Seven Waterfalls

We're trying to get the blog up to date, but we seem to be moving faster than the blog! This blog is from about 21st March. We're actually not in Thailand anymore - we're in Laos, but that's for another blog!

Just two hours on a screaming scooter from Kanchanaburi, there's a veritable little oasis! It's called the Erawan Falls and it is a national park that is renowned for the seven waterfalls that work their way down the mountain - each fall has a crystal clear pool at the bottom where you can swim and cool off. Yes we did!!
This fall (the first) reminded me of a place near our home town that we visited as kids called Richmond. The main difference being there isn't any ice in the water and getting in the water here only takes seconds instead of at Richmond where you had to wait until certain parts of your body went numb before you could swim!. Like Richmond though, you can swim right into the waterfall and climb up behind it - see later pictures.

The following are pictures of the different falls - nothing to add to that really, the pictures say it all!

Each fall was full of fish, while Elvis was posing for this picture the fish were 'grazing' her feet! It takes some getting used to let me tell you, but apparently people pay a lot of money for this treatment normally as they fish only remove the dead skin. I was more cynical and thought they'd probably remove your toe if they could get it in their mouths. The secret was to keep moving!!

This is a picture of me climbing behind the falls.

See what I mean about the fish? I had just had the 'dead skin' removed from my finger tips! The Thai kid below was catching the fish but couldn't keep hold of them - funny to watch.

Here are some of the local wild life! The monitor lizard was scavenging around the river bank, but looked suspiciously like a croc when it swam in the water. The other cheeky monkey practices a whole different art of scavenging! They wait until you go swimming and then have it away with your bag! This one has an apple in its mouth that it has just stole from a kids bag!

We forgot to say a big hello to the 'Barker Troop' thanks for your comment it was lovely to hear from you and also hello again to our neighbours Dean and Debbie.

Jenny Schmenny - sorry about not crediting you for the Bridge on the River Thai question, if you check that blog out you'll see I've give credit where due!!

Last cup of tea question about the first animal in the Monks and Tiger's sanctuary - well, a difference of opinion. The literature we have from the place says it was a peacock. But I see the googler's amongst you Ginny and the phantom 'Kim the Researcher' have a whole host of different animals, some you've probably never heard of (Boor's heed and Bull Begs!!!). So, although our literature mentions a peacock, Ginny and Kim have concrete proof that it was a half mangled chicken - so a cup of tea to Gin and her 'pen name' Kim!

Talking about Ginny - someone remarked that she must be 'on something' - couldn't agree more. Also if any one is having problems understanding my brother, I can offer a translation service for a small fee (cup of tea will do). Noah's Ark - Shark. Also he can speak fluent French and often slips into his Gaelic tongue without even thinking - Bon Jower!

After Kanchanburi we headed off to Phitsanulok, near to Sukhothai, which was once the ancient capital of Thailand - the sort of stuff you put in another blog!!

Tigers and Monks!!

This blog 'does exactly what it says on the tin'!! You get Monks and Tigers. Using 'the force' I can hear your collective thoughts around the world wondering 'what on earth do Tigers and Monks have in common'? Well let us tell you - sit back and get your popcorn, make yourself comfortable while we tell you a little story - oh you might need some tissues to dab away those tears too..........

Once upon a time lots of Tigers lived in the jungles of Thailand until some crackpot from China decreed that if you eat the sexual organs of a tiger you get great strength and healing power. Also, the fashion industry of course thinks tiger skin looks better worn by humans than by ... well tigers! So lots of them have been killed and in the process of killing the adult animals, lots of the tiger cubs starved to death. The monks couldn't stand by and watch the cubs die so they took them in and fed them. Before they knew it, they had lots of tigers, which became difficult to feed, so now they have opened their doors to the tourists and the money they get from the tourists helps to feed and look after the tigers and their cubs. The tigers are tame as they have been hand reared although when the park is open to the public some of them are on long chains. The public can also visit and help walk and exercise the tigers and feed the cubs, some of them take bottles. It's quite a unique place and a little unbelievable when you hear about it but once you visit it's really special.































The more observant of you may have picked up on the strange T shirts that Elvis and I are donning! There's a story to that too. If you're ever going to visit Buddhist monks and tigers, there's two things you should know. 1. In the presence of the monks, woman must have their shoulders covered and legs covered to the knee. 2. In the presence of tigers, you should not wear bright red. Can anybody guess how Elvis and I turned up at the gate. Yes, I had a blazing red shirt on, Elvis in shorts and vest top! The only solution given to us by the staff at the ticket office was to buy two T shirts at what you have probably guessed a very high price. But being seasoned travellers, we had a better idea - I borrowed a shirt from a taxi driver and Elvis from one of the catering staff. Job done - you can see that Elvis's shirt fits like a glove - NOT!!






