I Heart Bangkok. Again.

---

Arriving in Bangkok again, I was severely disappointed by the general standard of guesthouses so did the only sensible thing possible- just stayed where I stayed last time. My House Guesthouse, where the atmosphere is nice, and the beds aren't just mattresses on the floor. Only hitch was, I was on the 5th floor. No problem though, as I am in some need of good exercise after bumming around in tuk tuks.

It was all reasonably uneventful, except for perhaps breaking my thongs and actually benefiting from the long and essentially fruitless search with Roger to find new thongs for him, because I knew exactly where to go to get Havainas. Huzzah!

The next day I was so confused- everyone was wearing yellow shirts. What you have to understand is that in Thailand, every Monday is the king's birthday, and people wear yellow shirts to show how much they love the king. Only problem was, I was under the impression that it was Sunday. And my tour met on Sunday. I was a little concerned. I knew that the date was right though, so I didn't let it get to me too much as I aimlessly wandered up and down the streets, trying in vain to not look at the yellow shapes coming towards me.

Bangkok isn't very interesting, and I'd already seen all the sights I wanted to see and wasn't going to be seeing later. So anyway, I basically walked randomly all day, and found out that the shopping centres are much less imaginative and interesting than the streets outside (though of couse they hold the benefit of being airconditioned). There was a pretty cool alleyway I found that had old manekin parts hanging along it, but other than that and the fact that for some reason people in Thailand feel the need to put corn in their waffles, it was a pretty uneventful day.

Oh, and it turned out it actually was Sunday, the queen had her birthday that day- her real one- and so everyone was wearing yellow shirts with the royal symbol on it.

I actually spent quite a lot of the day in the hotel lobby (ah, air conditioning) reading my new book ('April Fool's Day' by Bryce Courtney- highly recommended, as is Terry Brook's 'World War Z' which I just finished). Anyway, about half an hour before the group was due to meet I got talking to a Columbian girl (Manuella, or Manu for short) who was doing the same tour as me. She seemed pretty cool and by lucky coincidence, we actually ended up sharing a room.

That night was fantastic. Firstly I had 4 beers over the course of the night- and am so proud of myself, it no longer tastes bad! Secondly we (well, about half of the group of 12) went to a ladyboy cabaret show. No, not a seedy strip show, but ladyboys dressed in carnivale costumes miming songs and dancing. It was the single best show I have seen in my life, I have never been so entertained.

Anyway, on real Monday we went and saw the giant reclining Buddha (second time for me), then the Grand Palace along with the temple with the emereld Buddha. It was pretty cool, but surprisingly exhausting in the muggy heat. I am leaving tonight on an overnight train to Chiang Mai...

P.S. Sorry about this entry being a bit boring, I really have very little enthusiasm when it comes to Bangkok. The backpacker district near the guesthouses is about the best that can be said about it.

---

Photos

Back in Bangkok
A picture of the pratanum shopping mall. Right across the road from the platinum shopping mall. I won't comment.

Manekins
Truly the quirkiest thing I discovered in Bangkok: a side street full of abandoned manekin parts. What a find!

The Golden Temple
I think that's what it was called. You kind of lose track But it was pretty darn beautiful. And the sky...

A different part of the same temple
The menacing clouds as they dragged their way across the sky. Even wet season has its beauty.

Me next to a temple... thing
It was like a column on the outside of the temple. And it was huge. The photo just shows the bottom. All covered in golden tiles... kind of tacky, kind of cool.

A monkey demon
Half of them were demons, half of them 'real monkeys' (in statue form). How could you tell the difference? The monkeys were screaming from the weight of their load. What a strange decoration.

Comments

[Dad]

So far so good
Sarah, sounds like everything is going well with the tour. Given that you will have the opportunity to get to make friends from places such a Columbia, perhaps going on this and your next tour was meant to be. PS. Roosters have gone five weeks now undefeated and are only a point out of the eight. Freddie asks that you remain away until after the Grand Final.

[Dad]

My Beer
By the way, does that mean I will now have to share my beer?

[dandy]

Roosters' winning streak
The Roosters one point away from the top eight is the sort of miracle that could have only occured if I left the country. I'll definitely make sure I'm not back for the finals. And I think you'll have to start drinking really disgusting beers, or start sharing.