Two big cities

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I have finally gotten time to write my blog after a busy time visiting two of the biggest cities in South East Asia - Bangkok and Hong Kong. Our first journey after leaving Phnom Penh was to fly the short trip to Thailand's capital, Bangkok. We were staying in a small, but very pleasant Guesthouse a little bit outside Bangkok, which meant we were nicely out of the hustle and bustle of the city. Our only day in Bangkok comprised of three main events. The first was a trip to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Keo in the old section of Thailand. As I had visited before, I enjoyed reinspecting the grand area, probably one of the grandest temples in the whole of South East Asia (see above). It really is fantastically adorned, and there is great attention to detail. It also houses the emerald Buddha, stolen from a temple in Laos (which we had also visited), which is a spectacular site, as is the sheer number of Buddhists who are there praying there - it is packed from opening to closing time. For Sarah, it was her first time, and her reaction the spectacular nature of the palace was similar to my first impressions. This took up a good few hours and our next stop was a tailor, as I was interested in getting another suit made up for crazy prices. After a bit of haggling over the price, we settled at around 75 pounds for a suit, opposed to his starting price of 110 pounds. I was keen to get hold of a grey suit, and within half an hour I was measured up, and we were told to return at around 6pm for fitting.

Finally, we went to Pantip Plaza, the home of computers and DVDs in Thailand. We got various DVDs including Family Guy series 6, The Big Bang Theory 1 &2 and Microsoft Office 2007. I was tempted to get Windows 7 for 4 pounds, but decided that it probably wouldn't work on my computer, which isn't very powerful. We spent a ridiculous amount in all (probably around 40 quid), but for what we got, it was amazing value - now just got to hope that they work! Our next stop was at a few of the other shopping malls in the area, one, Siam Paragon, had a dance competition going on, which was good fun to watch, until the torrential rain came and we jogged quickly back inside. Our final stop was back at the tailors, where I got my final fitting, and agreed to have the suit sent to the Hotel. The next day was another travelling day, as we prepared to fly to Hong Kong. We got packed and checked out, and spent the last few hours in Bangkok's shopping markets and a quick visit to the Post Office, before picking up the suit and heading to the airport.

We arrived at Hong Kong in the evening, which left us time to grab a McDonalds and check-in at the rather plush hotel we were staying at. The next day, as Sarah was particularly keen, was spent at Hong Kong Disneyland, which is the smallest of the world's Disney Parks. I found it surprisingly entertaining, and Sarah took great joy in meeting Mickey Mouse et al. I managed to get a picture next to Mickey Mouse in my Horsham shirt, which was satisfying. It was a bit of a nostalgia trip, going to "it's a small world" and Space Mountain. The next day in Hong Kong was spent at some of the markets in Kowloon where I picked up a fake Rolex for 20 quid, which is serving us very well - we are getting a lot better at being punctual. In the evening, we headed up the peak, which provides great views over Hong Kong Island (see picture, we spent a couple of hours up there, watching as Sun set, and then headed for some food in a nearby restaurant, with great views over Hong Kong. The next day allowed us to visit some of the markets on Hong Kong Island, which was less than inspiring, and we then headed to the airport for our flight to Sydney. The overnight flight wasn't ideal, as it allowed for only around 3 or 4 hours sleep, but luckily we were seated up front, which gave us a much better chance of sleep! So now I write from a cold and wet Sydney, our fourth country this week - I will update you on our progress here when we get to Wakiki, Oahu, Hawaii :D.

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Comments

[Tom]

Nice haggling! Thanks for the little hyperlink there just to remind us of how nice Upper Class is :P