Bangkok Day 2

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Geo: 13.7409, 100.541

One of our lofty ambitions on this trip was to do yoga everyday. Yesterday we were still finding our feet so that didn't happen yesterday. A bit of research revealed there are free Thai Chi lessons in Lumpini Park which is just down the road. So we were up early and toddled off to find the park. The first park we came across had a very official looking guard at the gate who would not let us in. Turns out that was the American Embassy. A couple more blocks down we found a park with low fences and unguarded gates and we figured we were in the right place. We started along the walking path and it was not long before we found a troop of people doing Thai Chi. We asked if we could join them and got enthusiastic nods yes yes. Two people moved out to allow us to slot into the group.

Now I've never done Thai Chi before. And it was relatively easy to follow. However it is certainly not easy to do. By the end of the class we were pouring with sweat....it must have been the heat. Only one of the instructors spoke a little english which was OK because we were really just copying their movements which worked fine until at one point they started a count down. Each member of the group yelled something out, then the next, then the next. Thankfully they figured (correctly) that the two white chicks didn't know the language and they jumped over us. After the class we thanked them and started moving away when we noticed they were setting up again. Turns out the sweat soaked, tremble inducing, half hour we did was only the warm up. We knew that we couldn't go on but the instructors invited us back for class at 6.30 tomorrow morning.

After our class we went for a walk around the park which is quite lovely and very busy in the morning. There were lots of folks out running, walking, thai chi-ing and yoga-ing. There is a large ornamental lake in the middle, lots of BBQ areas only they didn't have BBQ's, but they did have power outlets for fans. Cats seem to rule this park. We saw at least a dozen of them on our walk and one huge monitor lizard. Just lying on the grass near the water. I dug through my bag for my camera but alas I had not brought it. I was so upset with myself. Later on back at the hotel I was packing the same bag for our day out and found the camera hidden at the bottom. I just hadn't seen it hiding in its black case. Then I was even more upset

After breakfast we thought we would take a second crack at getting that boat down the canal. Still no boat. I read somewhere that Bangkok fancies itself as the Venice of the east. Clearly whoever came up with this moniker has never been to Venice. We did however see a local man in the water diving for lost treasures and trinkets. For him I wish two things 1) he has had every vaccination known to man because that water was so disgusting I cant fathom how many nasties are in it and 2) I hope his effort nets him a massive fortune because I would not dive in there for all the gold in fort knox.

So after the non-boat event we decided to catch a cab to Khao San Road, otherwise known as tourist mecca. We were pleasantly surprised to find the cabs are much cheaper than Tuk tuks. The drivers take you where you want to go (no special stops) and they have air conditioning. (bliss) The driver dropped us just down the road from Khao san as traffic was nuts. As we walked toward our destination we found a few places to have a spa. We stopped at one place that did fish therapy. I'd never done that before so there was no time like the present. For those who have never seen this pedicure treatment, you put your feet in a large fish tank and these little fishies swim up and eat the dead skin. It tickles like the devil and those fishies had a good feast that day

We decided we would book in for a boat cruise. By the time we made it to a pier we were a bit hot and bothered. We ended up catching the public boat from one end to the other and back again. It was nice but damn it was hot. So much for the temperature being cooler on the water. Back on land we meandered through some cool little alleyways where there were lots of guest houses, cafes and bars. We found another Songkran hotspot. Only this one was not quite so frantic. Just tourists walking down the alley getting water gunned or splashed by locals. A few of the tourists were armed with super soakers, they copped the worst. Not that Jo and I remained dry either, we even got our arms and faces painted with white mud, which is supposed to be a blessing for protection and to ward off evil. At one point we were walking past this little kid, maybe two years old. After a few minutes of serious concentration on his water pistol he managed to raise it high enough to get Jo. She gave the appropriate yelp. (For all that effort he deserved a yelp) He looked a little scared and unsure until he saw her smile and then this huge grin spread across his face. So cute

We stopped in at a cafe, partially for some lunch and partially to escape the water pistols. After lunch and three Singha, we decided it was too hot for that massage and returned to our hotel. Or more specifically, our hotel pool.

After some refreshment we had decided to go out and experience a night in Bangkok. (I think they wrote a song about that once) we had seen a place we liked the look of earlier but it was on the river. Getting a taxi there was our biggest challenge. As it turns out the Tuk tuk drivers drive taxis at night and we could not get one that would take us to old town AND put on the meter. Despite there being "no tourists" in Bangkok (as we have been told by many of the locals) Songkran still managed to create a traffic jam. Refusing to be "ripped off" we didn't make it to the centre of town. Instead the nice concierge hooked us up with a nice restaurant nearby. Oh well maybe we will have our one night in Bangkok another on another night.

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Photos

Another big bloody wheel
I wonder if this one works