Fireflies in Amphawa

After my trip to Ayutthaya, I decided I wanted to try and take some more trips around Bangkok to the places worth seeing nearby. One of those was Amphawa. Amphawa is about 50 miles south east of Bangkok in Samut Songkhram province. It has its own floating market and is quite close to the Damnoen Saduak floating market that is so famous. Amphawa is also meant to be one of the best places to see fireflies in Thailand. And if that's not enough, to get there you can go on the train that goes through the Mae Klong market. So - why not go!?

Josie and I were very keen to take the train there which would consist of catching the BTS to Wongwian Yai, then walking to the Wongwian Yai station. The train cost us an extortionate 10B each (20p) and would take us to Maha Chai station.

Market outside Wongwian Yai station

Train times as we passed one of the smaller stations

When we arrived at Maha Chai we walked to the river where we caught the ferry. It cost 3B each (6p) and was packed with mopeds, bikes and people.

Waiting for the ferry

We then had a long wait for our next train as they only run 4 times a day. We wandered to a little food stall where we had a nice cold coke each. Then waited at the station, reading our books.

More train times - Ban Laem Station

Ticket office at Ban Laem

Banlaem, waiting for the train to Mae Klong

Bird cages along the station

That train (another 10B each) then took us to Mae Klong which is famous for being the town with the Railway Market. This means the train runs right through the middle of the market. It was unbelievable actually. There'll be pictures of it at the end of this blog, but even having been through on the train on the way there, I didn't actually believe it'd fit again! 

Our hotel was nice, and right on the river. We had some lunch and went to see the fireflies that evening. We hired a river taxi (boat) that took us to the floating market and then on to see the fireflies once it was dark. It was quiet and peaceful and the fireflies were like tiny fairylights glimmering in the trees. Couldn't really capture them on camera so have stolen someone else's photos from online! 

Drinks and dinner before the fireflies tour

View of the market from our river taxi

Floating market

These are a little bit disney-fied but it was similar!

They weren't quite as bright as this, but there were this
many. The light was a little softer.

The next day we borrowed bikes from the hotel and went on a ride to see some of the nearby temples. There were so many to see and they were really quiet. Except for the dogs that barked and chased us off the grounds if they didn't like the look of us! It was good to go and visit some temples that weren't really touristy. As beautiful as Wat Po and the Grand Palace are, they're so busy. We had these all to ourselves.

Thai memorials

Spirit house

We spent a little time by the pool relaxing and had a massage which was very indulgent. Dinner at the hotel was good and we even saw a few little fireflies as we were walking back to our room in the trees. Amazing!

The railway market was the beginning of our journey home again and this time we were able to see quite how unusual it was. The gangway of the market is tiny, even when there is no train there. It's literally the size of the tracks and then the market stalls all crowd around it and encroach on the lines.

The produce is mostly food and there were lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and fish products. Even some butchers trays of meat all laid out on benches or the floor. 

As the train's arrival got nearer, more tourists gathered at the station with their cameras at the ready. With only minutes until it was due, there was still no change in the market!

Ticket office

Awaiting the train and still selling food...

Then we hear the train's horn and all of the market stalls were pulled back in the space of 30 seconds. Some left their produce still almost touching the tracks. The train inches through slowly and the stall holders patiently waited until it had passed, then pushed everything back out again behind it!

View of the market from the train as we left

It was definitely worth the journey! Amphawa was a nice little getaway for a few day with some unique sights and a relaxing atmosphere. Now I've seen it, I don't think I'd go again, although it'd be a nice trip for visitors.

Holiday Reading List

I'm a geek and that means one of my favourite things to do while on holiday is read. When I was younger, a large chunk of my holiday bag was taken up with 3 or 4 books. Now, thanks to my lovely friends in the DSHS Eng Department, I only need to pack my kindle and have hundreds of book choices for holidays.

Before going on holiday during the last term of school, I'd recently managed to read...

The Hobbit was a re-read and I really enjoyed it! It was so cosy and English with all that Hobbit baking and eating. I especially liked the description of Bilbo on his horse, hood pulled up against the rain as he began his adventure. 

The others were all good, but no real outstanding reads. I enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy. Not a huge fan of Storm Front though. 

So, my holiday reading was...

One for the Money - Four to Score

I read the first four of these Janet Evanovich books after Mum recommended them to me. They're laugh out loud funny and follow the life of Stephanie Plum, a bond enforcement agent, who somehow manages to have things all work out in the end even though her cars get blown up, Grandma gets in the way and she always eats fast food. A series of trashy but addictive rom-com books.

