SE Asia XVII - Trekking in Northern Laos

I went to Luang Nam Tha to go trekking in the Nam Tha national park. Luang Nam Tha is a fine small town. What makes Luang Nam Tha special is the scenery surrounding, rich green rice fields dotted with small villages. Luang Nam Tha is renowned for Nam Tha national park. An untouched part of jungle in northern Laos. I did the 3 day Forest Camp trek with Green Discovery.

We spent 3 days out in the jungle, only coming across people on the last day. When we did they were local tribes people. The first Akha tribes people were hunters with a pack of dogs and homemade rifles (they looked like muskets). One of the most atmospheric parts of the trek was following one of the Akha guides on the last day as he was singing to himself and flashing his machete at any piece of foliage that crossed his path. On the last day we stopped at an Akha village and were invited up to the chiefs hut. Although it did not comapre to my experience in the Cameron Highlands when I visited an Orangi Alsi village. While there weren't any tourists around once we arrived everyone tried to sell us a bracelet or necklace. It is understandable that they want to make some extra money but it does make it difficult for you when you are faced with so many people.

The trek had not begun auspiciously. We had walked for only five minutes before coming across a bog and I managed to get stuck up to my ankles in the mud and very nearly fell face first into it if one of the guides hadn't grabbed me. We were constantly walking up or down, it was very rare to come across a flat stretch. The local tribes people have massive calves from living in the terrain. We walked for about 4 hours a day and didn't get up early. The most difficult parts of the trek were probably the number of single log bridges we had to walk across. On the first one, Jackie, fell off and luckily didn't hurt herself. The day's trekking was quicker than the guides said because we had a relatively fast group. The guides weren't setting the pace. The guides were good and pretty informative. We came across a herd of Buffalo. One of whom was particularly curious, she wandered across the river and had a good sniff of us, while her colleagues rolled about in the mud.We spent the night's in huts in the jungle. We had sleeping bags and mosquito nets. The first night was absolutely freezing and I struggled to sleep. On the second night mice scurried around. Every meal was sticky rice with buffalo meat and some vegetables of some sort (generally cabbage). On the last night the Akha guides brought some chickens. The only bottled water we had for the three days was what we carried in with us, once this ran out we were on to boiled water. Kevin and Travis decided to bring a couple of bottles of Beer Lao with them. There was plenty of rice whiskey round the camp fire, even a green variety. It was a very enjoyable 3 days especially because Travis, Kevin, Josephine and Jackie were a great bunch of people.

I booked my tour with Green Discovery, a 3 day trek for $87. One thing to bear in mind if you are travelling on your own is that these treks will not go with 1 person. They require a minimum of 2 people, so your choice of what trek to do can be limited by what other people want to do. I was under the impression that going deep into the jungle we would visit tribal villages removed from the outside world. I wasn't the only one under this impression. Two people in our group of five had already done the Green Discovery 2 day 1 night trek (where they spent a night next to a village) and enjoyed it so much that they did the 3 day trek. On our first night we arrived at our camp in the middle of the forest. We had a wash in the ice cold stream and then had dinner. When dinner finished we asked our guide when we would be visiting the village. He replied that there was no village. We paused and asked again. We couldn't understand why there wasn't a village nearby because we had two tribes people who came with us. It turned out that these two tribes people had come from the village on the road we were dropped at before beginning our hike. The second night I again assumed we would be near a village but we were staying in an abandoned village and the Akha had moved 3 hours away. The 3 day trek is described as the Nam Ha Forest Camp. The sales pitch on their website and on their leaflets is ambiguous enough for you to infer what you want from them. The fact that all 5 of us were under the wrong impression shows that they should make things clearer.

Luang Nam Tha is a fine small town. It was rebuilt after being bombed flat during the Second Indochina War. The most atmospheric part of town is by the river where the locals have built a bamboo bridge. If you don't want to go trekking then it is still possible to explore the countryside near to the town which is dotted with villages. It is worth cycling (or hiring a tuk-tuk) to go to Wat Phoum Pouk, while the ruins are not worth seeing in themselves the view is beautiful and the journey along the dirt tracks through the green rice paddies is superb. A feature Luang Nam Tha are the drug pushers. Akha tribe women walk up and down the high street. If you are sitting in any of the restaurants or cafes along here they will attempt to sell you tribal bracelets. They are persistent. If you decide to purchase a bracelet a tribal hat will then appear with sachets of drugs inside.

For a small town there are a lot of options for eating in Luang Nam Tha. There is a particularly good Indian restaurant and the night market serves cheap local food. One particular evening I wandered along the main street and stumbled into a small restaurant. At first I thought it was a Lao restaurant of sorts and then I realised it was a Chinese restaurant. The staff seemed entirely unused to foreigners (or maybe anyone) having dinner there. I was sternly ordered to sit down and brought a menu. The menu was in three languages, English, Lao and Chinese. I choose my order and was then surrounded by a group of Chinese who tried to interpret my order. I wasn't sure why there was such a great deal of confusion as the translation in Chinese (and Lao) was written next to what I had picked in English. Once they had decided what I wanted they told me I that I couldn't have it. I choose something else and my choice was again met by a debate. They seemed particularly confused by the latest request for fried carrots. The debate ceased and a carrot appeared from the kitchen. It was a sorry excuse for a carrot and I wasn't entirely sure whether they wanted me to confirm that I wanted carrots or whether they wanted to see if I would eat their carrots. I gave the thumbs up and the cook went away very pleased with herself. I also ordered a Sprite which was again met by a vigorous debate. A bottle of Sprite appeared which I accepted and everyone was again very pleased with themselves. By this stage I had begun to wonder about the merits of my choice. However, somewhat surprisingly, the food was excellent.

I stayed at Khomking Guesthouse and another Guesthouse (I can't remember the name but you can't miss it as it has a huge Honda sign on the front). At both establishments I had a double ensuite with hot shower for 60,000 Kip (at Honda I had a TV as well). Khomking was a nicer place to stay and the staff were friendlier. At Honda after I arrived from the trek I had a shave and a shower when I walked back passed reception the owner seemingly forgot who I was with my transformed appearance and demanded I pay for the room (which I had done less than an hour before).

