Bangkok - Day 4

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Having powered through yesterday I still only managed 4 hours' sleep and all attempts at a lie-in failed, so I thought I would take it easy on my final full day in Bangkok and take a trip to the shopping mall and cinema. I got a taxi to MBK, a huge air conditioned shopping mall on 7 floors. I made it to floor 4 then gave up and went for lunch at the Sukishi Japanese restaurant on the top floor. I couldn't understand the menu but from the pictures, I ordered what appeared to be a kind of Japanese tapas. I found some bits pretty unpalateable which may explain why this restaurant is not seen in the UK, but the pork ribs and deep fried prawns went down well.

After lunch, I watched The Hobbit at the MBK cinema. There were a few notable differences from a British cinema: the seats were reclining and incredibly comfortable, you were given a blanket (which was welcome as the room was actually cold), you could take a beer in and you had to stand for the King's Anthem before the film started.

Once back at the hotel, I headed out to a local night market. This turned out to be huge, as I walked for well over a mile and still didn't see the whole thing. I got the impression it was a big social gathering for the locals and despite being only 5 minutes from Khao San Road I did not see another caucasian face there. After walking through the labyrinthine market, I had completely lost my bearings. I wanted to photograph the temple Wat Them Thidaram at night after seeing it on the taxi ride home from MBK but it had just gone 2am, so I negotiated an 80 Baht fee with a tuk-tuk driver to take me there and then back home. Unfortunately you weren't allowed close enough to get a good photo.

Before going to the hotel, I walked past Nan's bar to see if I could catch her before I left. Luckily she was still there, so I had a beer, helped her clear up and bade farewell before heading to bed.

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Comments

[Luke Carter]

MBK!
Did you have to mime along to the anthem? I dont even know the words to our anthem! Hilarious. Photos are amazing. Keep them coming!

[Graeme Clark]

I didn't thankfully, but the king is really revered here. They have pictures of him everywhere.