Before this entry, that I consider that is the first of our travel I have to say something:

Grateful mode: ON

I want to be grateful so much to Aioh because she comes with me to this amazing travel instead of her friends, family, job... ! She had lie to all of them to come with me, even it wasn't safe for herself (remember conflict with cambodians) and a lot of people looks she bad because traveling with a Farang (western) male, surely won't be easy for her but she is a Super-Gal that can manage every thing ;)

Since she know me (6 months ago) she only get troubles due to me!

Thanx for this amazing travel and for being my Nanny and Bodyguard at the same time ;)

Grateful mode: OFF

The bus departs with delay of 1 hour and a half, this is the first time that I saw Thailand, outside BKK, we will spend like 2 hours for our tryp, listening music, joking...but you know being with me is so hard and Aioh get sleep at the begining, when her head reaches my shoulder she quit quickly but 5 minutes later she is sleeping on my shoulder and even she move myself to get more confortable WTF! ha ha ha

My mad mind rises again, I have to take a pic of this! But my Cam is on her side, so I get really still, take out the cam from the pocket and finally I take the pic, that wasn't so good :p 

At Ampawa we ask about the last bus: 7PM! ok no problem we have like 2 hours! On the Market I notice inmediately that I'm the only Farang (western) and 5 or 6 Koreans I think (I was at the begining of the travel, at the end I can diferenciate between Japanesse, chinesse, koreans by their face or listening the lenguage), mosquitos also notice my presence but they respect me so much only 2 or 3 bites! Ampawa Market is also really tourist but for national ones. Lot's of ressorts (we can call them Hostels) they look so crappy! Also I get shocket on Karaokes along the river where the people sings very bat (Not my opinion, the singer friends can't stop laughing).

Buaaaaaaaaaa! Nanny, I want to climb in a Long Tail!

And of course my Nanny look for a one but they spend like an hour and we have to share but we have only 40 min... no problems the Nanny find one that make us a short tour of 20 minutes and we have the Longtail only for us, for a good price, I love my Nanny!!! Was a really fun sail, even joking with the other long Tails once finished we eat something go to the toilet and Aioh call her mum that she was ok AT SINGAPORE! Bad girl! Lying her mum (You can see her mad face) and we gone to the bus Stop arriving like

7,05h Too Late, the last bus passed minutes ago!!

WTF For comming there the bus had 1 hour Delay and now it comes at time!! I suggest her to look for a room on one crappy "Ressorts" because is dark, but she find a better solution (as always), we will take a Motorcicle Taxi (3 jumped on the motorcycle) driving us 8km to the main road and there we will stop many bus until we found one that goes to Bangkok! The small motorcycle is ok for 2 people, but not for 3, one of them a big boy like me (in Thai terms), the pitty driver can feel me glued to his back and also I was trying to hold Aioh's legs coz she haven't where to hold,this 15 minutes tryp was... something unexpected my first Motorcycle Taxi run and also first Aioh's 3 people Motorcycle Taxi (she uses to take it but only 2 people :p).

Once on the main road/Highway we where under the bridge, with 4 or 5 Thais... then suddently they begin to shout!

What happens?!

A bus is comming! (we run to the road and stop it)

Bangkok?

Yeah!

If you think that was enough for today, you're really wrong!

I love Ampawa, it's just a normal district where there are old fellows selling food and fruit on boats, the little Ampawa children swimming in the canal. But it's the normality that I love. Now things tend to be changed here. I came here twice in less than one year and at my second time, things were already changed. Lots of new shops , restaurants and resorts are mushrooming. Please people, i'm not saying it's not the right thing opening shops and resorts here. But please do your best not to spoil it. Let's help maintain the way of life here. This city has its history of 200 years. We are loving Ampawa more and more. So let's safe Ampawa!  

April 4-6, 2007

Just only one and a half hour from bangkok but it was like i went back for 23 years. Ampawa brought back an old time when i was with grandpa and grandma. Swimming in a river. Travelling in a long tail boat. Sleeping in a wood house. Eating local Thai food.  What a wonderful moment.

When i was asked to join this trip, at first i denied because i had a job to be done by that weekend and i needed a quiet place to focus on my job but i said yes at last after friends called me everyday to join, everyone in my gang were agree to go (which it's hard to happen)  so why not me?

Ok ok, so i had to take my laptop there which it's not possible if i travel alone.

We started from bankok at 9am with three cars, think how many people in my gang!!! A way of thai people travelling as you can see many in Thailand. Travel with group, travel with friends, travel with family. Kids don't allow to go anywhere far from bangkok alone or with friends even when we're teenager. Mom was just  let me travel with friends when i was 21!!! ( Lucky that it wasn't too late for me.)  

To go to Ampawa, you can take bus at Sai Tai Mai bus station at Pinklao, bkk. Take bus from bkk to Mae glong, samuth songkram. Only 1 or 2 hours. But we took cars. One of my friend has found a place to stay on an internet. Very nice. I called mom because she went there before and she told me to see it with my own eyes. I wasn't sure what she means but hope it's a good way.

It was hot even we sat in the cars but the homestay we have booked had made us forget about the damn weather. Cupid Homestay, what a lovely name. Antique Thai style houses as my grandpa home. Wow, lucky that i said yes to the trip.

