Hello from the flagging Bloggers! I got a free hour internet with the second hand book I just bought so thought I'd make hay... have yet to write about amazing Angkor or buzzing Bangkok but will move on to more recent adventures...
We headed to Ayuthaya, north of Bangkok and Thailand's capital between the 14th and 18th centuries, on the 20th. Fantastic, crumbled Wats and Chedis and Praangs (read... ruins), all sombre and eerie amid falling leaves and sitting on an island where three rivers converge. The natural moat kept Ayuthaya safe for 400 years but eventually the Burmese sacked the place and sent the Thai monarchy south first to Thonbury and then Bangkok. Anyway, we had a fabulous 'Indiana Jones' experience when trapped in the central praang (read very tall tower) by a spectacular afternoon thunderstorm. I happened to be downstairs in the poorly lit, tiny treasure chamber when the lights started flickering on and off with the storm and the wooden boards started slamming open and shut in the wind. There wasn't a 'Mummy' waiting to seal us in its tomb but it felt like there could have been... Magic!
We are now in Kanchanaburi of 'Bridge over the River Kwai' fame, living it up in a wonderful little house on the river (thanks Elaine - good one). The semitary was moving... lots of little quotes from hurting mums and ages generally well below mine. Peaceful-sad-dignified.
Yesterday (another Elaine tip) we got to stroke Thai tigers at the 'Tiger Temple.' I've always wanted to see one of these magnificent animals up close, and have felt some urgency to do so with the fear that they might soon disappear altogether, but was a little hesitant about this one. I just wasn't certain about the ethics of getting photographed with a captive tiger... I gather that the tigers there are the orphans and rescued hurt of the wild who would otherwise be lost to poachers and lost habitat. 80% of the tigers there now were bred in captivity from these rescued animals and hopes are to start reintroducing cubs into the wild. Justification for my photo-moment? I'm not sure. But they did seem very well fed and cared for. It must cost an arm and a leg (not literally, or at least I am intact) to keep them all fed.
The hilarity of the temple (it's run by Buddhist monks) is the variation of animails they have taken in... the tigers are the main attraction but wondering around at random together and munching on potatoes dropped from trucks are cattle, water buffalo, a camel, chickens, boars, dear and (on leashes admittedly and only when being moved around) the tigers themselves! Very much the 'lions lying down with the lambs.'
Must close... the dubious oily coating on this keyboard is making this hard on the fingers! Tomorrow we leave Kanchanaburi for Bangkok... on the 26th we depart for Canada and the BIG (at least in miles) portion of our journey.
Love to all,
Nick (tired and unapolagetic about grammar and flow at this point)
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Sounds lovely you two!! So jealous and would love to be there with you :-)
ReplyDeleteSafe travels back to Canada.
Miss you
Elaine and Judo