that’s allowed me to carry out major upgrades to my website in the meantime. However as April is generally the hottest month in Thailand, I’ve tried to avoid it like the plague. Not so this time when I shall be celebrating Songkran (traditional Thai New Year) for the first time for many years. That these festivities begin very soon after I arrive in Thailand it could cause logistical problems. Let’s hope the only full day before my travels goes smoothly! With some relief I will initially be returning to Loei province where it’s traditionally cooler than in Bangkok but let’s get the preparations out of the way first.
Plan A........The plan prior to departure seems simple. I need to exchange money and then on this occasion collect a hire car later in the day. What could go wrong? A few days before my departure from the UK I learnt that Katoon was obliged to work on this preparation day. Nonetheless it should only be for the morning and provided we have the full afternoon that should be enough; the hire car is not due for collection until 5pm but by the time we finish lunch it is past 1pm.
Plan A (deceased)........The long ritual begins as we head downtown, the route swollen with holiday traffic. The first port of call is the money changer in Pradiphat Road. That goes smoothly enough and I’m happy with the rate. It’s now back to BIG C shopping centre where Katoon has some banking to do. It’s already 3pm as I then disappear to get a data package for my phone, a mere formality I would have thought, Oh no! My mobile phone has developed a fault seemingly between the UK and Thailand. I just don’t believe it; the screen has locked out. Even though the phone is still under contract and insured how cruel is this? There's nothing that can be done except buy a new one and that will take time to set up. To make matters worse there are a couple of other chores to take care of. As I didn’t get a replacement for my bridge camera in time for departure from the UK, I bought a cheap compact the morning I left but forgot to change over the SD card, another additional expense. In addition I cannot put my hands on a UK/Thai power plug: Neither chore is complete as we sail past our intended collection time for the car and have to call ahead to revise the time.
Back to Suvarnabhumi Airport........Leaving it as late as we dare we head for the skytrain at Suphan Kwai. From this station we head for Phaya Thai where we can pick up the airport rail link. All this adds time and the service to the airport is jammed with passengers. It’s well past 7pm by the time we reach the AVIS check-in desk at Suvarnabhumi Airport where I arrived just 24 hours before. From there we are transported to the car rental parking lot to complete formalities. At around 8pm that’s complete as we head back through traffic chaos towards Minburi. The final chores for the day, to obtain an SD card and power adaptor, are completed an hour later at Tesco Lotus. Not completely satisfied with what’s available, I turn my attention to finding something to eat, the first chance to do so since lunch. A KFC will just have to do. Back at the residence Katoon works beaverishly to get things ready for tomorrow’s travels but I’m knackered and have to leave most of it till the morning. I guess it’s near midnight before sleep finally closes out the day. Not an ideal start for another heavy day tomorrow but we've survived.
Thursday 12 April 2018
Loading provisions........ I manage about six hours sleep before breakfast and packing ensues. Any idea of that 6 o’clock start disappeared long ago. Around 8am we’re ready to depart but there’s one more chore to do. As part of the Songkran festivities we will need to eat and we head for the fresh market primarily for seafood which is scarce where we’re headed. With the boot now loaded we can finally depart north.
Gridlock........ As I start the first driving stint I’m painfully aware that it’s the start of the Thai New Year festivities and that invariably means travel chaos. Initially I don’t see a problem but oh dear! As I approach the major intersection at Bang Pa In north of Bangkok there is gridlock. It takes an hour to negotiate this section; thereafter the traffic is moving but slowly. By this time Katoon is driving as we make our way around the Saraburi bypass heading for Lopburi. Here I get a couple of vital spells of sleep which will keep me going. It’s time for lunch which consumes the best part of an hour.
Shopping for Provisions, the Journey North and Ban Glai Kong Guesthouse, Chiang Khan, Loei Province
Arrival........By now Katoon has made it into Petchaboon province and I take over the driving at around 3pm feeling able to do a much longer stint. I cover the next 200 kms till a fuel stop west of Phu Rhua in Loei province. As darkness falls at least we’re heading out of the mountains and I’m soon asleep again as Katoon drives into Loei town where we stop at a noodle shop owned by her aunt. There she meets up with other family members who have been travelling north for this major reunion.
There’s now just 20 minutes to reach the family home near Chiang Khan on the Thai/Laos border. Here we deposit the storage boxes, add our greetings to more family members and head off to our arranged accommodation in Chiang Khan.
Ban Glai Kong Guesthouse........Ban Glai Kong Guesthouse needs no introduction as we used it last time we were here last November. There is a family connection so we are most welcome but finding ourselves in the same downstairs room as last time the day delivers one last act of defiance as the air-conditioning is not functioning properly. Moving to an upstairs room fixes that problem then finally with nothing planned for the morning, at last we can relax after a couple of enduring days. With new equipment bought in for this trip I can now concentrate on getting communications set up for this tour. At the moment there’s no rush for this as due to festivities, touring as we know it won’t begin until Monday. Next Page.
There’s now just 20 minutes to reach the family home near Chiang Khan on the Thai/Laos border. Here we deposit the storage boxes, add our greetings to more family members and head off to our arranged accommodation in Chiang Khan.
Ban Glai Kong Guesthouse........Ban Glai Kong Guesthouse needs no introduction as we used it last time we were here last November. There is a family connection so we are most welcome but finding ourselves in the same downstairs room as last time the day delivers one last act of defiance as the air-conditioning is not functioning properly. Moving to an upstairs room fixes that problem then finally with nothing planned for the morning, at last we can relax after a couple of enduring days. With new equipment bought in for this trip I can now concentrate on getting communications set up for this tour. At the moment there’s no rush for this as due to festivities, touring as we know it won’t begin until Monday. Next Page.