After a hard day playing with the tourists what's a tiger cub to do but have a little nap. This little fella is 'pooped' out and just about to drop off!

For a cup of tea, any idea which animal was first taken into the monks refuge?

Cups of tea controversy (he's a poet and he doesn't know it).

A cup of tea to.......... Mam Elves, good try Paul, but we were looking for the important link between the number of sleepers and the number of men that died during the building of the railway. Also, Mr Sandersfield, according to info, more Asians died than POW's - but I'd have to check that!

As for 'Kim the Researcher', getting the Grandfather question right and using the word 'lank' in your comment can only lead me to believe that Kim the researcher and Ginny the Sissy are one and the same - Own up Sissy - you've been rumbled!!!

Cup of tea update! - Poor Jenny Schmenny - I forgot to credit you with a perfect answer to the 'where were the steel spans of the bridge on the river Kwai brought from'. Spot on girl - they were part of a bridge in Java, dismantled and brought to the Kwai by barge. We'll throw in some stilton cheese and crackers for making you wait!! (are we forgiven?)

Kanchanaburi

After the wonderful news from the last blog, it is difficult to do a 'normal' blog again! But we'll try!!
Besides, Mrs Sandersfield will be needing to win a few more 'cup of tea' questions so she can sit back and relax when we return in June! So, onto this blog - I think you'll like it!. Take a look at the first picture, are you thinking 'That daft bugger has gone train mad again'? Well, you'd be wrong this time, because the star of this picture is NOT the train, it is in fact the bridge the train is on! Are you intrigued? Do I have your attention?

Does Kanchanaburi in Thailand mean anything to anyone? If I said to look at the second picture and look down the track, you're looking towards a country called Myanmar, would that ring any bells? Probably not, unless you knew that in 1945 Myanmar was named Burma and Thailand was named Siam, you might be able to figure it out. What about if I told you the bridge was a significant piece in the story of world war two and has even had a blockbuster film made about it! If you knew the name of the river was the river Kwai and the film is 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' then the penny should have dropped. Yes, you're looking at the bridge on the river Kwai and the precise point of the bridge where the locomotive is positioned is the span that was completely destroyed by the American bombers (previous attempts at bombing the bridge, as shown in the film, didn't actually do enough damage. The Americans used a prototype 'guided' bomb to do the business - they then went on to bomb the entire world - oops, only kidding).




We split up for a couple of hours and while I went around the museum and cemeteries, Elvis was left the less interesting task of sorting out bus timetables and train times! In the museum there was a little story from each country of the world where soldiers had died building the 'death railway' as it was known. I was astonished when I read the England story to find that they focused on a soldier that was born in Sunderland (see the small part of the info board in the picture). If you can't read it his name was Derek Waud - I'm sure if you want to read more you could Google it. However, the worst was the Dutch exhibit, where they showed actual letters from a very young Dutch girl writing to her Daddy. It was truly heart breaking as her father was already dead but the Japanese never let anyone know who was alive and who had died. I'm not ashamed to say for the first time in as long as I can remember I had real tears rolling down my cheeks. I went to the canteen to have a cup of coffee and the lady said. 'You haven't been reading the letter from the little Dutch girl have you'? I would have answered but I couldn't speak!.








Thailand it says in the museum 'reluctantly declared war on Britain and America', which I hadn't realised but I', sure it was more to try and save themselves from the advancing Japanese. After the war Thailand built this cemetery for the soldiers who died building the railway. It's looked after by the Thai's and it's immaculate! This is a slightly unfair 'cup of tea' question, but to make it fair, anyone from my family (Keith) is not allowed to answer this question. So - none Hodgies, can you guess what the relevance to us Hodgies is the name on the gravestone?










This is a picture of a fully qualified train driver standing at the plate of a Japanese locomotive.


This is our accommodation which was right on the river Kwai - it looks fantastic, but the noise from the tourist boats on a morning sounded like the bombers where on their way back.



The final picture has to be the bridge. There's a plaque next to the bridge as a memorial and it has the words 'at the setting of the sun we shall never forget' written on it. Here's the bridge with the sun setting behind it.








Two cup of tea questions to get Kim 'Ginny's researcher' and the 'Googlers' going.

