You Know What ...It's Hot in Bangkok

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So I finally got some sleep. After eating by far the best pad thai (and hottest, I should add!) with a big glass of red wine and long shower, I slept like a log and woke up bright eyed to start my first day in Bangkok.











So off I went to buy my Skytrain pass and then off to the Chatuchak weekend market. The skytrain is so well indicated that the one fear I had about getting lost in Bangkok soon vanished. The market is well ... mind-boggling. Oh the randomness of it all. You can buy food, furniture, jewelry, antiques, buddhas, Bob Marley wear (you think I'm kidding but ...) and I even saw a bag with Che Gueveras all over it. Note to self, if I go back next weekend check which doorway I actually walked in because finding my way out was a little daunting. And did I mention that it is damn hot and humid ... but there's the occasional little breeze. Mom ... you remember the market in Costa Rica ... well that on acid and just a tad hotter!!



Then I went to Jim Thompson's House, a little oasis in the city. He is an American entrepreneur and architect. He moved to Thailand permanently after the second World War and disappeared in Malaysia in 1967. He was born in the year of the Horse and apparently in that horoscope your 61st year is not lucky which is exactly when he disappeared. In his bedroom is an actual astrological chart done by a monk which says just that.



The gardens are absolutely stunning and the home is a traditional thai house. You have to jump over a ledge to get into each room; to keep out bad spirits apparently. They only travel low to the ground and in a straight line. I had lunch there just as a little splurge ... grilled pork salad with a pineapple and ginger smoothie!!





















So then it was off to the Erawan Shrine. You actually smell the incense long before seeing the shrine itself. There were tons of people there paying their hommage to the Brahma (the four-headed Hindu god of creation) and leaving offerings like flower garlands, incense (thank god for the asthma inhaler) and Fanta (with a straw of course ...). It is kind of in an odd place, among all of these shopping centres and very much metropolitan kind of area. Great people watching!



















So now I'm just back at the hotel and waiting for my little friend Jana to get here. Really looking forward to seeing her. It has much too long since I have seen my good friend. And she is my little lucky charm when we travel ... she has been part of me crossing things off my bucket list a few times now. So tonight should be fun. We have reservations for a dinner cruise on a traditional thai rice barge ... thai food, thai dance and music along the Chao Phraya river and with a view of the major temples lit up at night.



So my thai adventure is definitely off to a good start!

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