When you arrive at Luang Nam Tha on the bus you aren't actually in Luang Nam Tha but 8kms away at the new bus station. The new bus station is further from town then the new airport. Plenty of buses still go to the old bus station in town, but not ones coming from Huay Xai or going to Luang Prabang. It costs 10,000 Kip to get into town in a shared tuk-tuk. When I left Luang Nam Tha I had to pay 20,000 Kip for a tuk-tuk to the bus station, if you can get a share one then it is 10,000 Kip. Unfortunately while there are lots of travellers coming and going the only way to get the 10,000 Kip tuk-tuk is to buy your bus ticket in town. You will end up paying 5-10,000 Kip more than you should but it may be the easiest way to do it. I was going to go directly to Luang Prabang but that bus was full (with half an hour to go) so I managed to squeeze on to a bus bound for Udomxai (halfway to Luang Prabang) on a plastic stool.

SE Asia XVI - Goodbye Thailand, Hello Laos

The Mekong river is the border between Thailand and Laos in the north and then again for the central and southern regions. Chiang Klong and Huay Xia sit opposite one another across the northern border. They exist in a relaxed stupor with some beautiful scenery surrounding them. They do not have the hustle and bustle of commercial border towns (such as Mae Sai). While most people pass through and only stay if they have to, they both make a nice relaxed place to watch the Mekong flow by.

Thailand and Laos are similar in many ways. Ethnically Thai and Lao are very similar. Today more ethnic Lao live in Bangkok then Vientaine (the capital of Laos), due to internal migration from Isan. The languages are very similar. Lao is a newer language than Thai but it is based on an older alphabet. When Laos decided to formalise the language they used an alphabet devised by the Thais (which in turn had been created by Khmer scholars who used Mon scripts as models). Understandably there are a great number of similarities between the languages. The lowland Laos generally understand Thai. The number system is almost identical and as a foreigner the only new number you really need to learn is for a thousand (other than eight or twenty). The need for a thousand is because the smallest denomination in Kip (Lao currency) is 1,000. There is a 500 Kip note but most tourists haven't seen one and it is pretty difficult to buy anything for 500 Kip. The exchange rate is roughly 10,000 Kip to 1 US Dollar. The romanization of the Lao language suffers from a similar problem to that of Thailand in that there isn't a standard romanization. The romanization of the Lao language is generally how the French would pronounce it rather than the English. The clearest example of this is with the name of the capital Vientiane. The correct English pronunciation is Wieng Chan. However, if you say this to fellow travellers they do not know where you are referring to.

Unsurprisingly Thailand and Lao, being bordering nations, have a history that is woven together . Laos was originally the bigger player. The Kingdom of Lan Xang, Land of a Million Elephants (the equivalent today would be the Land of a Million Tanks) established by Fa Ngum in 1353 originally held sway. However, ever since the invasion of 1778 Laos has very much been the junior partner to Thailand (Siam). Thailand's most revered Buddhist artifact is the emerald Buddha, which was taken from Vientiane during the invasion of 1778. In 1827 the Siamese burnt Vientiane to the ground and deported most of the population to Siamese lands. The Vietnamese also pressured Laos, with the province of Xiang Khoang being a Vietnamese protectorate since the 15th century. If it wasn't for the intervention of the French and the protection that they offered it is conceivable that Lao would have ceased to exist. In 1893 the French pressured the Siamese into accepting a French protectorate east of the Mekong. However, this confined the vast majority of the Lao population to be left in Siam, the region of Isan north-eastern Thailand. Laos only has a population of 6 million people, with the Isan people it would be close to 20 million. In 1987 Thailand and Laos relations descended into conflict over a border dispute, 1,000 people died before a cease-fire was called in 1988.


Chiang Klong is the crossing point to Huay Xai in Laos. Chiang Klong is so relaxed it is almost horizontal. The locals are particularly friendly, even by Thai standards. I went looking for the Giant Catfish Museum. This part of the Mekong is famed for them. I stumbled upon a group of local fisherman who invited me to join them. They were drinking rice whiskey and by their general mood had got through a fair amount already. A few spoke some broken English and my phrasebook was used in reverse to ask me questions. They enquired about my I Love the King t-shirt and whether it was because I liked yellow, when I said it was for the King they were extremely pleased. They found my attempts at pronouncing their names hilarious. One of them wanted his photo taken with me and they were very pleased to have a group shot. I was invited to join them the next day, to which I politely declined as I was going to Laos. If you are in Chiang Klong in the afternoon pop down to the Giant Catfish Museum and I am sure they will be there.

Huay Xai is smaller and a touch down trodden compared to Chiang Klong. I wandered up the boat ramp into the town and I kept getting hassled by one particular sangthaew driver. I sat down in a cafe at BOP Guesthouse for a drink only to discover that this guy owned it. He continued hassling me and then offered his sister to me in marriage. There seemed to be a lot of travellers staying there, but I wasn't impressed by Huay Xai's version of Del Boy. I stayed at Oudomphone Guesthouse. It was 250B for a double ensuite with hot shower. Much like Chiang Klong there are alot of guesthouses and hotels to choose from.


I caught the 3rd class bus to Chiang Klong from Chang Rai (57B) taking 4 hours. The bus stops on the outskirts of town and it costs 20B for a motorcyle taxi or a 10 minute walk into the town centre. There are lots of guesthouses to choose from. They line the road through town, that parallels the Mekong. I settled for Baan Tamila, about halfway through town. The room (a twin) was 350B, with ensuite hot shower and a view of the Mekong. The restaurant had an even better view.


The border crossing is exceptionally straightforward. On the Thai side follow the road through Chiang Klong to the end, walk down the slope towards the Mekong and get your passport stamped at Thai immigration. The longboats to cross the Mekong are at the bottom of the ramp. There is a tent with a desk where you pay 30B to cross to Huay Xai. The journey takes less than 5 minutes. On my boat were a large group of people doing the slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. I was surprised at the number of people doing it considering the bad reports I had heard about the journey. When I reached Luang Prabang I met lots of people who had done it and their opinions o the journey ranged from indifference to annoyance about the journey. On the Huay Xai side you walk up the ramp and then up a flight of stairs to Laos immigration. You can get your visa here. I got mine in Bangkok at the Laos embassy. I didn't realise at the time but because the Laos government now gives 30 day visas at the Huay Xai border crossing they now give visitors 60 days if you already have your visa.

