Thailand Day 2

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Awoken by our alarm clock at 08:00 we started our day as if 3 hours sleep was enough for any man!

This mornings destination via the Sky Train was the Sunday Market at Chatuchak Park, 35 acres of covered stalls. Half of which sold the Classics from Nike to Kath Kitson (can I go know where in this world and not be confronted with kitch)! The other half comprised of Tat, General Tat and not forgetting a whole section devoted to Weddings, which we 'managed' to stumble into... The highlight for myself was seeing TNT and DHL stalls, strategically placed to enable tourists to send home the assorted house hold tat they've burdened themselves (and Partners) with. Fortunately Charlie decided that it was too early in our trip to go on a spending spree. However I'm doubting her resolve will hold when we reach Chiang Mai!

After an unfortunate encounter with a street vendors Stuff Squid (I have NO idea what that taste was), we headed out of the mayhem towards Jim Thompson's Silk Museum. Which according to our map was a quick 10 minute Sky Train ride followed by a quicker 5 minute walk. Obviously the train ride was fine (after all the markets at the end of the line), though the same can't be said for the walk, Hong Kong was nothing on Bangkok when it comes to being a pedestrian! The zebra crossings are lethal, the footbridges apart from being tiring from the humidity are a maze of turns, needless to say after a lot of false starts we eventually made it to the Museum in half an hour. However, what a treat, Jim Thompson's museum is actually his home (comprising of six traditional Thai teak homes) and the antiques he collected through his life. Old Jim was an American ex-serviceman who (legend has it) single handedly reinvented / rejuvenated Thai Silk industry. But finding a Teak house in a jungle of concrete was enough to raise smile. It also had an added bonus of including a decent restaurant within it's ground (well what self respecting tourist attraction doesn't) which fortified us for our evening activities.

After a quick dip we joined a collection of our fellow residents on a trip to celebrate 'Loi Krathong' a full moon festival which thanks the River Goddess for bring life. This encompasses launching a small boat of flowers and a candle into the water along with a few hundred others. This moving and joyous occasion was followed by our first Thai message (no extras available). My God I never know pain like it, Thai massages are about Pressure (yep, with a capital P), I swear when she was massaging my back she must of felt the mattress with her knuckles! For me 1 hour of agony, though for Charlie, well let's just say I think I heard her snore once, she was that Relaxed. In my defence my masseuse was twice the size of Char's...

So hopefully with the combination of well being provided by the River Goddess and a 'level' of relaxation from the Thai massage, we'll overcome let lag...

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