Bangkok day three

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Today, Tuesday, is our last full day in Bangkok, and we leave tomorrow morning for Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Monday ended well as we met up with our old friend from university, Simon Dewhurst, who is living and working here. Great to catch up with him! The restaurant was good but oddly it was practically empty due to the national holiday.

This morning we took a taxi to the Grand Palace - where the royal family used to live. The dress code called for long trousers which might be respectful but is also not what I enjoy when it's 90f and humid! The palace and associated temple was beautiful and incredibly ornate, but I think we're getting a bit templed out frankly. So from there we made a massive change of scenery and went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. Some of you know that Sandra has a collection of 25+ Hard Rock hurricane glasses from cities she has visited around the world, and Bangkok was missing from the collection. No more! We avoided the temptation to eat burgers and ate Thai food from the menu that tasted good but seemed out of place among Elvis' suit and Eddie Van Halen's guitar!

After lunch we visited the Jim Thompson House. A lovely collection of traditional wooden Thai buildings where an American man lived after WW2 who was responsible for developing the trading of Thai silk. He was also quite an art collector and the buildings exhibit a lot of the Asian art he gathered before his mysterious disappearance in 1967. It was a good non-temple tourist stop. Highly recommended.

We leave here tomorrow morning, so it's time for overall thoughts on Bangkok. I have mixed feelings about this place. As a tourist stop, it ranks behind Beijing, and it just doesn't have the old-world charm of Hanoi and the people are not as welcoming. But it feels vibrant and fun, and our day at the floating market was such a good experience. I like this place but wouldn't rush back.

Lastly a topical music quiz! I'll be impressed if someone gets this! The lyric "one night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster" came from this 80s hit for which band? I confess that I had to google the answer!

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Comments

[Phil White]

Bing Crosby?
How many Hard Rock Cafes are there?

[Sand Nick Carys and Ben]

Bing Crosby?!?!
In the 80s? He was 6 feet under, pushing up the daisies when this song came out!! Are you taking this seriously, Phil? No idea how many Hard Rocks there are, but its a lot. The fact that Minneapolis has one tells me that! One of the American Indian tribes bought the brand and offer out franchises. The original cafe is in London near my uncle's place, and I remember going there as a kid in the late 70s thinking it was the coolest place on the planet.

[Donna B]

Most Excellent Trip
Hey Summers Clan, I am enjoying reading about your adventures and seeing your pics (even if there are more of the Grand Palace than anything else). I look to excape with you on a daily basis. If I wouldn't miss you in MN, I would tell you to stay on vacation forever and to keep sending updates! Safe travels!

[Sand Nick Carys and Ben]

At some point we'll have to come back to feed the goldfish.