Do the Baht, man!

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Bangers in a nutshell:

Dan and I spent the first few days arguing. We were both tired and emotional. Mostly tired. Once we had caught up on sleep we started to relax and enjoy ourselves,
*
We struggled to book ourselves into the hostel. We wanted to upgrade to a twin room in a bid to recharge the batteries. This concept was very difficult for the girl behind the desk to grasp. After 15 minutes. She showed us to our new room. Proudly placed in the centre was a double bed. After much hand gesturing (“what’s the international hand signal for twin room?”) and head shaking we sorted it out.
*
We visited many temples and palaces. We tried to hide from the sun but it always found us in the end. Dan tried to convince me that no-one does anything in South East Asia between the hours of 11-4. I didn’t know if he was telling the truth or was fabricating the story in a bid to go back to the hostel to get more sleep.
*
As our hostel was a long way from anything we spent a lot of our time in taxis. Sometimes in traffic jams, sometimes not. At least they all had air-con: man’s greatest invention since the elasticated snake belt.
*
Visited the Myanmar (Burma) embassy twice in an attempt to get our visas in advance. The first time we arrived to find that we were too late to be processed. The second time we arrived just before they opened and found a long queue waiting for us. We figured that we could easily wait all morning only to find that we would have to come back the following day as well. We gave up and went for a coffee instead.
*
We got ripped off by a tuk-tuk driver, Bangkok’s favourite mode of transport. We knew that he would try and scam us but we did it anyway. He took us all around the city, taking us to various pre arranged shops absolutely nowhere near where we wanted to go. In the end we got out, paid him a pittance and discovered that we were actually further from our destination than when we started. We got another Taxi.
*
We saw Khao San Road. It was 7pm at night. It was rather quiet.
*
We went shopping some more. I bought a rucksack. Dan bought creams for is many ailments. Some things don’t change.
*
We wandered around Chinatown’s labyrinthine markets and developed "Black Lung" from all the pollution.
*
We had an expensive meal at a restaurant. Realized how expensive it was (relatively cheap but not when you’re on a budget) and have eaten at cheap roadside stalls ever since.
*
We have had a great time so far and are looking forward to when we return this way again in a few months time.

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Photos

Wat something
Can't for the life of me remember the name of this temple. Sorry. Nice place, though.

The roof of the same place.
Still can't remember the name.

Wat Suthat
Dan admiring the marvelous walls.

Wat Suthat
Back of Bhudda.

Wat Suthat
The grounds of the temple. This "gentleman" was decked out like a ninja turtle.

Wat Suthat
Hello.

Dan in the back of a converted Bedford Rascal
Our trip to the Myanmar embassy. Dan excited about the thought of queueing for hours on end.

Grrrrrrrr!
The Grand Palace

Yet another shopping mall
Siam Plaza

Diarama
Within the grounds of Jim Thompson's house.

Jim Thompson's House
Jim Thompson was an American entrepreneur who introduced Thai silk to the rest of the world. His house was filled with Thai artefacts.

Comments

[Dad]

Spelling
I am concerned your spelling seems to have improved. This makes your blogs much less interesting to a spelling / grammar pedant. I perked up when I saw 'labrinthine' but feel you let me down badly by spelling correctly and using it in the right context. Regards to Dan.

[anonymous]

As a site note
Hi Neil. Have been enjoying your blog. Dan and I are arriving in Wellington on 25th October 2006, so look us up when you return. I saw the following TV programme is on tonight and bizarrely thought of you. Bit like your sense of humour...I think WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER The Dog Suicide Bridge: Stranger than Fiction 8:00pm - 9:00pm Five A Scottish community claims that dozens of their pet dogs have committed suicide from a local bridge. Residents of Dunbarton, near Glasgow, claim that since the 1960s at least 50 dogs have jumped to their deaths from Overtoun Bridge. Most recently, five dogs leapt to their deaths within six months. Dog psychologist Dr David Sands PhD examines theories ranging from dogs being disturbed by nearby military sonar to a reported paranormal presence on the bridge. WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER Documentary The Dog Suicide Bridge: Stranger than Fiction 8:00pm - 9:00pm Five VIDEO Plus+: 7754483 Subtitles Followed by five news at 9 1/4 A Scottish community claims that dozens of their pet dogs have committed suicide from a local bridge. Residents of Dunbarton, near Glasgow, claim that since the 1960s at least 50 dogs have jumped to their deaths from Overtoun Bridge. Most recently, five dogs leapt to their deaths within six months. Dog psychologist Dr David Sands PhD examines theories ranging from dogs being disturbed by nearby military sonar to a reported paranormal presence on the bridge.

[neil g]

Dog suicides:discuss?
I suppose the limited options open to depressed dogs means that they have to resort to leaping off bridges. They have no access to prescription drugs with which to overdose or shotguns, whilst little dog-paws find the process of tying a noose too difficult. Equally there is no Dog Samaritans and even if there was, dogs can't use phones (except "Listening Dogs" employed by deaf people who alert their owners when the telephone rings; which raises the point of why deaf people have telephones?. Maybe I dreamt the whole thing up). Either way this is a rather fascinting subject. I'm sorry I missed the program.