1.The actual steel spans of the bridge were NOT built by the prisoners. They were part of an existing bridge which was dismantled and brought by boat to the river. Cup of tea if you can tell me where the bridge was brought from?

2. There's a specific reason why the entire rail route is known as 'Death Railway'. Why?

Well done Jenny Wrenny Schmenny (closely followed by Didge) for correctly getting the old name of Thailand - Siam.

Kim (Ginny's researcher) could have had a cup of tea, but forgot to put her name on the blog comment, which opens up a new question - is my Sister paying you for all your research work? It looks like Mrs Sandersfield is claiming your tea Kim (see comment from Shirley). However, if I meet you in the USA sometime, I'll be happy to make you a cup of British tea for just putting up with my sister.

Much to our delight we hired a motorbike for this adventure and also some other adventures over the next few days - surely the subject of another blog!

SUPER DUPER EXTRA SPECIAL NEWSFLASH!!!

Please let us introduce to you all ...... BABY SANDERSFIELD!!!!!

We are just thrilled to be able to share this special news with the bloggers. Our dear friends Paul and Shirley (aka Billy/Rusty and Billie) are expecting their first baby. It's due around the 10th October and they are absolutely over the moon.

Many congratulations Billies, it's wonderful news and we are proud to show the first 'official' photograph..........

Bonkers in Bangers!

13th - 19th March This is the train to Bangkok - or 'Bangers' as nobody else but us calls it. Unfortunately, as we couldn't book the train from the Perhentian Islands, we were relegated to THIRD class (we didn't even think that was legal anymore!) - so instead of a nice comfy bunk for the night, we shared a bench seat for 22 hours with the locals! The seat has a microscopic covering of foam, so when we arrived we were suffering from major 'bot rot'!

In this picture you can see concern on my face - as a fully qualified train driver, I shouldn't really be at the back of the train. What if something happened to the driver? Who would take over?

This is the infamous 'tuk tuk', it's like an unholy match between a reliant robin and a bus shelter. We rode them a few times, they go flat out no matter how busy the traffic is - very exciting though, especially when you go around a corner so fast and realise that you're only on 3 wheels!

This is part of the biggest market we've ever seen. Chatuchak is the mother of all markets. We stopped for some king prawns and rice (mmmm - gorgeous). Out side the Europeans were dropping like flies in the heat - while we were eating a French woman collapsed and was being carried out in the background and it wasn't because the stuff was so cheap!

Here are some Buddha monks praying in one of the many ancient temples around the City. Of course when these temples were built Thailand was known as.... Tell me for a cup of tea.

This is the infamous Khao San Road. IF you've been to Blackpool you know what this is like. If you look carefully you'll see the English pretending they're in Blackpool - spot the Arsenal lad being propped up by his mates having lost the use of his legs! We went for a look and really enjoyed it - especially the street food which was really good. Elvis also had a haircut and treatment, foot massage and that waxing thing that women do - all for a very reasonable price.

In Thailand they do everything on a stick! Chicken, sausage, fruit, corn, fish - anything. But this is taking things a little too far - An ENGINE on a stick!

Another Buddha - in the land of a million Buddhas. One of the Buddhas was covered in a stucco plaster, when they moved it in the 1960's, they dropped it and the plaster broke off revealing a solid gold Buddha underneath!

This is the 'Reclining Buddha' - we're thinking of converting to Buddhism after seeing this - it's the lying around bit that appealed to us!

This is Lumphini Park, where some very odd goings on go on. This is a free participation daily aerobics class. Just as many people come to spectate (us) as to participate (not us).

Here's a more sedate area of the park, where weary tourists can escape the noise of the city for a little while and relax, or even practice their new religion, in the style of the reclining Buddha of course.

Sunset in the very same park.

A splendid view from the top of Wot (temple) Arun. The more observant of you may notice that the model on the right is sporting a new set of shades! Not that the 'fly' or 'earth re-entry shields' have been ditched - just adding to our extensive wardrobe.

Looking along the Mae Nam Chao Phraya river from the top of Wot Arun.

A view of the temples along the river side including Wot Arun - again!

Well done to Anonymous (was that you Schmenny?) with the id on the animal in the Taman Negara blog - it is indeed a slow Loris. Bonus piece of cake with that madam.

Shirley, you will be awash with tea if you keep this up. Yes the islands translate to 'small' and 'large'. I'm going to have to think of more difficult ones.

A quick update to where we are right now. We're in Chiang Mai, which is North Thailand. I (Keith) have just completed a Thai cookery course and we're both off to the mountains for a two day trek tomorrow - all of this is of course for another blog though!!

