We arrive in Darwin, capital of northern territory, tropical heat and acccompanying humidity - the town is a lot a smaller than the other principal capitals of Australia and the least populated.Mid morning the heavemns open and we are in the thick of a tropical down pour which floods the streets, about 2 hours later the Sun has come out and the streets are almost dust dry again.
The local air con Cinema is a release from the heat so we dive in and watch the latest offering Broke Back Mountain.
We say good bye to Australia and its population of 22 million, which co-incidently is the same as those born in India every new year.
Thursday 2nd March
Tiger airways from Darwin to Singapore, then transit to Air Asia and onward flight to Bangkok. Our second visit to the Thai capital and time to plan the next leg of our journey, our first job is to find the Cambodian and Vietnamese embassies to apply for Visas.
Sunday 5th March
Visit Kanchanaburi west of bangkok for overnight stay to see the famous bridge over the River Kwai, we walk over the bridge and also visit the allied War Cemeteries and Museum. Time for the late night market for some serious shopping as some of our clothes are beginning to suffer from signs of travel fatigue. We buy T-shirts for 1 pound
each, the market also has a great food section with some bizarre edible delicacies like dried stag beetles, large white dried maggots and live frogs.
Monday 6th March
Not deterred by some of the food offerings at the market we attend a days cookery course at Apples guest house, where we try our hand at Tom Yam ( Thai soup ) Phat Thai ( Rice Noodle ) and Thai Green Curry. First stop is the local market for a guided tour with our cookery instructor o the best way to select ingredients. By the end of the course, having consumed most of the dishes we have prepared, we sit like satisfied bloated Bhuddha's content with our performance.
Tuesday 6th March
Train back to Bangkok and a visit to Ayuthaya former capital of Siam and some of Thailands most impressive ancient ruins. In the late afternoon we go to the 59th floor of the Banyan tree Hotel for a cocktail at sunset and absorb the fantastic views from the Vertigo Bar, the highest point in the centre of town.
Thursday 9th March
Yoga lessons for Martine - Mike picks up Visas from embassies. Take overnight train to Chiang Mai, Thailands Northern Capital with over 300 temples, its difficult not to get templed out - so we select a few favourites and track them down. We visit the Wat Suan dok a university for Monks and join in a face to face '' Monk Chat '' where foreigners meet and talk with resident Monks for about an hour. Its an opportunity for them to practice their English and our chance to learn about Bhuddhism and Thai life. ( Fantastic experience had by all )
Saturday 11th March
Open back jeep into the jungle mountains north of Chiang Mai to visit the Karen hill tribe and the Long neck padung villages. The women wear a continuous metal coil, which can weigh up to 22 kg, around their neck and legs. The neck coils depress their collarbone and rib cage, which makes their neck look unnaturally long, some also practice of putting loop rings into their ears so a huge hole appears in the lobe. We also ride elephants through the jungle and during the afternoon go Bamboo white water rafting down a fast flowing river valley.
Monday 13th March
Indulge in a Thai foot massage before taking the overnight train back to Bangkok and an Air asia flight to Cambodias capital Phnom Pehn.
posted by MartineandMike @ 4:19 AM
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