Educational Trip to Thailand
I flew with Emirates to Bangkok via Dubai. I would recommend the airline; their entertainment system was brilliant and although I was in economy the was plenty of legroom. Changing planes in Dubai was easy too although there is a bit of walking between terminals to be done.
We arrived in Bangkok and the first hotel I stayed in was the Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao, for two nights. A lovely hotel with good facilities – a bar, restaurant, spa and outdoor swimming pool.
Our first trip in Bangkok was a trip along the Chao Phraya River on a long-tail boat, turning into the canal area. This was a lovely experience seeing the diversity of buildings along the way. We stopped off at the Royal Barge Museum where we saw the boats used by the Thai Royal family to mark special occasions. Our second stop was Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn which is a 79-metre-high beautiful Pagoda. In the sunshine the pagoda was stunning.
In the evening I visited the Asiatique Night Bazaar. This area was full of local shops, restaurants and bars. It’s a good area to visit of an evening. In this complex was the Muay Thai Live show which showed the legend and history of Thai Boxing.
After the Bangkok visit our next stop was Hua Hin – it’s about a three-hour transfer to get to here and the accommodation for two nights was at the Centrara Grand Beach Resort and Villas – a beautiful hotel set on the beach and close to Hua Hin centre.
Whilst there I took part in a Thai cooking course which included a visit round the local market to see all the local produce. I really enjoyed this experience; the cookery school was modern and the cooks very informative and were very good with anyone that had dietary requirements.
After Hua Hin the next destination was Kanchanaburi where the Death Railway and the Bridge over the River Kwai are situated. Before visiting these landmarks, we took a long tail boat to the next hotel which was the River Kwai resotel. Here we stayed in lodges for two, which were lovely considering we were in the jungle.
Whilst here we visited the Mon Village, a village populated with people who were originally from Mynamar and made their home in Thailand. We were shown their way of life and their temples before going back to our hotel on manmade bamboo rafts. A few of us decided to float down the river in lifejackets, I found this a lovely relaxing experience. In the evening we were shown a cultural Mon dance show, which was very entertaining and different!
The next day we headed back to Bangkok and on the way visited the Death Museum and Hellfire Pass. This was an emotional part of the trip seeing what the Prisoners of War endured building the railway for their Japanese captors. Next stop was the bridge over the River Kwai, now a very busy tourist trap.
Our last night was spent back in Bangkok at the Centara Grand at Central World - an amazing hotel with fabulous views of the city amid the shopping areas of Bangkok. One of the highlights was the tuk tuk ride through the centre of Bangkok at night- totally mad but brilliant. We had a meal in a local Chinese restaurant then made our way to Patpong market where we picked up some cheap souvenirs (with a bit of haggling).
All in all, I had a fantastic time in Thailand and can't wait to go back!