The journey from Huay Xai to Laung Nam Tha was a good introduction to bus travel in northern Laos. The bus looked new and for some reason had lots of small sliding windows. Once we got going the conductor handed out plastic bags to all of the Lao passengers. For the next 4 hours they vomited into the bags and threw them out of the small windows. A guy infront of me vomited throughout the 4 hour journey and managed to get off with a big smile on his face. As an American traveller aptly put it, "They are good at getting it out". I met another traveller who was on a 10 hour bus journey (standard in northern Laos) and during the journey they ran out of plastic bags. The road from Huay Xai to Luang Nam Tha is a new road built by the Chinese. It is in excellent condition apart from a couple of sections. The road is constantly winding its way up one hill to plunge down the other side, with switch back after switch back. While passing through lots of little hill tribe villages. The time that buses leaves Huay Xai for Luang Nam Tha is as clear as mud. I saw signs saying 8 am and 9 am, and asked in my guesthouse and was told 8.30am and 12.30pm. I arrived at the bus station at a quarter to eight and only to find that buses leave at 9am and 1.30pm for 55,000 Kip. I know the price for a tuk-tuk from the centre of town to the bus station should be 10,000 Kip, I was quoted 20,000 Kip and kept walking, A motorcycle pulled up next to me and offered me a lift for free. When we finally arrived at the bus station it turned out that the driver was Thai (he used his nationality as an explanantion to why he had not charged me). The bus station is a long way out of town and unless you come across a helpful Thai you may just have to pay 20,000 Kip.

SE Asia XV - China in Thailand

Mae Salong is a wonderful small town sitting atop a mountain ridge in northern Thailand. It is one of the least Thai parts of Thailand because it was settled by Chinese nationalist troops. The KMT (Kuo Min Tung Chinese) arrived in Mae Salong after losing China to the communist forces. They originally settled in the Shan state of Burma and launched two large scale raids into China (supported by the CIA) both of which were stopped by the communist troops. They turned their new home into a fortified drug den and became semi-autonomous. The Burmese were understandably not pleased to have a large mercenary force in their country and attempted to drive them out. The Burmese failed militarily but put diplomatic pressure on the US at the UN resulting in an agreement to airlift the troops to Taiwan. Not all of them left so willingly and set up camp across the border in Thailand at Mae Salong. They continued opium production and remained semi-autonomous in Thailand until the 1980s. The Thais used the KMT to help stop communist insurgents in the north. Since the 1980s with crop substitution and greater control from Bangkok the opium trade has been wiped out in the area. To this day the locals still speak Chinese (Yunnanese). When you wander around the area lots of signs are in Chinese. In my accommodation almost all of the TV channels were in Chinese.

Mae Salong is now famed for its tea. One of the ways that opium production was wiped out was through crop substitution with tea. The hills are covered in tea plantations. There are a plethora of tea shops in town that will let you taste the teas in an elaborate Chinese tea ceremony. They will also try and sell you Chinese tea sets, made in Taiwan. I found a 12 year old entrepreneur who sold me some green tea. The whole transaction was tricky because she didn't speak a word of English, my Thai is basic and I don't speak Chinese. Apart from the Chinese and tea, Mae Salong is also surrounded by hill tribe villages. It is very easy go off on walks across the surrounding hills and pass through lots of different villages. Akha women in full tribal dress are a regular sight in town. One of the highlights of staying in Mae Salong is the morning market. It is the most intimate charming market that I have visited in Thailand. It is very small and attracts people from the hill tribes aswell as the local Chinese.

I had intended to travel directly to Mae Salong from Chang Mai. I caught a bus to Tha Ton and arrived at 2.30pm only to discover that Sangthaews only go up to Mae Salong between 7am and 1pm. There was, hoiwever, a bus to Mae Sai at 3pm so I jumped on that. Sangthaews only run back down to Tha Ton from Mae Salong until 3pm and back to Ban Pasang before 1pm. Mae Sai is the northern most town in Thailand. It is a border crossing into Burma. It is a much bigger, busier town than I expected. After dark I felt a touch uncomfortable walking around, a feeling I hadn't had in Thailand. A regular Sangthaew runs between the bus station and the border for 10B. You are dropped off at the bridge, accommodation runs along the river to the right of the bridge. To find it walk to the left of the immigration office on the bridge and you will come to a covered street with stalls, follow this along and you will find different accommodation lined along it. I ended up staying in Riverside Guesthouse which was damp and tatty, and expensive at 400B. The next morning I caught a Chang Rai bound bus to Ban Pasang. I waited 2 hours for 5 more people to show up to share a Sangthaew with. We paid 70B each (it would have been 50B with 7) to go up to Mae Salong. I stayed at Shin Sane guesthouse, run by a very happy go lucky Chinese guy. I paid 200B for a bungalow with ensuite hot shower. It gets cold at night and a hot shower is a must in my book. Three guesthouses are grouped next to one another. There are also more expensive ones further afield.

From Mae Salong I stopped in Chang Rai. Chang Rai is a very quiet town with nothing of any real note. The night market is good and there are a couple of good temples. The Hill Tribe museum is well worth visiting and has alot of information regarding the tribes in the Golden Triangle. I choose not to go hiking to hill tribes in Northern Thailand because I have heard bad reports about it from fellow travellers. I have been told many stories where treks from Chang Mai are well worn paths full of tourists heading up to markets where tourists gawk at the hill tribe people and take photos. Until I went to the Hill Tribe museum I didn't realise that one of the premier hill tribe attractions, the Karen long neck tribe, was even more exploitative. The Karen are not native to Thailand, they come from Burma. They fled Burma and are refugees in Thailand. They are placed in prison camps outside the main refugee camps where tourists can come and visit, pay an entry fee and take photos. The UNHCR has now got involved, click here to read an article on BBC News about it.

How to get a job on the mines in Australia

I have added this post because I have noticed a number of people visiting the blog in relation to my experience working on the mines in WA. What I have written below is my perspective on how to get a job. A perspective based on working as an Exploration Field Technician for Jubilee Mines at their Cosmos and Sinclair sites from August to November 2007. The suggestions below are by no means exhaustive.

How do I get a job on the mines of Western Australia?

1 - Know someone working on the mines.
It may be a long way removed from the old boys club of public schools and city corporations in London but the mining industry in many respects is closed to outsiders. A large number of jobs do not appear to be advertised to the general public. Most people I spoke to got their job because they knew someone senior who could get them the job or they had a friend who told them that there was an opening and told them who to contact. In the Exploration team a large proportion of Field Technicians got their job because someone senior wanted a job for a relation. I got my job because a friend of the family was a Geologist.