Hello to Sharon (nee Barton) in Stoke - your sister Jayne tells us you've been checking in on us - hope you're enjoying the carry on!! You can send us a comment if you like, just click the blue 'Comment' at the end of a post. We'd love to hear from you.

Perhentian Islands - Kecil (still Malaysia)

1st - 13th March

Oh, my word! Well we thought we'd died and gone to heaven when we found this little place! A little piece of paradise with turquoise blue water and white sand beaches fringed with the jungle - no high rise, no cars, no banks not even any telephones! Just perfect!! We were only going to stay a couple of nights here but loved it so much we had to tear ourselves away two weeks later! Getting over was a bit hairy though, they say it only takes 40 mins, they didn't say it was the equivalent of riding a roller coaster for 40 mins - the boat went so fast it just bounced from one peak of a wave to the next!



The first photo is Coral Bay which is the next bay around from our beach - Mira. We did the 'jungle stroll' to this bay most days. To keep the old exercise routine up? Of course not, but for the most delicious 'Mango Lassi' drink. It's like a fruit shake mixed with yoghurt, mmm!! Keith also developed a bit of an addiction to the chocolate shakes too - complete with 00's and 000's and the obligatory choccy wafer.


Well what else can you do in paradise but lie in the hammock and enjoy the view. Keith's in the sea - doing his 'shark bait' snorkelling!

This picture is for Mams, so they can go 'Eeeeeh don't they look well'.

Ah, this is our little hut on stilts, note the hanging mobiles and shell and coral decorations - we had a few 'craft' mornings!! It's really just a garden shed on legs - but what do you need? It had a bed, a light and a blue waste paper basket that quickly got re-named Gordon and put to an entirely different use.

A little bay of huts, ten in all which meant there was hardly anyone around ... great!

This is the fishing village where most of the islanders live. No, the flags are not for the arrival of the English but to promote the election - compulsory voting here. Later all the bunting etc made it's way into the sea and onto the beaches - it's a shame but rubbish and it's disposal is a big problem here. I think I may suggest to Sunderland City Council that I take a 'secondment' and tackle this issue - what do you think my chances are?

Must tell all you bloggers that Keith went out on a snorkelling trip and saw a 'black tipped reef shark'. When he returned he triumphantly recalled the tale of this 7ft beast, in true 'Hodgson' style this was later recounted as an 11ft wonder, I think it was 15ft long at the last count!! He said it was the best snorkelling experience so far as the shark passed by within touching distance and actually made eye contact with him as it passed. Strange though, there was no sign of the three piece orchestra that followed the shark around in Jaws - durrum dum dum dum dum derrrrum......

(Quick cup of tea question - can sharks wink? I think I may have been 'had' again!)




A 'jungle trek' around the bays and over the mountain. Very interesting, we saw the most beautiful butterflies and birds. After hearing us (or more so my singing) we frightened off an 8ft long, 2 ft wide monitor lizard! Sorry Christopher Sorrell, too fast for a photo!

Neighbouring Besar Island is in the background. There was much sweating done on this walk, fortunately there's a lovely natural pool all around you for cooling off.

Hum, yes! Keith 'set' this up whilst singing something like "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts..."!! I do believe I was also 'had' by his sister Ginny in a similar situation in a large supermarket carrying two huge melons!!





On a serious note - Keith here, I really did see the shark and of all the dives and snorkelling trips I've done, this was the most amazing. They're so beautifully graceful in the water, it swam by me within 5 feet and looked right at me, it may have been considering me for lunch but was probably put off by the strange smell of sh*** coming from my direction! The guide reckons I was never in any danger, black tips never attack humans - looked like I soiled a good pair of thrappers for nothing!

Well done Shirley Sandersfield - David Webb is the correct answer. Earl Grey or a cup of Cameron's finest?

There's still a cup of tea waiting to be won for a positive id of the creature on the telephone wire (Taman Negara blog) - have I beaten you all this time or do you not know how to 'google' it?

We've had a few anonymous messages from people, try to remember to put your name on the messages so we can pick on you in future blogs!

A new cup of tea question - we were on Kecil island and opposite was Besar Island. There could soon be tea flowing for the first to tell us what does Kecil and Besar mean already?

Today is the 22nd March, we're still in Thailand, further North. We're sitting in the lobby of the guesthouse on the 't'internet' while all the owners are gathered around the TV watching Thailands version of 'Pop Idol / X Factor' - hilarious!!