Thailand trip

We stayed in the Prince Palace hotel, which is situated excellent for all kind of trips in different directions.

The klong is next to the hotel where you can take the express longtail boat in two directions, on the end of the street in front of the hotel is the main road where you can pick up a tuk-tuk or you can do a 10 minute walk to the skytrain station.

The hotel also has its own drive in way where taxis come and go all day long, so you never have to wait. The rooms are big and clean, and the breakfast buffet is very good with many varieties of western and Thai food.

This is their website :

www.princepalace.co.th/index.htm

This park is a real green oasis in a city with such huge population and traffic jams. It contains a bird-watching course, a sports area, and has an artificial lake where you can rent boats.

We made a walk in the early morning hours and were the only two audience members of a karaoke opera performance from a group of Chinese people who had lots of fun together.

It sure is worth a visit but avoid it during the weekends when its very crowd, the best time to visit is during week days early in the morning or in the late afternoon.

We've made a 4 hour cycle tour in Bangkok and cycled along the klongs through very small backstreets, alleys, markets, temples, and even the small streets and houses below Bangkok highway, after approx. two hours we made a small trip by Klong (Canal) boat, with bike and all and continued our tour through an oasis of green landscape, plantations and typical Thai style houses. During the trip we made several stops to have a drink, visit a temple or shoot some pics.

It was an amazing experience, you see things you never notice sitting in a cab or bus, so if you're in Bangkok...just do it!

They organise daily tours from Monday till Friday.
Day Tour 10am till around 3pm for 1500 baht.
Afternoon tour from 1pm till 5pm for 1000 baht.

Reservations can be made by mail reservations@realasia.net

www.realasia.net/BangkokBike.htm

The Jim Thompson house belong to the late James H.W. Thompson who came to Thailand as an officer in the US force during World War II. When the war ended, he decided to settle in the Kingdom. During his stay, Thompson became interested in traditional Thai textiles, and being trained as an architect, he used his talent to create new designs and colour schemes.

The name Jim Thompson became synonymous with Thai silk after he introduced the traditional silk to the international market. He had arranged for dismantling of ancient teak houses from various places and reassembled them on the bank of Sansap Canal in Bangkok, today known as Jim Thompson's Houses. He mysteriously disappeared during a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia in 1967, leaving behind him this house of historical value as his memorial in Thailand.

The Jim Thompson House is situated in a beautiful garden so its sure worth a visit if you want to get away from the crowded streets and traffic jam of Bangkok for a couple of hours!

This is their website :

www.jimthompsonhouse.com