The first job was to get the bike from oversized baggage. Of course the new airport is having teething problems and of course the oversized baggage is one of the more oversized problems. The first logical place to seek your oversized item would be the garage sized doorway at the end of the carousel with a sign stating "oversized baggage". Unfortunately the three baggage handlers wearing yellow polos and the one official looking guard could not speak English, but they managed to motion us to a doorway of identical appearance about fifty meters away. Upon arrival at this doorway, three new sets of yellow polos and a guard did the same thing and motioned us to a third doorway. A third set of the same then just shrugged and nervously chattered to each other.
Sensing they were under threat, the occupants of the third doorway and the second doorway closed their doors and merged wit the staff of the first doorway. They then all sat with their backs to the waiting owners of the oversized baggage until eventually the items turned up. This is of course only the start I am sure. I know I'm in for more of this in the coming months to a much greater scale.
After finally getting to m new place of residence, I crash out for the night, only to be woken by my neighbors woking something for breakfast at 6am, but this is OK, because I need to be up anyway to start researching a trip that we are about to run.
We head out to Kancaniburi province after meeting up with the local operators Nutty and Willy. These two jovial blokes are the logistical people for the trip. Even though I can't understand what they are saying to the various people, I can tell that they've got a great rapport with all the hotel and restaurant staff. While Jason and I are having early nights after one beer, these two stay up to polish off a bottle of whisky and smoke cigarettes. This does not however affect their ability to get up in the morning, even if they are a bit smelly and slow.
We've covered a fair distance to Kanchaniburi city to Hellfire pass on the Burma railway line to three pagoda pass and back around a huge lake to the Erawan National Park and then on to the Ayutthaya area which is under flood.
It is amazing coming from a country that is bone dry and desperately in need of water to a country that has far too much water. The net depressing result though, is exactly the same. No crop, no harvest and presumably a shortage in food at some point. The cause of the flooding is not rain in these areas so much as rain that has been falling during the now finished wet season in the north and has flowed down the four rivers to the Chao Phraya River. This river then runs through Bankok and on to the Gulf of Thailand. According to the locals, the water is being held back in these tributaries so as to protect the city.
So in Ayutthaya we are on our way to inspect the homestay that we will be using for our group. As we drive along a road with houses under water on each side, things are not looking good for the homestay option. In Russell Quoit style, I decided it's time to call an old mate for a natter (refer to photo).
The homestay turns out to be one of the older style wooden houses built on stilts. This means that it is just above water level. We jump in a boat and paddle out to it to find the house perfectly intact (just surrounded by water). It might be a very cosy evening when fifteen of us have to stay there.
So it's time to hit the road! I for one am quite happy about this as I am eager to get back to Bangkok and get my new place of residence sorted out before I start the first trip. I have been unable to get a SIM card on my travels and thus have been unable to speak to Kate. This makes the displacement feeling far worse.
An hour and a half mini-van ride and we're back in Bangkok. Hot seething urban mass that is Bangkok.
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