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Lisa and I arrived in Bangkok bleary eyed at 5am on Saturday morning. The overnight bus wasn't too bad. We both managed to get quite alot of sleep on the 8hr journey- thanks largely to being tranquilised by the bus sick tablet.
We made for Soi Rambuttri- a tourist street close to Kho San Road. Accomodation prices were the most expensive I've seen in all of Asia, but I guess that is to be expected. We decided to treat ourselves to a nice hotel room with aircon, t.v. in english and a proper shower. This delightful luxury was made possible thanks to Mum. We love you!
After sorting our accomodation we spent Saturday getting our bearings, trying out local cusine and buying some bits and pieces from the street side markets.
On Sunday we walked to the Grand Palace and paid the exorbitant entry fee of 350b- but I suppose you can not come to Bkk and not visit the palace.
It was strange for as it brought back memories of when I was last there as an eight year old kid (that just happens to be exactly twenty years ago). That's right, I'm now in that league where I can say, "when I was there 20 years ago...". Anyway, the palace was grand but it sure zapped the energy out of us.
After wandering around for a few hours (Lisa was interviewed for several school projects) we retreated back to the hotel for some air con and a nap. 3 hours later we resurfaced ready to emerge ourselves in true Thai culture.
Our lovely hotel lady explained how to catch the public bus to the weekend markets. Simple enough and much cheaper than a tuk tuk or taxi. The roads were manic with traffic but we eventually got there and it was fantastic to see. Everything under the sun was sold at these markets and westerners were definately the minority there. I tried some roti bread with banana, icream made from ice and other bits and pieces. We caught the bus home (with half of Thailand also on board), found somewhere streetside to eat dinner, before getting hair wraps in true hippy-traveller style.
This morning we traipsed to see the Reclining Buddah and it was well worth the effort. It is HUGE. We had to brave the pigeon lady who keeps a flock of birds near by her and tries to con you into buying a bag of corn. She is scary and I was glad to avoid her. Then we had delicious chicken sandwiches from the street and feeling impressed with the amount of eneregy we still had- took another public bus to MBK/ Discovery/ Paragon Shopping malls to check out the Bkk shopping scene. Really- if you are into high fashion and all that stuff you would be in shopper heaven. Luckily my credit card stayed securely in my wallet and we went home with minimum financal damage. I have to admit Bkk has been expensive and i will be glad to get back to the country where prices are more backpacker friendly.
Tomorrow we get a mini van to Kanchanaburi. This is a 3-4hr trip and we are excited to start to se the real Thailand. Bye from Bkk!
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brenda
non-member comment
Luxury for Lisa and Koala Lou!
Hello my darling. Lovely to hear from you, as always. I am glad you and Lisa enjoyed your bit of luxury in Bangkok.... you certainly deserve it after all the backpacking you have been doing. Did you feel a bit overwhelmed by all the western things, like the 'malls' and all the consumer goods? I can see you and Mia in my mind's eye as you were in Bangkok those 20 years ago, both weraing new green outfits and posing in the grounds of the palace, hair braided from Phuket!! Dad and I had dinner with Mia and Jarrad at their place tonight. Before and after the meal, Veg barely lifted his head from dad's lap, unless Dad momentarily stopped stroking him and needed a reminder to continue!!! He is such a lush!!! And dad loves it! Tomorrow dad and I are going to Joan's for a night or two. Dad needed a break from the farm.... the lack of rain is too depressing for him... so he has come to Perth instead of me going there. Hopefully the rain Perth has been promised by Thursday will also go into the wheatbelt. It was a 12 degree maximum in Merredin today, so no doubt the farm was a similar temperature. If it does rain at the farm, we'll probably go there on the weekend. he and I took your camera cards to Tony's business today, so fingers crossed. Love you heaps. Take care. Mum.