2- Find people working on the mines.
Do not despair if your uncle isn't on the board of directors of BHP. The easiest way to find people who work on the mines is to go where mine workers go. While life on the mines is more civilised then it once lots of mine workers still spend their R&R sitting in pubs. I spoke to one Drillers' Offsider who went to the pubs in Kalgoorlie and talked to people. He eventually found someone who gave him a name to contact higher up in the company.

3 - Contact the mine companies directly.
Speculative inquiries for mine jobs do not appear to be the norm but that doesn't mean they don't work. A colleague got her job by phoning around mining companies based in Perth.

4 - Who are the mining companies?
If you want more information then a good place to start could be doing the Marcsta course in Perth. The Marcsta is basic health and safety for mine sites. If you already have a job lined up then the mining company will often pay for you to do this (they did for me). When I did my Marcsta the majority of people did not have jobs lined up and the instructor spent most of the day talking to them about what sorts of jobs were available and what to expect on a mine site. The classroom where I did my Marcsta had maps with the names of all the different mines in WA. It would be possible to get the names of the mining companies here and then use the websites to get contact information.

5 - Do a course in Mining.
It is possible to do courses in technical colleges in Kalgoorlie and Perth on mining. One of the geologists on site did this in Kalgoorlie (rather than getting a degree in geology) and two of the Field Technicians I worked with did courses in Perth. The teachers on these courses often have contacts within the mining companies and can help you get a job.

6 - What jobs are currently available?
When I was on site Drillcorp had a large shortage of Drillers' Offsiders. Drillcorp are part of Boart Longyear. The shortage was so great that they seemed to be hiring people who did not necessarily match the traditional image of a Drillers' Offsider. Drill teams had to stop work because they did not have enough offsiders. Offsiders were doing extra long swings to compensate for the shortage. The situation may have changed but it could well be worth conducting Boart Longyear to see if openings still exist.

SE Asia XIV - Train travel through Ancient Kingdoms

I left Bangkok for northern Thailand via the ancient kingdoms of central Thailand. Ayutthaya, Lopburi, and Sukhothai have amazing ruins with few tourists. I often had the ruins to myself, giving the trip an essential Indiana Jones quality apart from all of the antiquities having been taken and the rows of headless Buddhas. Travelling by train is a great way to see Thailand and Thais. Before heading north I went on a day trip along the Death Railway to Hellfire Pass.

Third class trains are a great way to see Thailand and Thais. The windows are wide and open. The country rushes by and, apart from the odd fire with the ensuing influx of flying embers, the coaches with bench seats are a relatively comfortable way to travel. The locals are surpised to see a farang travelling with them in third class. I always managed to find myself near a Thai who spoke English and wanted to chat. The thai passengers are an endless list of characters, ably supported by the food vendors wandering between the carriages. Third class is also cheap as chips. The journeys from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and Ayutthaya to Lopburi both only cost 15B. The five hour journey to Phitsanulok cost 125B. A great source of information for train journeys in Thailand (and the rest of the world) is www.seat61.com.

Ayutthaya is an hour north of Bangkok by train. It is an ancient capital of Siam and was founded in 1350. It is a natural island surround by the Lopburi, Prasak and Chao Phraya Rivers. The great aspect of the ruins of Ayutthaya is how they have survived next to a modern Thai town. Half the island is given over to the town while the other half has the ruins scattered around. Ayutthaya is a Thai town going about its business with the ruins in the background. The ruined temples do not appear to have been heavily reconstructed. Wat Chaiwatthanaram sitting on the river was particularly picturesque with the setting sun behind it. It is very easy to wander around the temples. There is an admission fee of 20-30B for each temple. I was standing outside one ruin with lots of Rooster statues when an old Thai woman appeared next to me with a lotus flower and candles. I protested that I wasn't Buddhist and shouldn't really be praying to Buddha, but she didn't understand and I didn't want to be rude to an old woman. I paid for them (10B) and she prayed for me, it then turned out we were going to another Buddha shrine (I paid another 10B) and she prayed for me again, we then went to a third shrine (I paid 10B again) and she prayed for me again. People feeling the need to pray for me appears to be a habit I have got into. The train station is on the eastern side of town. I hired a long boat and visited the temples on the rivers surrounding the island. It cost me 500B and was a great way to see them. There is a cross river ferry that will take you into town. I was surprised to find so few tourists and guesthouses. I can only assume that because it is so close to Bangkok people simply visit on day trips. Even so I only saw a couple of groups of tourists at a few of the more famous temples, otherwise I had the place to myself. I stayed at Bann Kun Phra which has an excellent restaurant on the river. The rooms have ensuite cold showers but the walls are paper thin. I paid 300B for a double bed. It is a fine place to stay apart from the woman who runs it, who seemed to be somewhat paranoid and became increasingly suspicious of me during my stay.

I caught another third class train for the hour journey to Lopburi. Lopburi does not have the extensive ruins of Ayutthaya or Sukhothai but the ruins it does have are amongst the old town. The old palace is well preserved and sits in the centre of the old town. There is a museum in its grounds as well as some hedges cut into the shape of elephants. Opposite the train station are more ruins. To the south of the old town are the remains of a temple known locally as Monkey Temple. It is swarming with monkeys. So much so that local guides wander around with sticks to keep them in check. I had one monkey run up my leg and jump on top of my backpack. The monkeys are not restricted to the temple they have infiltrated the town. They use the telephone lines to cross roads and get between the buildings. I spent a good hour watching a group of monkeys leave a path of destruction through the town centre. A similar problem has befallen Prachuap Kiri Khan, a charming little seaside town south of Bangkok. The monkeys on Chong Khra Chok hill have large grounds but they are moving into the rest of town. It is peculiar to see monkey's running riot in a petrol station. If you arrive at the train station in Lopburi looking for accommodation walk out of the train station turn right and then left and you will find the Tourist Information office who will provide you with a map. I stayed at Nett Hotel, 200B for an ensuite cold shower with TV.

