Exploring the Chao Phraya

Chao Phraya is also known as its ancient name Menom Chao Phraya
length: 372km O_O
flows from north of Thailand thru Bangkok city
with its own water system
irrigation and transportation
JS was hiding in the shade while waiting for our "long-tail-boat"
Khun Chai booked us one whole boat just fo the 3 of us
:P
*yes we were treated like Emperor and Emperess at all time*

on the background is the Rama VIII cable bridge

I had problem getting in and alighting this small lil boat
I've alwiz had problem with water transportation
dunno why -_-
our boat driver who was so kind and sweet
he slowed the boat down everytime we were trying to snap pic
and off we go!!!!!
usually the tourist boat ride will take u to the normal route
out on the open Chao Phraya
all u see are buildings...the city...more buildings...the palace...

but Mr. Boat Driver brought us to see more than the above
:)))))))))))))))
the life of Chao Phraya :))))))))))))
there are roughly about 2 million ppl staying by the river
living on stilt home above the water
and they have proper sewage, water pipping, electricity and all
and mind u some of these houses dun even have land access
so most of them own small lil boats and canoes to travel around.
yes simple boat like this.....
u see em everywhere parked outside their dwellings.
from afar I can see her beautiful smile :)))))
Thailand is truly a "Land of Smiles"

selling souvenirs and cold drinks :))))))))))
May I suggest u sell ice cream too?
AAAAAAAA thirst quencher
Baby Coke!!!! 250ml
classic wooden house with their "Car" parked on the garage
:P
then we de-toured to smaller canals
there were like thousands of canals branching out here n there
upgrading and maintenance works along the canal
there were so many canals I thought we were lost :P
children playing
one of the many beautiful temple along the canal
some houses were amazingly beautiful

later we were back on the main river again
the above was the Grand Palace
this trip, we didn't have the time to visit the Grand Palace
we'll plan something again in the next few months
:)))))))))

the 90 minutes boat ride along the Chao Phraya was really an eye opener
that's the way to go if u wanna see the REAL Thailand.

Simple breakfast

we started the day off with a cuppa
while waiting for Khun Chai to pick us up
Si Fu Lawrence will pengsan if he sees the above
for he HATES cinnamon!!!
then Khun Chai came and asked us: "Have u had your breakfast?"
both JS and Monkey: "NO!!!!"
*ok confession...only me who said tat*

Khun Chai: "No problem, I will bring you to a nice beef balls."
Monkey: "YES YES YES YES plssssssssssss."
this place was full with action
of ladies hard at work, packing chili sauces, packing noodles for orders to go...
pouring pipping hot soup....

tourists will never walk into this tiny shop
but looking at its crowd at 9am on a public holiday
u know it's GOOD!!!!!
standard condiment on the table
sugar, cili flakes and green chili sauce
green chili sauce were made fr GREEN cili which were roasted then pounded
to achieve the superb BURNT cili flava.
then came my noodle which was so simple
with 5 meatballs...some beans sprouts...dash of fish sauce and spring onions
all in a clear BEEF broth!!!
so u add a lil of this and that and MAKAN
oh my blarddy gawd....it was so delicious!!!!!!!!!
only 30 Baht = RM 3
later outside the shop we saw this....
small lil muffins like dessert.
*i forgot its name*
it was first layered with some flour eggie thingy...
once the first layer has formed,
pour the mixture of coconut milk with some secret ingredients innit

then u wait for it to cook a lil bit more before adding more goodies!!!

there's sweet corn, yam, spring onions and some yellow thing i dunno wat was tat.
results was a crispy on the outside mini muffins with a thin crust
sweet and savoury creamy coconut milk filings which was half cooked on the inside
it ooozzzzeeeeeessss out in my mouth
oh YUMMMMMMMMM

20 baht = RM 2 for twelve pieces
O_O

Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Ayutthaya

Wat Chaiwatthanaram is the most beautiful temple
lies just outside the border of Ayutthaya Kingdom
by the Chao Phraya river banks.
constructed in 1630 by King Prasat Thong
dedicated to his mother
Wat Chaiwatthanaram translates to Temple of LONG REIGN and Glorious era.
sooooooo LONG
"What is the name of this place?"
Our driver cum tourist guide Khun Chai in such a passionate tone: "Wat Chaiwatthanarram"

"Wat wat wat??? wat RAM???"
both tourist guide and JS -_-"
constructed in Khmer style
eh readers...we are not in Cambodia OK?
still in Thailand.
See the tallest one there?
it's a 35 metres "Prang"
*dun ask me wat is prang -_-*
surrounded by smaller Chedis
princes and princesses were cremated inside the Chedis
and all the 8 Chedis were connected through underground passageway
*just like pyramids*
remains of a Buddha Statue
there were hundreds of them here.
some were reconstructed
look at the head..they are new.
very hot, sunny and cloudless day
we were busy circulating this place to enjoy/hate the sun
him enjoy, me hate.
*I'm sure all of u know tat by now*
main draw of this place is to climb the Prang
easy peasy eh?
only some flights of stairs...
not like I've never climbed stairs before
after 3 steps
*huffed & puffed*

FARK!!! why is it so STEEP?
Look!!! each step = 4 bricks!!!
Do u know how high was each step???
and each step can barely accommodate my Monkey foot!!!
so small!!!!
I was clinging on to my LIFE!!!!
then I looked up
JS was already up there.

"wat are u??? huh???"
JS: "If u eat less u'll make it up here."
Monkey was crawling up all the way like a slow pig
Khun Chai must be luffing at me down there.

Halfway up there...I turned around and looked down
BIG MISTAKE~~~~
Monkey let out a scream
I bet the whole Kingdom of Ayutthata heard me

"NO~~~~~ I'm gonna get down!!!!"
but HOW?
the steps were so small I found it so difficult to turn my body and alight down
Later I found out, u must go down just the way u climbed up
which was reverse down coz u can never ever face the royalty with you BUTT
and the reason they made it so steep.....so that u are climbing up with your hands
on the steps...with bended knees.

No reason for bended knees
coz I can't feel my knees at ALL!!!!!
*Pics stolen fr JS's camera*
his camera can do the above not my toy camera
actually hor....I've stolen quite a number of pics fr his camera
kekekekkekeke
Monkey the city slicker and Mr-Know-it-all

this was the first WAT we visited when we reached Ayutthaya
I didn't know that it's gonna be a long hot day visiting more of these beautiful ruins
for therre were 166 WATS in Ayutthaya
GAH!!!!