A favorite place to visit here is Ampawa floating market. It was a former original floating market where stopped for century. Now we got it back, Ampawa floating market is open on Friday-Sunday from 4pm-8pm. You will see locals sail small boat with full of Thai food, dessert and suvenior. The shophouses along two sides of canal are made by local people. I took a long tail boat from my place to the floating market. 20 minutes on the boat reminded me of when i took it to my grandpa home when i was about 7 years old. It's really nice although the river now is more dirty than the past but the feeling of the old time got back to me. At the floating market, we all stopped at every shop to try each food. Yummy!!! Tod mun (fish fritter), Loog chin ping (Beef or pork balls), Padthai, Noodle with pork, O-Leang (Thai coffee), Bualoy (my favorite dessert), Roti, etc. yum yumm!!

We took about 2 hours for non-stop eating. That day was Friday, about thousand people there along the way. Most of them are Thai, i haven't seen foreigners much. Do they love the beach more than the river?  Do you? Maybe :)  Another reason i think it's not easy to go there from bangkok if you don't have a car, maybe.  

The sailor picked us up at 8pm to go for dinner and see fireflies. We went to Lampu restaurant, one of my friend who came here first told me to go there but the sailor suggested another restaurant. He said it's better but we don't believe. We thought that he has a connection with the one he suggested so we went to what we decided. 

Only us in the restaurant, the food is not fresh and just ok not delicious. We told the sailor that sorry that we don't believe him. He said he never tried this one but he heard that the one he told is more tasty. We knew at last that he doesn't has a connection with those restaurants at all. 

*Lesson : better trust local people*

After dinner, time to sail for fireflies, Hinghoy in Thai. Ampawa is a favourite place to see fireflies. You can take the boat trip, it's around 1 hour, 80 baht/person, depend on timing.  They light up the night, blink blink as a christmas tree.  Yes, very beautiful. We sailed along the river for one hour, stopped over and over again at every Lampu tree to watch. One of them fell down on my hands. The green light reminded of those green eyes. Woo hoo. Then my friends wanted to hold it, too many hands try to catch him. I had to let him go before he died in someone's hand.  

Friends went to bed, i had to finish my project. I laid down under this Ancient Thai house. I miss grandpa home. These homestays were belong of local people. After the city became a tourist city, they had developed and rebuilt to be a homestay. A style depends on the owner. Some are nice but some are not. Our homestay is great, lucky us. No wall, only roof. Very nice to sleep there. Next of the house is a field, fool moon shown over my head, a lullaby song from many flies made me slept tight. Beds have mosquito nets to protect us but i didn't sleep inside, better slept outside the bed to feel the old time. 

Ok, goodnight. I had to wake up at 6.30 in the next morning, we're agree to "Tag-Bat" (to put food in the bowls of Buddhist priests in the morning). It's Thai culture. I always do it on my birthday didn't do it for more than 5 years so this might be a good time to do something good again. Thais belife is  it could help life better. It's like to  forgive to whom does bad thing to us, to devote to the ancestors, to be at peace for good and bad as we did in the past. After Tag-Bat, we have to pour water slowly onto the ground or a vessel with a bhuddist pray before dawn.

Sleep tight!

Woke up early in the morning to Tag Bat. It's the time that the monks will come. We haven't prepare any food from home but at Cupid Homestay had a Tag Bat set for us, 100 baht per head. We usaully Tag bat with rice, food, dessert and water. In bangkok, we wait for the monks in front of our houses and the monks who stay in the nearest temple will walk pass by. We have to say "Ni mon" means inviting the monks to have food. When the monks stop, we serve rice first then food and dessert. A monk can't recieve thing directly from women, we have to put them in a piece of cloth so he can take it.

At Ampawa, monks can't walk pass the house because houses are near river so they came with a long tail boat which they sail it by themselves. We were at the landing waited for monks, 15 minutes later one monk came. It was about 20 people, my friends and I and another group, came to Tagbat but only one monk. I asked him after finish that why only him? He said "other monks can't sail".

Awwww ....

He left with a neary sink boat because of tons of the same set of food. Wonder if he's bored with those food because he has to eat the same thing everyday? Hmm...

This is a short trip in Ampawa because we had to go to Huahin beach next. Before left here, we visited Chulamanee temple, very beautiful one in Ampawa, highly individual style. The second place was Rama II National Park. King Rama II was born here. Last place was Bang-ka-pom temple then went to Huahin.

One of my friends has a condo in Huahin so we stayed there for one night. Huahin beach is in Pra-joub-kee-ree-kan province. 2 hours from bangkok. It's a famous beach for Thai and foreigners which can get quite crowded in town. With an extensive bars, pubs, club and entertainment and also is a place that has Music Festival here such as Thai music Festival or the well-known one, Jazz Festival. For some Thais who don't have time to go to the beach at South, this is a good one to spend a holiday with. But for me, the beach is not quiet and not good with many jellyfishes sometimes. Very lucky that in front of the condo is a private beach but in town  there also has many activities on the beach such as Thai massage, horse rides, people who sell food, stuff, do henna, etc. all along the beach so i better say no for it to see the fantastic one at South than spend my holidays here! Only one reason that I don't deny to go there is night market. It's full of foooooood!!! :D