A 5 hour train journey took me to Phitsanulok, where I caught a bus to Sukhothai an hour away. The ruins at Sukhothai Historical Park are considered the best in Thailand. Sukhothai was founded in the 13th century and was the first capital of Siam. The most famous temple is Wat Mahathat which is full of Buddha images. Sukthothai Hiostorical Park is broken up into zones and you buy a ticket for each zone. The most restored ruins are in the centre, inside the city walls. Outside of the city walls (especially to the West and South) you are surrounded by countryside as you cycle around. The ruins aren't amazing outside of the centre but it is still very enjoyable. There are a couple of amazing temples to the West and North. Wat Saphan Hin has a huge standing at the top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill is a very happy policeman. He has a little hut and seems charmed by his surroundings. He'll watch your bike and try and sell you some water. Wat Sri Chum is also amazing with a huge seated Buddha squeezed between 4 walls. In the Lonely Planet they suggest that you stay in Phitsanulok and catch a bus to the ruins in Sukhothai. I really liked Sukhothai. It is a typical Thai town with few tourists. There isn't a great deal going on but what there is is Thai. I saw an Elephant wander down the street one night. I stayed at TR Guesthouse run by a very friendly couple. I had a double bed with hot water ensuite for 250B, it also included free internet. The owner will even pick you up from the bus station, his telephone number is 055-611-663. If you want to stay as close as possible to the ruins then there are a number of guesthouses inside the city walls of the Historical Park and they seem to charge similar prices to Sukhothai.

My train travel's in Thailand began before I left Bangkok when I went on a day trip along the Death Railway. The Death Railway is synonymous with pain and suffering. 13,000 Allied Prisoners of War and another 80,000 Asian labourers died building the line. Thai railways run a day trip along what is left of the line. The day trip isn't to commemorate the history of the railway but to visit Sai Yok waterfall at the end of the line. It costs only 100B for the return journey and makes for a cheap day out for Thai families. I was the only farang on the train apart from a Japanese guy (who was going to the waterfall). I didn't ask him about his views on the history of the line. The day trip is a full day, the train left at 6.30am and didn't get back until 9pm. As the only Farang aboard I was the subject of great interest. People wanted their photographs taken with me and to say hello. On the return journey to Bangkok I boarded at a different station to everyone else because I didn't visit the waterfall. My absence appeared to cause a great deal of confusion on board, its embarrassing to lose your only farang. My return at the next station down the line was greeted by much enthusiasm, a round of applause followed my walk through the carriages. The first stop was at Kanchanaburi for the Bridge over the River Kwai. The river was originally called Mae Khlung, the railway runs alongside the River Kwae but doesn't cross it, due to the success of the film the Thai authorities changed the name of the river. Kanchanaburi is heavily built up with tourism and when we arrived late in the morning the bridge was packed with tourists (you can walk over it). The end of the line is Nam Tok, it is a much smaller and nicer town than Kanchanburi. The railway line is particularly scenic between Kanchanaburi and Nam Tok, passing over Wampo Viaduct. I hired a sawngthaew, for the extortionate rate of 600B, to Hellfire Pass. My sawngthaew driver was in no hurry and whenever we were on even a slight descent he took the car out of gear and let it roll. When I finished at Hellfire Pass I came back to find him sound asleep. Hellfire Pass was a particularly bad section of the line for the POWs they were forced to cut through solid rock without machinery. It was called Hellfire Pass due to the deathly figures cast on to the walls by the fires lit when the POWs were forced to work through the night. A POW who worked here came back in the early 1980s to find it. He found Hellfire Pass covered in jungle and enlisted the support of the Australian Government to clear it and turn it into a memorial. It is a moving monument to the men who were forced to work and die here.

SE Asia XIIV - Expectations

Bangkok is the number one toursit destination in Thailand. Chang Mai is the number two tourist destination in Thailand. When travelling in South East Asia popular opinion (or at least the people I've come across) is that Bangkok is a pollution infested, traffic gridlocked, dirty city. Whereas Chang Mai is a cultural wonder. Bangkok surpassed my expectations and I spent 10 days there. CHang Mai on the other hand fell far short and I only stayed a few days.

Bangkok is a city of two halves. The old city with the narrow srtreets, klongs (canals) and old buildings focused along the Chao Praya River. The other half of Bangkok is the new city starting from Siam Square and heading out along Sukhumvit Road. New Bangkok is just a bit plain, it isn't a bad modern city it is just a little bland. I had Sircumvit recommended as a good area to stay. I only think this is the case if you are desperate to shop or visit dodgy ping pong shows (not table tennis). It is far more convenient to stay within the western ghetto of Khao San Road and enjoy the old city close by. South of Khao San Road is the Grand Palace with the sacred (and ridiculously busy) Wat Phra Kaew the home of the Emerald Buddha. Just south of the palace is Wat Pho with the huge Reclining Buddha. Across the river from here is Wat Arun an amazing sight easily visted on a cross river ferry. There is a great little cafe to the left of the boat landing on the opposite side of the river to Wat Arun. There are lots of great temples all around Bangkok and the further from Khao San Road you go the less likely that you will encounter any other westerners there. Further south of the palace is China town a crazily busy area packed with street markets whre you can buy anything from knives and swords to SWAT body armour. Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok is useful to have and gives you tips on where to find some of the least disturbed parts of Bangkok. A bus map is also very handy. Buses are very cheap (under 15B a journey) and it is easy to get from Banglampoo (Khao San Road). to Siam Square, getting back is another matter and that is where the map comes in handy.

I mentioned in a previous blog that the Khao San Road area is a Farang ghetto. I stayed on Soi Rambrutti, an extension of the ghetto, at My House. There is a lot of accommodation in the area and it suits a varioety of budgets. My House is at the cheaper end, 200B for a single (a rarity in Thailand) fan ensuite cold shower and a window. It was clean even though the walls were decorated with curious stains. The staff were not particularly friendly and only entered into conversation with me about my royal t-shirts.

Bangkok is renowned for appalling traffic and it lives up to its reputation. I sat on buses that didn't moved for half an hour. The sky train is a good way to bypass the traffic but only if you are travelling along a narrow corridor. The river boats are a good way to get around the old city, especially if you are staying Banglampoo (Khao San Road). There are big ferries that run up and down the river and cross river ferries (which are just small barges). The ferries are often very crowded. The Chao Praya River is very busy with ferries, longboats, barges and other vessels. A journey along it is rarely smooth.

The fastest way to get from Banglampoo to Siam Square is on a river bus along the Klong. Bangkok was known as the Venice of the East and while most of the Kloings have been concreted over some still exist. the boat stop is under the bridge next to CentralWorld in Siam Square. The journey to Banglampoo (the stop is next to the Octagon Fort) costs 12B. It has a James Bond quality to it. The conductors walk up and down the edge of the boat collecting fares while the boat is speeding down the narrow canal. They wear a crash helmet for protection when passing under the numerous low bridges. An unusual safety feature by Thai standards and an indication that alot of conductors must have hit their heads. For a particularly low bridge the whole roof folds down, a modification worthy of Q. I thought it was hilarious. For more info click here.

