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Published: January 17th 2008
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Hello all,
We are now in Bangkok and it's the first time we've had time to get onto a computer.
On the 12 hour flight to Hong Kong we were lucky enough to have a row of 4 seats between the two of us so we managed to get a few hours sleep which was nice. The only problem was that, because we were sat in the middle of the plane, the only way to see out was to lean against the exit door. This was a bit nerve-wracking at first and I kept imagining falling against the handle and opening the door at 35,000ft. Luckily I didn't and instead stood for a half an hour and watched the sands of the Gobi desert (the real one this time) turn into the frozen expanse of the Tibetan Plateau, amazed at how quickly sand becomes ice.
When we got to Hong Kong it was just as we remembered -very easy with lots of English signs, lots of fake rolex sellers and tailors (on Nathan Rd anyway) and very busy. The Dragon Hostel was a pretty dingy place on the 7th floor of a block of flats but the room
was clean, had a tv and enough beds to sleep five people. It was nice to have a tv, particularly when we were both wide awake at 4:30am. We took the opportunity to try and phone home (I'd tried earlier then remembered I didn't have a clue what Mam and Dad's phone number was). Earlier that evening we took the Star Ferry across the harbour, which gave a great view of the skyscrapers all lit up for the princely sum of 20p, and went to the Temple Street night market for a browse and some food. We could probably have spent half our budget there and filled our bags but we settled for food instead. While eating Allee asked, 'What would you do with me if I was a giant garlic?' Trying to find a logical answer I said, 'Put you in a giant garlic crusher.' This, apparently, was not the answer which was wanted, I was supposed to say 'put you in a giant jam jar and look at you.'...how didn't I think of that one?
The next day we got the ferry to Macau. I felt sick for most of the hour and a half trip
Monitor lizard
Monitor lizard in Lumpini Park, Bangkok but Allee did a good job of taking my mind off it until our feet were back on solid ground. Macau is very surreal. It's Portugal but in the middle of Asia. While the only British thing about Hong Kong is English signs, being in Macau is like being in Portugal or Spain. The churches, the buildings, the streets, even the layout. We travelled around Macau mainly by public transport which was nice and easy and has given us the confidence to do the same in other places.
The flight from Macau to Bangkok was delayed for 2 hours. It's only a fairly small airport and didn't have much to do so the time dragged. I did manage to make friends with a small Asian boy who looked about 8 years old though. He couldn't speak any English but we pointed out planes taking off or landing to each other for a while.
We finally arrived, starving, at our guesthouse in Bangkok at around 23:00 to find that they had stopped doing food for the night so it was off to a carpark-cum-restaurant where we got salted chicken and steamed fish in garlic and lime. It was me who ordered the fish and I was very proud of myself for trying something I wouldn't usually eat...proud that was until it arrived complete with head, tail, fins and skin. Allee showed me how to find meat from under the skin and it tasted really nice.
Today we slept in a bit so decided to leave the Grand Palace and temples for tomorrow. Instead we headed for the Vietnamese embassy to sort out our visa and then had a walk through Lumphini Park. The park is huge and really nice. It's a nice break from the constant traffic noise and has plenty of shade (it was so hot today). There were pedalos to take out on the lake so off we went, peddling across the lake at a strange angle in a bright yellow boat shaped like a bird. After a while I spotted something in the water ahead:
'What's that?' says I
'A log' says Allee
'It's not,' says I, 'it's swimming.'
'What is it then?' says Allee
'A giant lizard,' says I (jokingly).
And what was it? A giant lizard (well a 5ft monitor lizard anyway), swimming across the lake. Allee informed me of this with a shriek as I scrambled for my camera. We soon realized that there were lots of lizards dotted around the park. We tried to sneak up on some for a better photo but it wasn't easy in a giant yellow pedalo. One was attacking a Thai man who was tormenting it, trying to whip him with it's tail.
After that we took a long, hot walk in search of Lumphini Stadium to buy some tickets for the Muay Thai (aka Thai Kickboxing) for tomorrow night. Getting there, we discovered the ticket office is only open on fight nights and took a long, hot walk back again.
Plans for tomorrow are to go to the Grand Palace, a few temples, pick up our Vietnam visas and then head to the Suan Lum night market and the Muay Thai.
Hope everyone is well.
A&A
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Christine
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Great to hear you've had a good start on your Asian adventure. Look forward to reading the next installment and seeing the photos