So we crashed out at the hotel and had about 3-4 hours sleep after we’d had some food for breakfast – great few across the region. I was struggling with tiredness and the hangover I think, really didn’t feel on top of the world!
Met down in reception and had a walk around the block to wake us up and say we’d been into Abu Dhabi – bloody hell that was hot, it was about 40+ degrees, incredible heat. Sweating like mad after a few metres, got back to the hotel asap!!
Got picked up and went back to the airport to get our 6.30pm flight which in turn didn’t take off until 7.30pm and was another 7 hours flying. Watch Divergent on the recommendation of the kids and quite enjoyed it, good concept for a film. Again managed a couple of hours sleep and then we were landing in Bangkok for 6.00am
No one was waiting for us with our name placeholder sadly so we wandered around to see if they were outside or anything and then found a tourist info place and they phoned our operator and they turned up about 20 minutes later with the minibus to take us to our hotel. We snoozed some of the way but I wanted to see as much of Bangkok as possible and it’s huge! A mass of sprawling houses and high rise blocks etc. We went through a rough looking area and then stopped at our hotel which was lovely. Very posh indeed!
Went in and were amazed to be staying here, checked in and agreed to meet for breakfast at 9.30am after a sleep, however we all overslept and missed the breakfast! Made ourselves get up, get ready and then go outside to use the hotel taxi to drop us into the centre of Bangkok near the Golden Palace.
As soon as we got out of the minibus we were stopped by a chap who appeared to be a guide and he told us what we needed to do. He was amusing in his own right and we agreed that his suggestions were what we wanted to do so we jumped on two tuk tuks and they whisked us off to the river front. Not before we were laughing and being thrilled at the journey in these death traps! At the river we bartered and argued about the cost of a boat tour around some of the river and we agreed a price and were off in our own mini boat zooming across the main wide river to find some of the smaller arteries and worked our way around these and took video and photos of the houses and temples down here. Some rare sights indeed!
We stopped at a very small floating market but didn’t buy anything and saw tons of fish (big ones) all being fed and coming up to the boat. It was really interesting going through there seeing how some of the people live. After about an hour it was over and we were dropped off at one of the piers by the temples and we walked through another market. These are interesting to view, no one minds you walking through their kitchen it seems as everything is all closely compacted and tight and the markets are full of colour and bargains, you’d certainly never go hungry in Thailand as there are food stalls absolutely everywhere!
We decided to have something to eat so stopped under a canopy and ordered, not too sure what we were getting but it was all fresh cooked and in fact was very tasty. Lewis was good, he was all very confident with ordering and talking to people to try food and that, he’s been here and I think he liked that element of control or responsibility. There was a chap next to us selling fruit and he was doing a roaring trade, I can’t believe with all the options for food and how cheap it is how any of them make any money!!
Once finished we left and decided to look around the Grand Palace. We needed to be respectful so put on long trousers and I put my tracksuit bottoms over my shorts and regretted it immediately – I was soaked in sweat in seconds, it was so bloody hot. I wish I’d taken up the offer of the free loose leggings that we available for people to use. They looked so much cooler. Anyway, we walked further into the place and took some good photos. At the main entrance there was a stall for paying to go in and we ummed and ahhed about doing so but decided we were there so might as well – what a good decision that was!
The Grand Palace is beautiful! As the name suggests, the building and statues are covered with gold leaf and look incredible in the sunlight. We walked around and each time we turned a corner there was another amazing sight to see, I couldn’t take enough photos…literally…as my battery went! Never mind, managed to get enough.
Went inside some of the temples and that was just as impressive to be honest, one of them we were blessing each other with lotus flowers, probably offending someone with our silliness but we kept it to a minimum. Kept going round and round and each time, like I say above, it was more and more impressive. I could have stayed so much longer but Tash and Charlotte were flagging (too hot) and wanted to move on. So we left it behind and I gladly, i have to admit, removed my tracksuit bottoms. So where next?
We decided the next location should be Khoasan Road which is one of the most famous roads in Bangkok because it’s where back-packers and travellers congregate. So we started walking towards it and ignored some of the taxi offers as I thought we were close enough and we stopped on a street corner and treated the kids to a crepe each and then gave in and got all 6 of us in a tuk tuk…what was a laugh and it was a routine that came to be our method of travel for the next couple of trips! We were right to have got the tuk tuk as it was quite a trek to Khoasan Road, once dropped off it was a bit like Carnaby Street of old as we walked down it full of bars and street sellers.
I found one market stall where I got the flip flops I wanted and got a decent price and we then stopped at a bar for something to drink and watched the world go past. Offered cooked scorpions and other delicacies which we politely refused of course. After that drink we carried on down the road and right at the end Lewis found a stall where we bought some wireless speakers for the ipods. Dr Dre mini speakers which sadly when we got home found that one of them doesn’t work - £14.00 lost there, but we’d bought two others, for Lewis and one to put by for Jack’s birthday.
I was also, for the first time, propositioned for a Thai Massage, and then shown a price list for ‘extras’ including Boom Boom and a Ping Pong ball show – we all know what those mean!! I politely refused and pointed out my wife 10 yards behind me, he shrugged as if to say that was of no consequence! I love this place already!!!
Anyway, once we were at the end of the road we’d decided we’d done enough for now and to go back to the hotel so we ordered a tuk tuk to take us back to the hotel. When we arrived the doormen were all grinning from ear to ear, especially as we were all squashed into one tuk tuk. They opened the door for us and let us in, so we agreed a new time to meet up and went and rested and cleaned up.
Going out in the evening we decided to visit China Town so we got a taxi from outside of the hotel as this worked out a bit cheaper than from the actual hotel and 30 minutes later we were in China Town, just in time as it poured with rain. We kept close to the pavement and were walking quite literally through the actual stores of the people selling food. The smells were lovely, some of the sights a bit dubious and the hygiene you did wonder at as well. Charlotte really fancied a duck pancake and we found a restaurant to use and went inside out the back. It was clearly a Thai/Chinese frequented restaurant as there were no Europeans in sight, but if anything, that gave us more confidence we were in the right place as it was quite busy. We ordered and the food came out in dribs and drabs – Jack’s was last I think but he loved what he’d ordered and we had a really good meal.
By the time we’d finished the rain had stopped and we had a wander through the streets and I even took us along some side roads to explore that caused a few nervous looked from the family so we got back on track asap. After we’d done the length of the street there and back there was nothing else to do other than hail down another cab and get back to the hotel. It’s interesting, the cab drivers are always trying to look out for each other because they’re always suggesting 2 cabs when we’re happy to all be in one. And if we say no to one price another cab will accept the price that we’re after.
Anyway, a very packed day, everyone must be shattered but it’s not often you travel for two days to get somewhere, need to make the most of it whilst we’re here of course!
First impressions, really like it here!
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