With all the reports I had heard about Chang Mai I envisaged a place that was small and old, full of temples, with friendly, helpful people and not blighted by tourism. It does tick most of these boxs but tourism has its tentacles all over the city. The trouble is that Chang Mai is much smaller than Bangkok so it is much more difficult to absorb the shear number of tourists. There are markets but I found these markets to be orientated to the tourist and not as interesting as their Bangkok equivalents. The locals are friendly and maybe a lot friendlier if you have only encountered Thais trying to sell you something on a beach or on Khao San Road. However, the Thais in the towns between Bangkok and Chang Mai are much friendlier because they don't come across as many farang.

One of the easiest trips out of Chang Mai is to Wat Doi Suthep. It is a very important temple to the Thais on a hill overlooking Chang Mai. The views are meant to be great, unfortunately I was confonted with a thick haze. The temple is heavily visited by tourists and locals, and is surrounded by tourist tat stalls. If you want to walk it is an hour to the base of the hill and then in a sangthaew 40B from the base to the temple. They are queued up and when there are enough passengers they drive up. The way down isn't so organised. There is a flat fee of 30B the trouble is finding a sangthaew full enough to go down. The easiest way to find one is to walk down the hill to the first big bend and wait for a sangthaew to drive passed, they will pull over and you can jump in.

Chang Mai is busy with tourists of all types. I found cheap accommodation to be more diffiult to come by then anywhere else in Thailand. I wandered the sidestreets of the eastern moat and ended up in Moonlight Guesthouse. It was an uninspiring place, 200B for a room with a bunk bed, and a shared bathroom. I moved the next day to Mataka. I had a double bed with cold ensuite shower for 180B. The rooms appear to have been recently refurbished.

Lampang is just south of Chang Mai and can be visited on a day trip. I stopped there on my way north from Sukhothai. Even though it is close to Chang Mai it is a sleepy place with few tourists. I stayed at Riverside Guesthouse, 250B for a triple room with shared bathroom. I walked from the bus station to the centre of town, which is alot further than you might think, a sanghtaew is a better idea. Lampang has a number of temples. The most beautiful temple I have visited in Thailand lies just south of Lampang. Wat Phra That Lampang Luang is spectacular. There is a really distinctive atmosphere as you walk into the coutryard. It feels like you could be on a top of a remote Tibetan mountain (probably diminished by the coach loads of tourists who arrive later in the day). I was quoted 500B for a round trip from Lampang, I found another sangthaew who was heading south and dropped me at the temple for 60B. I persuaded him to hang around and he took me back to Lampang for 100B.

On the main road between Lampang and Chang Mai is the National Elephant Institute. It is possible to get any Chang Mai bound bus to drop you off here. They have two Elephant shows a day here (aswell as Elephant rides and Mahout courses). I arrived for the afternoon show. The show was thoroughly entertaining. Over 20 elephants are used and they seem to enjoy themselves, at the very least no force is used on them to perform the activities (apart from prodding). The show begins with the Elephants bathing. They then march into the arena and line up. One rings the bell to start the show while another raises a flag. The show involves displays of log dragging, lifting and pushing. They play some musical instruments and paint pictures. One picture was an impressionistic piece, the other was a still life of flowers. The show closes with an opportunity to feed them sugar cane and bananas.

SE Asia XII - Highway to the Danger Zone

Kenny Loggin may not have had in mind Thai transport when he wrote his 80's classic but it is a pretty accurate description for some of the things you see and experience on Thai roads. In Thailand to say that there are rules of the road would be a very liberal interpretation of rules. A very simple rule is to drive on the left. It is loosely applied. Motorcyclists go wherever they choose. Minibus drivers feel the need to show their police car chase credentials every time they get on the road. Coach drivers do not want to stop wherever you are getting on or off. Travelling in Thailand is always an experience.

In Thailand to say that there are rules of the road would be a very liberal interpretation of rules. A very simple rule is to drive on the left. It is loosely applied. If you want to drive to the right of oncoming traffic you can. Motorcyclists go wherever they wish. On dual carriageways the hard shoulder is a motorcycle lane where motorbikes can go in either direction. Motorcyclists legally have to wear a helmet, they rarely do. If you see a motorcyclist with a passenger it is almost guaranteed that one of them won't be wearing a helmet, even police motorcyclists don't all wear helmets. The helmets most people wear have more in common with a horse riding helmet rather than something that will protect you in case of an accident. The road isn't the only domain of the motorbike. I have had to jump out of the way of motorbikes on pavements, including police motorbikes. I don't know what the legal age to ride a motorcycle is but I have seen some very young looking teens speeding around. The Thai youth have mastered the art of fitting as many people as possible on to motorbikes. The art is most practised before and after school. Four people is not rare, and I've seen six with two toddlers being held in arms out to the side.

Minibuses are the most dangerous way to travel in Thailand. This is a statement not backed up by statistics but they certainly feel like the most dangerous. Minibus drivers seem to have a death wish. They drive like their pants are on fire. They pass everything in their way no matter whether its on a blind corner, double lines, oncoming traffic or if driving through the middle of a town. To make matters worse you are crammed in like sardines. They are not Ford Transit van size but Japanese minivan size. Normally they squeeze in 16 people but I've been in one where there were over 20. There are no seat belts, there might be one in the front seat. In the book "First Time around the World" they suggested carrying your own seat belt, I thought this sounded daft and it is for first world countries but it makes a lot of sense in Thailand. To top it all minibuses are generally overpriced. In tourist towns they are advertised as if they are the only way to get to the next town. They might be the only transport that will pick you up from your guesthouse and take you to the next town but there will be lots of coaches doing the same route. Coaches are generally three times cheaper than the minibus equivalent. If the minibus isn't picking you up then you generally have to wait until it is full. "We leave now" never means straight away.

