Day 16,17 & 18- The Last Leg

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This morning we packed up the rest of our things and met for breakfast downstairs, we had contemplated bringing our suitcases downstairs but had decided as the lift was still not working and our bags by this stage of the holiday were crammed full with bargains, that were all much heavier now than they were when we bought them, so we decided to send the concierge to pick them up. However we did feel a little guilty when we realised there only seemed to be one guy and he was carrying one bag at a time from the third floor.

We were met for the airport by the wife of the guide of the previous day, who was less politically opiniated than her husband on the subject of corruption. We caught the short flight to Bangkok and when we arrived, and after consulting the guide book, a taxi seemed the cheapest option. Russ and Dad enquired at a desk on the way to the exit, and we were aked if we would like to go on a trip round the pagodas of Bangkok. They were running a special offer to encourage tourisim on the back of the unrest earlier in the year. We thought this would be a good idea, so signed up for it for the following day.

Upon arrival at the Hilton, we were directed to the Executive floor to check in, and given our room keys and offered light refreshments. We went to our rooms which were on opposite sides of the corridor, and we had views up and down the river. The window was the entire width of the room and gave a really good view. We made our way down to the pool, and found that oddly the loungers were submerged in the swimming pool (not completely just the feet). It was very nice and we spent about an hour catching the late afternoon sun before deciding to head out into the city, so a quick change routine was in order then down to the lobby area to search out where to catch the free ferry boat service run by the Hilton.

The shuttle went over to the shopping centre opposite, and went about every 15 minutes. We took the short trip and sent off walking towards Chinatown. Before we had got very far, we got in a tuk tuk which took us to a "shopping emporium", where we didn't buy anything, but worked out on the map, that our destination was in fact quite a distance away, so we abandoned our foray and returned to the Hilton. We got changed and went up to the lounge for Happy hour, where there was a selection of canapes brought round to us, and in addition a selection of light bites to nibble on. These snacks, coupled with the complimentary drinks, made for a very pleasant start to the evening. We made enquiries in reception as to the best place to go for a drink and food, and got a taxi to Pat Pong. When we arrived we found the market to be alive with sellers but as the reputation kind of intimates there were a lot of guys trying to sell you tickets to sex shows and get you into dancing bars.

There was also lots of stalls selling fake goods, but the atmosphere was good. We went looking for somewhere to eat, and chose to look down one of the side alleys slightly away from the main stalls. The bar was called "Richards", and was a gay bar, but to be fair the food was really good. After a second round of the stalls, we got a taxi back to the hotel where we ventured up to the top floor Sky Bar to admire the view. There was a jazz singer with a group and we indulged in cocktails as a treat at the end of the holiday.

The next day we had our tour booked for 10 o'clock, so after a reasonably late breakfast we met our tour guide in the hotel lobby. It was to be a tour of temples, and so with just the four of us in the mini bus we first went to the temple of the Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit. It is called a lucky Buddha because it rose from the riverbed encased in concrete, broke open and inside was a golden Buddha. It is 4m tall and made of solid gold. We went into another temple which was a working temple and our guide gave us the opportunity to be blessed by a monk. He threw a bit of water at us, tells us to make a wish, and tied a peice of rope round our wrists. As we were stood watching, some people brought an offering to the monk to be blessed and distributed to the poor people.

We next went to Bangkok's oldest and largest temple Wat Pho. The highlight of the temple is the reclining Buddha. At 46m long and 15m high, it is absolutely huge! At the feet, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, are 108 images of Buddha, and all the toes are the same length. Within what is a massive complex is a temple containing a bronze image of a meditating Buddha, guarded by some very odd figures representing Westerners, reputedly comical versions of the image of Marco Polo. In the grounds are some curious buildings called chedi, which we have seen before as stupas, which contain the ashes of Kings and are covered in elaborate mosaics.

After this temple, the guide took us to a tailors, which held no real interest for us, having already been to Vietnam. On the way back to the hotel, we passed the Royal Palace, and also saw the devotion the people of Thailand have for their King. He is the longest serving monarch in the world, and it was his birthday celebrations in early December and there were lots of pictures of the King as a child up around the City, and plenty of yellow ribbons and they were obviously going to celebrate in style. Our tour bus dropped us off on the opposite side of the river to the hotel as the traffic is bad, and we caught the free shuttle back across to the Hilton. We decided to look at the menu over the small bar that was next to the hotel to see if we fancied it for later on, and also took the opportunity to try a jug of the beer. After careful consideration, we decided we would return later. The alternative had been a meal at the Hilton's Thai restaurant with traditional dancing, but we felt we probably wouldn't do it justice if we were having canapes at Happy Hour.

We went back to the rooms to change, and spent another hour or so by the pool soaking up the afternoon sun, before afternoon tea and blogging looking out over the river, and then returning to the Exec lounge for the canapes, red wine and beers we had tried the night before. We eventually went to the bar next door, but could only manage a few snacks, and they had provided live entertainment which proved popular with the locals as the vocalist sung songs in both english and thai. After consulting the guide book, we decided that we should try and visit another recommended site in the morning after breakfast and before we needed to pack and check out. We had arranged for a late check out, and we were also told we could continue to use the pool and changing rooms the next day.

In the morning after breakfast, we caught the other shuttle service to the skytrain, and headed off to Jim Thompson's house. He was an American that originally came to Thailand in the war, and then returned there to live. He revived traditional silk weaving methods using local materials and labour. When he was on holiday in Malaysia, he went off for a walk and was never seen again. The Foundation set up in his memory maintains the house, garden and his collection of antiques for the public to visit, and they still manufacture silk items for purchase. They house is a mixture of thai and western influence in that it is on stilts, but there is a dining room table and chairs, and an inside bathroom. It was a very interesting place to visit, and an excellent place to end our sightseeing.

We returned to the hotel, and went to the pool whilst we considered our options for tea as we had a night flight and our taxi would be collecting us at 8pm. Russ had noticed a restaurant on the top of the shopping centre opposite, so we decided to try it. It was actually a DIY BBQ where you purchased a plate of raw meats and noodles, and they brought a bucket of hot coals and set on it a metal cooking lid. Through trial and error we cooked the food, but it really needed a sauce or something to flavour the meat, but a really fun way to eat!

There was a bit of a mad scramble back to the hotel for the taxi, as we had opted for another beer, and when we got down to where the shuttle boat sailed from, it was full of hundreds of people catching boats for dinner cruises, leaving nowhere for the Hilton boat to pull in. After waiting 20 minutes, we ran down the quay to catch the local boat which we had to pay 20p for, and we could still see the Hilton boat hovering in the river waiting to get in, and then once it had got in, it then had no berth on the other side to drop the passengers off. We made the dash for reception and waited for the taxi to arrive. Once at the airport, and we had checked in, we wandered around for a bit and then made our way to the boarding gate. As we got in the plane, we were casually wandering down the aisle before realising we had gone past our seats - the reason being they were in business class! Without our knowledge we had been upgraded - result! Semi reclining seats and an Air France flight pack - a good way to end the holiday actually getting some sleep in a nice seat.

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