Goodbye Railay, hello Bangkok

Our last day in Railay was spent rock climbing in the morning and relaxing in the afternoon.
We headed over to 123 wall for a few easy climbs. The first one I climbed, I put my hand in a classic limestone pocket only to have a gecko shoot out, run down my arm, down my leg and launch into space. All I saw was a flash of legs so it scared the bejesus out of me.
After a lovely lunch at a small inland thai restaurant we returned to our bungalow as the rains started.



Rain really comes down in Thailand. One night it was so heavy that the path out the front was as deep as my ankles.
We had collected cowrie shells from the beach earlier so Sue took the time to arrange them.



For our final night the clouds finally lifted and the full moon shone through the palm trees.



So an early morning boat ride to the airport and we arrived in the chaos of Bangkok. After 10 days where there are no cars and boat is the only transport, it does take time to get used to all the bustle.



We went for a walk to a local market which was a food market and just wonderful.






There was the usual fair of chicken and curries,fried foods and smells buti particularly liked this stand. The woman just walking out of shot was the stall holder and was occasionally nibbling at her produce not dissimilar to how we nibble a grape at the supermarket. She seemed particularly fond of the deep fried maggots.



However there was much choice. Crickets,larvae,beetles and only 20 baht! Less than a buck a bag! Yummy.
Today is Loy krathong day in Thailand and traditionally a Krathong is floated in a waterway for a good year. Susie and I went on a dinner cruise as part of this.
The food was wonderful, including this yam bird nest with sugar birdie.



So in true Thai style, I ate it.



Here we are with our krathongs.



These were then lit and placed into the water.



And where do they all go?
Well about 10 meters away,this was going on.



I'll leave you now with a somewhat blurry photo of the lanterns ascending into the night sky.



Will do another blog later for today as we went to the floating market then visited the bridge over the river Kwai. Tomorrow off to the grand palace,shopping then home.

Location:Bangkok