Coaches are a very cheap way to cover long distances in Thailand. The cheapest are third class, they have sliding windows and stop for any passengers who want to get on or off. In the south they generally ply short routes, up north they seem to be prevalent on most routes. They aren't always designed for western sized people. I was on a bus from Ban Pasang to Chang Rai. It was standing room only and while all the Thais could comfortably stand up straight I had to have my head bent over to one side. The space between seats can be too small to accommodate western length thighs. While they can be uncomfortable they are one of the most entertaining way to travel long distances. The conductors are particularly vocal calling out for more passengers and you often find locals puzzled at you being on their bus with your backpack. Second class coaches have air conditioning, and first class or VIP have air conditioning, toilets and sometimes a stewardess dealing out refreshments. I generally travel second or third class because they are so cheap. Coach drivers have less of a do or die attitude than minibus drivers. However, all coaches I have been on avoid stopping. The journey is a fluid motion where getting on or off is done while the coach is still moving.

Outside of Bangkok Sangthaews are the main local transport. They often run regular routes. Sangthaew means two benches. They are pickup trucks with two benches in the back and a roof on top. There are often grab rails on the back for people to hold on to when the inside is full. Sangthaews can be an Australian style ute but they can also be old trucks with wooden cabins crafted on to the back. I have shared the back with a variety of Thais and their baggage. On on occasion the back was full of raw meat and egg yokes. On another I had a severed pig's head staring at me with some of the rest of the bits of his body. When his owners got up to leave they left a pool of blood on the floor. Normally they are a very cheap way to get around town (or go further). The only problem for the traveller comes when the Sangthaew mafia decide that tourists need to hire a whole vehicle to go to an attraction. I can understand it when locals don't go to a certain place. However, it irritates me when they drive passed the place anyway. For instance, in Krabi Wat Thom Seua (Tiger Cave Temple) is a popular tourist attraction outside of town. I could not find a Sangthaew driver who would take me for less than 100B. On the way back I discovered Tescos was just down the road from the turnoff for Wat Thom Sea. I walked there in under 20 minutes and caught a Sangthaew back to Krabi for only 20B. Sangthaews are usually safe to travel in because they run a local route, and if they go further afield they are on the look out for more passengers so do not drive fast. The scariest journey in Thailand I have had was in the back of a Sangthaew. It was from Trang to the pier for Koh Sukorn. The driver must have gone to the Australian Ute drivers school. I was hanging on in the back with piles of boxes and an old Thai woman who found it all hilarious. I have heard it said that Thai's drive like maniacs because of their Buddhist belief. I have often seen passengers in Sangthaews wai (prayer like gesture) Buddhist temples as we drive passed. I was sitting in the front of a Sangthaew and the driver took his hands off of the wheel (on a winding steep downhill mountain road) and wai'd the Buddhist temple. I'm yet to see a motorcycle driver follow the same principle but it wouldn't surprise me.

SE Asia XI - Who to trust in the Garden of Eden?

Knowing who to trust when you get off a train or a bus is tricky. Backpackers stick out like a sore thumb. It isn't difficult for touts to pick out the walking ATM, like shit attracting flies you attract touts and tuk-tuk drivers. In the end you have to trust someone, and this Thailand land of the Buddha and smiles.

I find it dificult to trust tuk-tuk drivers at the best of times but when they are the first to greet me I am even more suspicious. When I am jumping off of a train and I am immediately approached "Where you go?" my defensive barriers are up and I go and find information somewhere else. It might be easier just to go where the tuk-tuk driver wants to take me and just pay the extra but I like to think that I can get there under my own steam. In Lopburi I didn't have a map, I couldn't find anyone who could help apart from a cycle rickshaw driver who had fixed his sights on me even before I had gotten off of the train. I choose not to give in and wandered outside. I immediately stumbled upon a Tourist Authority Thailand sign and was sitting in the office chatting to a guy about the merits of Lopburi in minutes. When I arrived in Phitsanulok station I found a bus stop (passing the ever would be helpful tuk-tuk drivers) and was on a local bus to the coach station amongst locals. The conductor seemed to take a particular interest in me.

While being somewhat suspicious of people's intentions can be useful it can also turn you into a defensive traveller with all locals who offer help. This is Thailand and people are naturally helpful and friendly. The people who are most likely to want to get more baht out of you are those who deal with tourists most often. When one farang doesn't kick up a fuss about a high price why should the next? Even so these Thais should not be treated with contempt. In the end if they do rip you off it won't be a huge amount of money. After all "You'll never be screwed as sweetly as you will in Thailand" (I don't know who to attribute this quote to, but it's a good one).

Khao Sok National Park is beautiful. I have heard it described not inaccurately as the Garden of Eden. When you arrive on the coach from .... you are dropped off at the junction with the main road and the entrance road to the park. Along this entrance road are a series of bungalow enterprises. When you get off of the coach you are surrounded by bungalow touts. The natural response is to get defensive and ignore all these requests for your interest. I saw one guy get off the coach walk through the scrum, sit down and have a cigarette still ignoring the touts and then walk to the park gates with his pack on his back. However, the touts at Khao Sok are a tight knit bunch consisting of locals who have grown up in the area and have started businesses catering for the farang. The tout for Smiley Bungalows is the owner. I along with another couple choose Smiley Bungalows over all the other competition. Once we had the rest of the touts started moaning comically, "everyone chooses Smiley", "smiley, smiley smiley", "go off to your Smiley bungalow". When I left Khao Sok I missed the first coach and the second coach drove passed without stopping. During my two hour wait I was invited to sit down with the touts and play cards with them. I even managed to win enough money off of the owner of Smiley Bungalows to pay for my coach journey. It was a fun and friendly atmosphere.

Khao Sok has grown steadily more popular in recent years, as a highway has been built passing the gates of the park. It is still relatively quiet and peaceful in the tourist town built outside the gates although I can see it becoming overdeveloped in not too many years. Activities have sprung up to cater for the tourists. I did an Elephant trek. It was disappointing. It cost 850 Baht and lasted about two hours. It is quite something to be sitting on a bench on top of an elephant and to plod along. However, the trek element was sorely lacking. The impression in the advertising is that you will go through jungle, in fact you go up the road you drove in on and then down another dirt track to a pool. The journey back is reversed. I have been told that there are much better treks in northern Thailand, where there is more trekking for less money. The Elephants didn't appear to be mistreated by their mahouts, they had wooden canes which they used to prod the elephants. The control came from their voiced commands. I have heard stories of some very rough treatment being doled out to elephants on other treks in southern Thailand. The activities offered don't actually take part in Khao Sok. There are plenty of trails to follow in Khao Sok and you can hire a guide if you want to go further afield.

