Same same......but different

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Here we are in Bangkok, and despite the horror stories people have told us about the place, we love it. It's clean and efficient with great nightlife, and we've ditched the sophisticated lifestyle and are tucking into the street food with great gusto (with no fear of gastro aggro). After the rigours of India we're unashamedly happy to be staying in Khao San road, with the rest of the Farang (foreigner) throng, which is fully equipped with bars, restaurants and knock-off designer gear.

We haven't entirely abandoned the cultural side of things, so we joined the queues for the Grand Temple. If you ever go, you might want to avoid the heat and humidity be choosing your arrival time carefully. Four in the morning should just about do it. As it was, we were there at midday, and Thais in all directions were recoiling in horror at Steve's glowing pink visage and prodigious armpit sweat. Linda forgot to wear respectful dress and had to borrow a natty peach blouse from the ticket office, which made for a lovely ensemble with her flowery skirt. That said, the temple itself is not exactly what you'd call restrained on the colour front, and it's constantly being repainted.

Jim Thompson's house/museum was a welcome relief from the humid afternoon (not a patch on its Wimbledon Broadway restaurant of course). The tuk tuk rides here are actually more expensive that the air conditioned taxis. The driving experience is similar to that of India's rickshaws- you get the adrenalin rush of weaving through the traffic at breakneck speed- but Bangkok's tuk tuks are souped-up monsters compared to the weedy mopeds of Delhi. What with the brightly adorned interiors, flashing fairy lights and screechy music, it's like riding in a fairground waltzer.

Went to see the new Narnia film last night. This was a spur-of-the-moment thing- we would have donned more than shorts and flip-flops had we known the air-con would be so glacial. The cinema chap took pity on our frost bitten exposed limbs and offered us a blanket. Everyone stopped scoffing popcorn, smooching and shuffling in order to pay respect to the Thai King and stood for the national anthem. The King is highly revered and loved and gigantic photos of him and the Queen grace the city.

We had a fun night watching Thai kick boxing. Nimble, wiry and incredibly lightweight boxers (7 stones) first warm up by saying a quick prayer followed by a little dance round the ring to the accompaniment of a rather bored looking bongo quartet. The dance is best described as tai chi cum ballet. One of the bouts featured two eight-year-olds- presumably the winner gets to keep the other's dinner money. Above the sounds of the band and the thwacks of feet against ribs was the frenzied shouting of Thai men placing bets. We tried to fathom the local version of Tic Tac but could only make out what looked like 'jazz hands' shaking of the wrists. The final bout of the 10 was Queensbury rules (straightforward boxing) although by this stage we were rather punch-drunk ourselves.

Having sated our brains with these delights, we opted for a dose of sleaze at Patpong. We weren't particularly impressed with the ping pong display but the pelvic floor bottle cap removal was entertaining as well as practical. Linda's considering perfecting this party piece for our next south London dinner party.

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Photos

Linda in full bloom
That blouse is really working, darling

Jim Thompson
The stylish home of Bangkok's favourite Yank, inveterate self-promoter and saviour of the Thai silk industry

Ringside
Those cats were fast as lightning...

Fried lice
Fast food, Bangkok style. Haven't tried it yet. Probably never will.

Linda in tuk tuk
We're overtaking the Mercedes behind- and he wasn't exactly dawdling himself

Furry friends
Little is known of traditional Thai cat training methods, but the results are impressive