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We arrived in Bangkok on Friday afternoon on a beautifully relaxed Nepal Airlines flight from Kathmandu. It was rainy as we landed but our spirits where not dampened.
Before we even collected our luggage from the conveyor belt, we made a slight detour straight for ‘Magazine World’ and ‘Boots’, initiating us in to the wonderful materialistic consuming world that would devour us over the next five days.
Bangkok was definitely a culture shock after over 5 months in India and Nepal. Personally I found Bangkok much more sophisticated and developed than I had expected. The busiest parts of the city were spotless. We loved the roadside food stalls, huge range of shops and cheap Thai massages.
Happily clutching two magazines of purely superficial content (I can not bear to admit that I fall so low, yet my excuse is: it’s an oestrogen thing!), I accompanied my husband to ‘Boots’ where we stacked up on beauty enhancers of all sorts, like there was no tomorrow.
When we finally arrived at the conveyor belt, our back packs where the only things going round and round without their owners to claim them. I think for future reference, this is the
way to go. Avoid the silly waiting game and feisty crowds and just go shopping!
We caught a pink cab to the city and I practiced my two words of Thai with the cabbie. After an hour of “Kop Khun Khaaa” and “Sawatee Khaaa” we rocked up at the Rama #8 Bridge. An engineering wonder, Rama #8 Bridge ended up being our point of reference for all future cab rides to our guest house.
“Phiman Water View Guest House” is one of the funkiest, ambience filled, plain super cool little guest houses I have had the pleasure of staying at. Don and Vi, a Thai rainbow couple, run the place. It’s full of quirky artwork, from paintings to installations to graffiti and each room is completely different to the next. We opted for the river front, floating bamboo hut, with wooden deck chairs facing the Bridge. Our little slice of heaven, on a budget, smack bang in the middle of Bangkok city!
The first night we caught the taxi boat down the river. We got off at a certain stop and tried to locate the Sky Train in a bid to get to the night markets. It was
pouring down with rain and we kept getting lost, out of fascination, admiration and plain confusion. We finally gave up on the whole sky train idea and somehow ended up in a tuk tuk that didn’t take us to a tailor’s shop (or any other shop for that matter) nor did it charge us a single Baht!
When we eventually made it to the night market we were looking for it was great to be dry under a roof and although tired from the long day, we did a spot of shopping and had Thai Pad Thai and German Weiss Bier (don’t ask…)
Day number two was spent in the incredible IT mart, Panthip Plaza and the Siam and Platinum Shopping Centres. It is incredible how fast time tends to go by in places like that, we did do well though. Andy got a gorgeous new golden Olympus point and shoot waterproof and shockproof (specially made for my love!!) camera, a set of travel speakers and a cool assortment of T-Shirt, Shorts, Havaianas, Hats and other cool paraphernalia. Alexia, finally got that super dooper Canon EFS Zoom Lens with Image Stabilizer USM and the golden stripe (wohoo, I’ve
gone up in the world), two pairs of super sexy and totally un-necessary custom made heels (with sparkles and bows and flowers and all things girlie), Pink Havaianas, a fair number of summer dresses and a wicked pair of black Ray Bans.
We ate right off the street, sushi, pad Thai, pineapples and papayas, drank to many fruit shakes and not enough water and ended up only semi conscious, at our Guest house around 11pm.
Once again we where serenaded (NOT) to sleep, by the ultra cheesy live Thai ballad singing duet from the restaurant next door, a regular and extremely nerve testing exercise that would mark the next four nights.
Sunday morning we made our way to Kaoh San Road, the infamous tourist centre. We spent an absolute bomb on Breakkie (not used to tourist prices any more, since we avoid all mainstream tourist activities like the plague) before heading to a pampering session.
Andrew and I got matching pedicures and facials to rid ourselves of the Indian sub continent grub that was still sitting deeply in our pores. A quick stop at the hairdressers for a 3 Euro haircut, wash and blow dry made me feel
brand new. Donning our new cool Bangkok gear, Ray Bans and all (hahah), we set off to the trendiest and largest flea market I have ever been to. Andrew claims that it poops on Camden market, to put it politely. The range of men’s t-shirts in Bangkok is staggering. Shop after shop at various markets sells cool designs and cuts for a fraction of what you pay back home.
That evening we went to watch the Muay Thai fights. Although I am not a big fan of boxing or kicking, I somehow did enjoy the experience a heck of a lot more than I thought I would. It was incredible to observe the exchange of energy in the ring. The crowds where amazing. They were really pumped with the fights and betting heavily on one or the other fighter yet not one negative vibe was hanging in the air, they were joking and laughing and even clapped when the opponent won. It was one of the most peaceful crowds yet they where passionate about a physically aggressive sport. It is something that managed to gain my respect and made me seriously re-think my ‘black and white’ view of kick
boxing. I’m currently in a shade of grey. Dark grey.
Monday morning. Whoa. The morning of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Thailand. I have not much to say as I was not allowed to enter the embassy, being a woman and all. So I sat outside, opposite the security guard in my designated red plastic chair and pulled out my book. “Daughters of Arabia” was written by a Saudi Princess, a member of the Al Saud family of Riyadh and direct descendant of the first King of Saudi Arabia, this revealing book illustrates the injustices against women that are still taking place in the kingdom to this day.
ATD - We had a frustrating morning at the opulent Saudi Embassy. Some problems have arisen with the Visa process, but I guess we never expected it to be easy. I was determined for it not to ruin our day. We decided that the best course of action was to do some serious sightseeing to distract us from our frustration. First stop was the Royal Palace. I was blown away by the intricate beauty and grandness of the building - like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I love the fact
that the complex has been kept in such good condition and is being constantly maintained.
Next stop was the huge statue of the reclining Buddha. We were accompanied at the temple by a large group of new recruits to the Royal Thai Navy, who were being shown around by a monk.
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