Smiley Bungalows was a particularly nice place to stay. It is the best value accommodation I have stayed in in Thailand. The bathroom had the luxury of a lukewarm shower and there was a big balcony to strecth out on. The woman who runs it is very friendly and speaks very good English. She is more than happy to sit down and have a chat with you (and play cards if you are waiting for a bus). I was charged the rate of 300 baht for a large bungalow because they didn't have any small ones left (the normal rate is 500 baht). The top photograph is the view from my balcony. They will also take you to feed the monkeys at sunset for free (most of the bungalows offer this aswell).While the town that has grown outside the gates is for tourists it has a very friendly feel. They don't seem to be fed up with the farang quite yet. There are plenty of places to eat and prices are reasonable.

SE Asia X - T-shirts

You know whether a place is truly Thai by the t-shirts that the locals wear. If it is a Thai town the locals will wear pink, yellow and blue t-shirts. If it is a town for tourists then they will dress more like westerners that surround them. If it is a Thai town there be lots of shops selling a variety of pink and yellow t-shirts. If it is a Thai town there will be images of the King everywhere.

Any day is a good day to wear yellow or pink. The best day to wear yellow is a Monday when everyone else wears yellow. Thai's wear yellow on a Monday due to that being the King's birthday. If you want to be super patriotic then you can have a yellow shirt with a pink jacket. I even saw a dog whose owner had dyed its fur yellow (I think it was for the King, I can't think of any other reason). The reason why pink became an overnight fashion sensation is because the King left hospital in November wearing a pick jacket. My pink t-shirt has a drawing of the King with "Love King 80" written on it. If you were wondering about blue it is the colour for the Queen.

If Bangkok is a city of villages then Banglampoo and more accurately Khao San Road is the village of the farang. It used to be a backpacker ghetto and is now a place for all the farang passing through. You see the 18 year old backpackers, the too cool for school backpackers, the dreadlocked hippie backpackers, western couples of all ages, western families, and the farang man and thai woman couples (I have never seen the reverse). It has a nice atmosphere to it. Although it is obviously not a Thai area because Thais don't wear pink and yellow t-shirts and you can't buy them here. When you venture outside of Khao San Road arena you see lots of t-shirts being worn and lots of places to buy them. In Chatuchak market I got my blue t-shirt in tribute to the Queen.

Ko Lanta is another farang ghetto. It is a pretty island south of Krabi. I stayed one night at Sea Coconut. I didn't like Ko Lanta because it didn't feel special. It just felt like a westerner holiday spot. The prices were higher than Trang, and nobody was wearing pink or yellow t-shirts. Krabi is a town built on tourism, however, it is not dominated by tourists. I spent a week in Krabi, somewhat unintentionally as a large part was spent sitting on a toilet. The town has plenty of shops selling yellow and pink t-shirts and there are lots of pictures of the King plastered around the town. I visited Rai Leh from Krabi. Rai Leh is a beautiful peninsula with beaches surrounded by karst limestone cliffs. It is full to the brim with tourists. I also climbed Wat Thom Seua. It is a buddhiust temple with a Wat on top of a karst cliff. It is a killer walk (and climb at times) to the top of 1237 steps.

I seem to always get a favourable response from the locals when wearing my pink or yellow t-shirts. I get an even better response in western enclaves when the locals are extremely surprised to see a farang in a pink or yellow t-shirt. I am often asked "Do you love my King?" to which I dutifully reply Yes. The King is a great source of national pride and he appears to be widely loved across the population. Admittedly it is illegal to criticise the King, so liking him is an easier option. The fact that I'm asked "Do you love my King?" and not 'the' King demonstrates the personal pride that the Thai people feel. It is also not something limited to the ethnic Thais. I have seen Chinese and Muslim Thais wearing the t-shirts. I have seen many Muslim women with pink or yellow head scarfs on with the royal insignia. It is not limited to age groups or economic classes. To wear yellow or pink is a sign of being Thai, not a sign of being rich, poor, old or young. There is a topic thread on Thai Forum and a contributor suggests that an element of peer pressure is involved in the fashion trend.

The King is everywhere in Thailand. There are huge billboard images in every town. The entrance to towns has archways or bridges decorated with pictures of the King and Queen. If you go into shops, guesthouses, or people's homes (they can be all be the same thing) there will be an image of the King or three and maybe a picture of a past favourite King. In markets there are stalls that just sell pictures of the King. There are shops that specialise in King memorabilia. I remember being surprised by seeing a picture of Queen Elizabeth II in Canadian immigration when I crossed from the US. In Britain in recent years support for the monarchy was at its height during the Queen's golden jubilee, I remember lots of flags but I do not remember huge billboards with a picture of the Queen taking a photograph or looking at a map. Here is a link to the BBC News website to an article, "Why Thailand's king is so revered".

The King is not simply respected he is revered. His opinion, his ideas, his actions matter. In Britain amongst the general population I would suggest that the Queen is respected but I would not suggest that this would extend to her opinions on economic or political matters. In Thailand the military coup government adopted as government policy an initiative led by the King for Thai economic self-sufficiency. If you visit the Teak Palace in Bangkok there are two houses devoted to pictures taken by the King. The King is an avid photographer and the displays tell you how he has invented a number of innovative photographic techniques. One gallery relates to pictures taken by the King during flooding in Bangkok in the early 1980s. The captions explain how the King's photographs were clear and enabled officials to see clearly what the problems were and how to deal with them. The King is also a musician. In the gallery are pictures of him playing saxophone with Louis Armstrong.

If you had been travelling in Thailand for the passed two weeks you might wonder where all these yellow and pink t-shirts are. Princess Galyani Vadhana died on the 2nd January. She was the King's older sister and died of cancer at the age of 84. The country has entered mourning and part of that mourning is to wear black. Here is a link to an article about her death on BBC News. Her death has been met by a reaction similar to that of the Queen Mother's death. Books of condolence have been opened in all towns like in Britain, but unlike Britain the billboard images of the King have been replaced by pictures of the Princess. Thai's have stopped wearing yellow and pink while they mourn her death. The Royal Family are observing 100 days of mourning and those who work for the government have 15 officials days of mourning, they must wear black to work. In the Bangkok Post (15th January 2008) an article entitled "100 days of mourning sought", it begins "The cabinet will today consider extending the official period for Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana from 15 to 100 days." In another article in the Bangkok Post they mention how black clothing has been selling out, "In Trang, a clothing shop owner said black t-shirts and suits had been sold out since January 3rd, one day after the Princess passed away".