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Published: October 27th 2005
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Eggs 1 & 2
We ended up staying in Bangkok for three days and 4 nights, and really enjoyed it. A number of folks go there and have not a lot of good things to say - focussing on the pollution, the noise, the traffic etc - and it's true, these exist in excess. However, being the awkward b'tards that we are, we quite took to the place.
On our second day, we visited the Grand Palace ( which was under repair with lots of scaffolding unfortunately, but grand indeed nonetheless), Wat Po, and the other Wat we cant remember the name of today (duh - tongue in chin). The sun was shining with not a cloud in the sky and we had a great time, wandering and pondering the fabulous sights. We've added some of the photos on the previous blog to this as you may have seen already. Shaz had a totally bizarre experience when a group of Japanese ladies approached her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into a group photo with them. Apparently its good luck to be snapped with a blonde person - little do they know that this chick is heavily
sponsored by L'Oreal (because she's worth it).
Later on we met up with Shaz' pal Gareth, who she used to work with in Schuh - many years ago. We had a really good catch up - Gareth is exactly the same as he was 9 years ago when Shaz last met up with him, and seemed like only yesterday that they'd had a good old chinwag. We all went to the 'Hippie Bar' on Khaosan Road and partook in the consumption of a litre and a half of gin - it's cheaper to buy by the bottle you see! Half 3 in the morning it was time to go home, but we vowed to meet up next day and do a bit of shopping.
Well, a meet up was planned but never came to fruition. We were a half hour late in our taxi cutting across town and Gareth had woman trouble (apparently she's amazing looking but a complete mentalist). Not to worry - the Eggs love a bit of shopping, and proceeded directly (withut passing Go) to the MBK shopping Plaza and broke the credit cards on a few fakies. Truth be told we spent about a
Shaz and Gareth at Hippie Bar
...after a couple of lirrle ghins ..hic tenner but we like to pretend that we're rich.
Now, MBK is an 8 storey modern Nirvana for spendaholics. Honestly, you may never have seen as many stores under one roof. On one floor there must be hundreds of mobile phone shops stacked next to each other in tight corridoors. It's nuts - seemed to us they all sold the same stuff - but they must make money as they were mostly all really busy. While Mr McCabe perused the techie outlets, Shaz went for a 'relaxing' shoulder and neck massage. The masseuse was a bloke, and the Thai translation of Head and Shoulders is clearly 'Full back, arms, fingers, shoulders and head'. Things were going really well up until the point when he pulled her fingers out their sockets and knee'd her in the back. Despite her apparent violent attack, she felt really good afterwards, claiming to feel very relaxed in a beat up sort of way. It was 3 quid well spent.
Later that night we went to a local restaurant for dinner. We were the only Farangs ni there and it was BRILLIANT. Shaz was in her element - and even Mr McCabe enjoyed it....
it was Karaoke night!! I'll say one thing for Bangkokians - they like their sing songs / star turns. Just about every one of them got up to sing, and the rest of the diners were right up for their support roles as backing musicians. There wasn't a tape background, it was an old guy on his Bontempi - complete with cha cha cha button, and the spectators were all giving it laldy on their 'bring your own' marraccas and tambourines. We couldn't believe it - we had such a laugh - not at them, with them. You wouldnt get that on George Street on a Tuesday night, that's for sure!
OK, to finish, here are some final BKK observations:
* All the women are a size 6 and look like they are ten years old
* Khaosan Road is not as big as you think its going to be.
* Food is cheaper in the non tourist plaes, and often tastes better. You'll get a plastic plate.
* Tuk Tuk's are cheaper early in the morning when they are more keen for trade. We got offered a full trip to all the key sites for 20 baht at
8am on Sunday. Later on they will skin you and try to make you visit their mates shops on the way to your destination.
*There's a Boots the chemist on Khaosan Road, and no street stalls / vendors allowed on a Monday night.
* Crossing the big roads away from the pedestrian crossings is akin to signing your own death warrant.
* The place is enormous and you'll feel rushed if you try to see all the sights in less than about a week.
* We'll definately go back as there is such a lot to take in / see / do.
* One for the girls - Shaz saw sling back pop socks - did you ever?!
We are now on Ko Tao - which is a small island on the East coast. But that's a tale for another day.
Bye all,
Alan and Shaz. xxxx
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Gazza
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