Bangkok & back again

Our Air Asia flight from Ha Noi to Bangkok goes smoothly and by mid-day we are safely ensconced in our chosen hotel. We are staying in Shoplandia, there is mall after mall after mall here.
First stop is lunch which we find in a little street kitchen on our very own street. It looks so good we virtually order one of everything!  From here,  we head to the MBK Centre which we’ve been told has loads of bargains. It doesn’t necessarily have loads of bargains but it has fake everything.  It is really interesting to go from here to a ‘real’ mall and check out the difference in quality – which in some cases is not really that apparent.

At the night market again you are able to buy anything and everything with sex shows thrown in. It’s quite sad really as the only people who are approached seemingly are westerners, what does that say!  Surprisingly I’m not too overwhelmed by all this (prude that I am) and do offer to go to one of the shows with Adrian if he wants.  He declines.

The Royal Palace in Bangkok is quite something and it’s a 3 km walk from our drum.  Trouble is the tuk tuks and taxis are so corrupt with ridiculous overcharging and whisking you off to gem shops and tailors “just to look boss” which amazingly reduces the cost of the fare quite considerably. It is fantastic and it is quite sizeable all decorated in little squares of coloured glass, with a magnificent Buddha carved from a single piece of jade that was apparently lost, hidden behind a layer of plaster.  The Palace and temples undergo a permanent  programme of renovation so is kept in tip top condition.

Finally we have found tasty food - I don't think I've stopped talking about KFCs for 2 days now!  I must master the art of a thai curry - after I've finished filling my face with lots and lots of tasty home cuisine.  Even tastier food is to be found in China Town.  We lose several hours in China Town just browsing the markets, sampling the street food and buying lots of stuff for home. I've bought a lifetime's supply of cinnamon sticks for less than £3, and star anise well, don't get me started.

I've had a wonderful holiday with lots of contrasts. Again and again when visiting other countries I am reminded how lucky I am to have done well in life's birth lottery.  When you consider that at the age of 7 my life could have been to work 15 hours a day in rice fields for the Khmer Rouge or, as an adult, I could have given birth to children with terrible deformities a resulting legacy of Agent Orange, you'll understand why I am happy to be just plain old Louise Sara Rogers who is lucky enough to visit these places and become a little more educated about them.  I'll never win any Nobel Peace Prizes but by the same token, I'll never start any wars.

All that remains to be said is "thank you" to Adrian who has spoiled me rotten for the last 6 weeks and been a most interesting and entertaining travelling companion.