We woke up really late (for a really early tour) and there wasn't hot water, yet we still managed to get ourselves cleaned up and ready, although Amy had to put on her make-up in the tour bus. We were greeted by our tour guide, that sounded like Minnie Mouse, who explained to us that we had to pick up another group before we were to head towards our destination. Once everyone got on the super mini-bus, Minnie explained that we would be headed to a few places which were the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, a Cobra Show and a Wood Carving & Handicraft Centre. They could've got a slightly bigger bus considering that everyone fit into the back of the mini-bus and Amy had the great pleasure of sitting right in front with Minnie & the driver. Anyway..it was quite a long drive to Damnoen Saduak and most of the passengers basically slept on the ride there. I decided to enjoy my breakfast, a tuna sandwich bought from Starbucks last night, as I took in the sights of Thailand.
Finally when we got there, I was wondering where the market was as there were only empty boats floating in the water. Realising that we had to take the boats to get to floating market itself, I was trying to figure a way to get myself safely into the boat and sitting down cross-legged when here I was having a problem just trying to sit on a chair. Amy & I managed to get in and sit comfortably without killing ourselves or capsizing the whole
sampan. We were soon travelling through the river and made it through some really tight corners and got to the area where engines had to be cut off if they were selling stuff on their
sampans.
If I thought getting in was a problem, getting out stumped me. First the boat had a really low top so I couldn't stand up straight and it really didn't help. Next problem was that the step was far too high for me to climb up, although given normal circumstances I could. So as I was thinking how to get out, Amy tried her best to help me out but I knew it wouldn't be good if I happen to pull her down with me. Finally I decided to crawl out on my knees and bear with the pain of straightening up that, at least, would be done on safe, solid ground.
More Like It
We were left on our own to explore the area so Amy and I went as far as time permitted. I didn't want to go through another episode with the boats so I decided to skip another boat-ride through the market. Amy, who can't swim, decided not to go either since her life-saving float, aka me, won't be going with her. One thing that was sold in abundance there, other than touristy knick-knacks, were fruits and coconut sugar. Since we could get the mango we wanted to bring home, we decided to make our purchase right there as we could also sample it to make sure we got the one we want. With the language barrier, it got a bit frustrating when one of them wanted to give me 4kgs of oranges when all I wanted was 1. With 3kg of mangoes and another kg of rose apples that I got, I didn't need 4kg of oranges to weigh me down come baggage weighing time at the airport. When she finally gave me the 1kg I wanted her attitude changed but her face couldn't get any worse. The mango lady was much more patient on the other hand and even provided a sweet smile after all our confusing bargaining. Happy with our purchases, we made our way to the meeting point to find no one there and no Minnie in sight. When she finally made herself noticed, Minnie brought us back to the mini-bus with everyone waiting for the two of us. Guess they didn't have much to buy either.
We were then brought to watch a cobra show but I wasn't interested in it, plus I've seen the pics my sis took, so we headed round the corner to the temple instead. We were greeted buy a lady who handed out a candle, some joss-sticks and a short stalk of chrysenthemum as offerings for a donation. So since Amy knows what to do we just said a little prayer and were off to meet the rest of the group, most of which were just taking a break from the heat while waiting for the ones who were watching the show. We decided to cool off with yummy ice creams and my drug, Diet Coke.
When the show was over, we were on the road again, this time making our way to the last pit-stop, the wood carving centre. By then, we weren't in the best of moods considering it was hot and we didn't get enough sleep the night before, plus Minnie's voice didn't help. There were also a couple of girls who probably felt the same as they wanted to skip this whole leg. We didn't have that option as we split the group up to return back to the hotel or continue on another tour. The place did have beautiful tables and chairs carved out of huge logs but it all just wouldn't fit in any HDB flat. It was interesting to see how they did huge pieces with a lot of details, to find out the amount of time they needed, the concentration they had, and not to forget their amazing skills. Since it was a handicraft centre, I was hoping to find that Blue Elephant that's been in hiding. Since it meant cooling off in an air-conditioned area, we headed straight and started our hunt. Sadly I still couldn't get anything close to the first one I saw but we did get to see some interesting pieces.
The Candles Were Tempting
I Want This For My Personal Bar
If You Really Love Fish
Finally we are driven back to the hotel and it was a tough decision between taking a nap (which would probably put us out till the evening) or just go back out for some orders we had to fulfill, and some more shopping. After freshening up, we were out of the door and on our way to Chinatown. Best way was to take a train to one of the stations and take a cab from there. Looking at the train lines, you'd think you'll be able to get there by train but apparently they haven't combined the two systems. By the time we got to Chinatown, it started drizzling and we hoped that it wouldn't pour. As luck would have it, it didn't get too heavy and after getting some food, we were off to Pratunam. According to Amy's sources, it was the wholesale area and there was a whole shopping centre dedicated to fashion alone. Well, I think it was more her kind of area than mine.
We left the area when the shops were all closed and only the food stalls were running. Amy got a bit of noodles while some people kept bugging me to feed the baby elephant. If my hands didn't have a dozen bags to carry I would probably have fed the elephant but I didn't intend to put to bags down. When she was done, we decided it was best to dump our things in our room before heading out again. We managed to get a nice taxi driver and somehow convinced him to wait for us while we dumped our things and then drive us to our last destination, MBK. After going through as many shops we could and finally finding an elephant I liked, I had to get another bag, in addition to another one I got in Pratunam, for all the stuff I got. We took a short ride back on the train and took a slow walk back to our hotel where we had to pack all the stuff we were carrying, as well as what greeted us when we got back to the room.
Before We Really Mess Them Up
After Our Shopping Spree
Making Ourselves At Home
While packing, Amy didn't know what to do with some of her things and ended up sleeping under her mountain of stuff while I packed my stuff. When I was done, I had to wake her up and get hers done before we could get some sleep before tomorrow's early flight. We finally ended up with 10 pieces of luggage, though not all of it was heavy.
1 Down, 9 To Go!
Smoked Salmon Salad