Faithful Place

Recommended by a colleague at work and set in Ireland. This is a crime/mystery about a girl who went missing 20 years ago and how the community cope with new evidence about her disappearance. Compelling throughout but a weaker ending. Still worth a read.

A Bad Beginning

Always one to enjoy children's books, I thought I'd try this. It was ok, but nothing special. Back to HP and Phillip Pullman for me!

The Giver

Set in a futuristic, dystopian society this is about a young boy who is growing up and discovering things about his sheltered world. Ok for a quick read but not a seminal novel for dystopia. 

Eclectic Sheep that Androids Never Dream Of

A series of short science fiction stories but my very talented uncle Bob Lock. They're quirky, thought provoking and funny. Definitely worth a read - you can get it on Smashwords. 

The Earth Hums in B Flat

Such a pretty name and book cover! This is set in Wales and is about an imaginative little girl growing up and not quite understanding the things going on around her. I really liked the way she views the world. 

The Godfather

By far one of the best books holiday reads I've had in a while. It drags you into the story and the epic, dynastic feel definitely makes it a keeper. And makes you want to eat Italian tomato sauce with fresh bread.

Not bad for two weeks! I'll keep you updated on any more reads!

And the award for the biggest disappointment goes to...

I really liked the first one, Feed. But this was atrocious. I don't know whether it was because I listened to it on audiobook so the characters had horrifically cheesy American accents, or because of the terrible inner dialogues along the lines of 'Goddamit, I miss her. Miss her so goddam much. Damn. It hurts. I miss her.' Add that to breathy, over acting and you've got a nightmare. Such a shame. 

Bali and Gilis: Part 4 - Legian

Day Thirteen

We were very sorry to say goodbye to Gili Trewangan but had to. Lucy was staying for a few days longer, but Steve was getting the same boat as us back to Bali. We had a light breakfast (Rach and I were NOT looking forward to our boat trip back!) and went to the pier to wait for the Gili Cat.

We were, thankfully, put on the open backed Gili Cat II which was MUCH better. Rach and I made sure we were near the back. Although we got very wet - it was a better option than very sick. Coming into Pandang Bay was ROUGH! Huge waves but fresh air, so we felt much better. 

Sea spray chic

Boat off Lombok

Although we weren't as sea sick, it was still quite rough.
You can see Gili T in the background.

We were very happy to be on dry land again and got in a minivan which took us to Legian. We'd decided on a few nights here as it was quite near Kuta and was meant to be a bit more lively. To be fair, after the paradise that was Gili T, Legian didn't stand much of a change! It was a bit more touristy and the beaches were ok, but no where near as good as the islands.

Best pizza ever!

The hostel we stayed at was lovely. The cafe was so good and had a proper pizza oven there. We had pizza for our dinner and then had a quiet evening reading/by the pool. 

Day Fourteen

We had a nice breakfast of toast and jam, fruit and juice before heading to the beach. Sadly, we'd obviously used up all our nice weather quota. It was a little like being on a beach in November, in the UK. Although warmer!

We were hopeful it would blow over, but then it started to rain so we went for lunch at a near by hotel. Some quesadillas and a club sandwich later, we were able to stay at the hotel pool for a few hours and make the most of the sunshine that had now come out. 

Much better!

Our hostel had given us free hour-long massage vouchers when we arrived so we went back and had one each. As Legian wasn't as exciting as we'd hoped, we decided to go for a more indulgent meal that evening. Six cocktails and some fab tapas later, we thought Legian was a much nicer place!

Mozzarella sticks, patatas bravas, and brie, mushroom and
onion toasts

Sunset cocktails

Chocolate brownie with mint sauce

We got absolutely drenched on the walk home as the skies opened. But after our wet weekend in Samet, we were used to it!

Day Fifteen

Kate had told us we HAD to go to Jimbaran for the BBQs on evening. As the weather and beaches hadn't been so great at Legian, we decided to go and spend the day there. It was a really good decision. The drive only took 30 minutes and we had a great space on the beach in front of a little restaurant where we could enjoy the sunshine. 

We moved further down the beach to the busier part and chose a restaurant to eat in. We had a whole red snapper and a white snapper that were cooked in lime, garlic and chili over coconut husks. It was delicious! We had a great view of the sunset for our last night of holiday. 

We packed our things the next day and headed to the airport. In two weeks, we'd seen so many pretty places and sights and tried some amazing food. We'd also managed to squeeze in lots of reading, sunbathing and relaxing which was just what we wanted after finishing our first year of international teaching. 

Thank you Bali and Gili Trawangan - I hope to visit again one day!