A month of Bangkok

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Afternoon, all. Mystery guest blogger here. Carole has been reduced to a papery husk by her academic endeavours and can only type with her forehead, which was taking forever. Don't worry, she's currently undergoing a rest curative. She'll be back soon enough.

Bangkok has come and gone. The weekdays were a wasteland of study and lone foraging; best not to dwell. But it wasn't all wine and roses...

One Saturday night we attended a giant buddhist festival, Loi Krathong. After a couple of exciting laps of tuk-tuk racing through the backstreets of Bangkok, we were thrust into the madding crowds of a night market. Eventually we snaked up the side of the Golden Mount, clanging bells as we went. There was a chance to pay our respects in the scrum at the top. Then down the hill again for a touch of medieval witch-dunking; at least that's what it looked like. There was monkey theatre, a disco freak show, grubs and cockroaches for tea (sadly we'd already eaten). Then as a finale, we went out on the river and lit candles in flower boats and set them into the water, as fire lanterns drifted in the sky overhead.

The next Saturday we went to the Thai boxing at Lumphini Stadium. We forgot the camera, so you'll have to imagine 18 young men smacking the living merde out of each other using elbows, knees, fists and feet, in a procession of increasingly brutal fights, set against a backdrop of swirling pipe music and baying crowds. Carole was overcome by a strange bloodlust. I've never seen her like that before. It's altered our relationship forever.

We went to see 'The Golden Compass'. The cinema, Nokia Ultra Screen, was an unadulterated joy. After standing for the national anthem, we disappeared into our enormously wide, cocoon-like seats. They tucked us in with blankets and pillows, necessary protection against the faux-winter of the air-conditioning. They messed with some controls and we were forcibly reclined into an almost horizontal position. They brought us booze and popcorn. I could have cried.

The film...7 out of 10, not as good as the book, etc. Although 2 thumbs up for Nicole and Daniel. So that's, what, one each?

There's some signs of Christmas at last, but it's all wrong. Toy soldiers stand guard miserably in the 30 degree heat. Snowmen contemplate their own mortality. Reindeer just want to go home.

On Sunday we boarded the overnight train for Chiang Mai, a bustling rattletrap with a surprising amount of lateral movement in the top bunk. Did it get us here?.....tune in next week.

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Comments

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