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| The entrance to Victory Executive Residences - rather grand |
The arrival processes in Bangkok went smoothly: my luggage eventually appeared on the carousel (why is it my bag always seems the last to appear?), the ATM dispensed me money as requested, although it was a bit of a nuisance that I could not access my money but had to withdraw a cash amount from my credit card - a problem that was later repeated. Bhutan's ATMs gave me the required option and it worked well there to withdraw cash from my account. Immigration and customs were cleared with no problems and I obtained my ticket to queue for a taxi. The ticket indicated the taxi bay, registration number and driver's name and the phone number of the appropriate authority should I have any complaints.
The taxi waiting area was VERY noisy, with hundreds of cars and thousands of people and far more cigarette smoke than is comfortable. After a few minutes my taxi pulled up and the driver quoted 500 baht including the extra 50baht for the driver, that airport signs said applied, and tolls. I wondered if that was a rip off.... the trip took more than half an hour, around 25km, so by home standards the cost was ok, although I subsequently found out that sometimes the price was much higher.
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| A sufficiently comfortable room |
There was some confusion at check in, the main source of this seemed to be that I had booked through the hotels own website! Obviously not a common process. The receptionist wanted me to forward my confirmation email to her. Fine, whatever worked. It was easy enough when the hotel provided free wifi.
After checking out my quite comfortable room, I walked to find a 7/11 shop to buy a phone SIM card and tonic for my duty free gin. In the absence of any evidence of tonic, for lime and soda and street food for dinner. I phoned my friend and colleague, Cha, from Gyelposhing said she would come with me the following day to the Chinese consulate to do my visa application.
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| Demonstrating winding silk from the cocoons at Jim Thompson House |
16th February: Day 1 in Bangkok
Cha came to meet me at 8am, and we took a taxi to Chinese consulate. The whole application process was easy, as opposed to what I had read online of others' experiences. The only stumbling block being that I had not put a current employer (I did not think that the authorities would look kindly on "unemployed, of no fixed address”, which is strictly true) one was happy to accept retired, the other wanted my last school address. Whatever works. Overall the process was quick and easy.
Completion of the application process (return tomorrow afternoon to collect) was celebrated with an iced latte and discussion of the program for the day. We took a taxi to Jim Thompson House; I had thought that there might be information in greater detail about his contribution to the Thai textile industry, but it was more about his lifestyle and interest in collecting objet d'art. The prices in the on-site shop made it easy to resist, along with the brand name merchandising of a whole range of products completely unrelated to silk.
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| Spirit house at Jim Thompson House |
I had said to Cha that I would like to buy a couple of items of summer clothing and some new sport shoes, so Cha took me to a wholesale market. I purchased 2 pairs of trousers, one shirt and some white ankle socks, at very, very cheap prices and hundreds of stalls to choose from. Given that in Bhutan "made in Thailand" is a mark of quality, the choice was overwhelming. Cha rang her father to take us to Wat Don Wai Floating Market. It was SOOO much fun, with loads of interesting foods. My catch cry for the afternoon was Cha " what's this?" And it was matched almost equally with Cha's "try this". Lots of interesting flavours and much sampling but after a couple of hours it was suggested we needed to eat a meal, so we adjourned to the restaurant area and what seemed to be a huge number of dishes was ordered. I tried everything and took seconds of most things, although not the blood sausage.
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| Dinner with Cha and her parents at Wat Don Wai floating market |
After the meal, which I tried unsuccessfully to pay for, Cha’s father dropped us at one of the bigger shopping centres for me to attempt to purchase a pair of sports shoes. I tried on a couple of pairs then fund a shop selling Nike Air. Anticipating that these would be as comfortable as the old pair I had left with my students in Gyelposhing, I purchased a pair of sport shoes, but am not totally convinced by their comfort that they are the genuine article. Though they are becoming more comfortable with time.
One of Cha’s ex-boyfriends calls her with an offer to drive her home and drop me at the hotel on the way and this offer is gratefully accepted. He does not like her catching taxis if he is free to drive her.
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| Wat Phra Kaew |
17th February: Day 2 in Bangkok
Cha comes to meet me at 9am and we take a taxi to Wat Phra Kaew. It seems that approximately a squillion other people have also decided to visit this place with its famous Emerald Buddha. As we entered we are offered the services of a guide for 500 baht for a 45 minute tour. We accept and she whizzes us around the buildings with a broken English explanation which matches well the tourist information provided on the map and brochure, and told us when to take photos and who should be in the photo.
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| The summerhouse at Wat Phra |
It was amusing to watch this self appointed policeman of morality dictate to other tourists that they should remove hats, cover their shoulders or cleavage better and not put their shoes on the steps. She took photos for us, with us posed appropriately beside various features, and gave us her “get ready” count of 1, 2, 2½…. At the end of the tour, she indicated that it had taken more than 45 minutes and we should pay more…… she seemed happy with an extra 100 baht – though Cha was a little indignant as we had not asked her to stay longer.
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| Reclining Buddha |
After a bit more wandering at Wat Phra Kaew on our own, left seeking a snack from street food vendors, but those Cha was seeking were not to be found and we ended up at an air conditioned café, After You at Tha Maharaj ordering a large iced dessert to share. Cooling us inside and out, this was a welcome break.
From here we caught the river boat (with what seemed like far too many people for a boat that size) to Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), or Wat Phra Chetuphon. This was much more peaceful and decorous with only a couple of hundred other visitors.
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| At Wat Pho |
My attempts to transfer some of the photos and videoclips to Cha’s hard drive are frustrated by my computer not recognizing the formatting of the drive, so this would need to be delayed.
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| Wat Pathumwanarum |
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| Chedi at Wat Pathumwanarum |
18th February: Day 3 in Bangkok
Cha was busy this morning and I elected to visit the Jim Thompson Factory outlet; I had thought that they might offer a shipping service but apparently not, so it was easy to resist purchasing silk curtaining for my living room. I had thought I might treat myself to some shirt lengths in shades of blue-green, but there was almost nothing in this colour range, so I left empty handed!
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| Traditional dnacers at Erawan Four Faced Buddha would dance when paid to do so |
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| Erawan Four Faced Buddha |
At her suggestions, I met Cha at Siam station, an easier process than I expected and we walked for a while, including visiting the Erawan Four Face Buddha. This shrine had been the site of relatively recent terrorist action during which several tourists were killed and there was security much in evidence when we visited.
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| A peaceful haven from Bangkok's hustle and bustle, and a delicious meal |
19th February: The Departure
Packing up ready to depart for the airport and the contents of my suitcase seemed to have expanded excessively – though I had purchased some new clothes and a new pair of sport shoes. And a silk scarf – it was a bit hard to resist!
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| checking out the upmarket fashions with ideas of adapting for future sewing projects |
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