Bangkok Again

Tuesday morning day 83

After much struggle I finally managed to get a room booked on Saturday night. Didn't meet up with the group until Sunday and had forgotten to get a room until late, which proved harder than I thought. However worked out in the end and the hotel is way too posh for a camper like me. This time I'm staying in Sukohmvit which is the business district of Bangkok. Its also very close to main shopping areas which are a bit of a revelation. There are 5 or 6 huge shopping malls , like out of town shopping malls all joined together selling all kinds of weird things. However, some of them appear to have been built with no thought in mind for the market. So there is one huge place selling Versace Armani on 1 floor, beausty slaons on the 2nd floor and 3rd floor has car garages i.e. ferrari, porshe, mazerati - inside the mall. Prices are very close to home so its bloody expensive. And quelle suprise, its empty.

Walking along the main shopping street is a bit like a scene from balderunner. Both sides of the street have high rises. Above the street is a skytrain (overhead monoral) and then the level below is a pedestrian wlakway. So both of these conspire to block out the light. And its been raining quite a bit over the last few days so a street level you are in this dark grubby area with rain coming down and water dripping from above. Definitely bladerunner. I kept looking for people with 2 heads..

Met up with the group on Sunday. There are 5 couples and 5 single people. Age range is a little older than any other exodus/explore trip I'm used to so that will be different.

Sunday I went to Jim Thompsons teak house and wandering around bladerunnersville, Monday we went on a group tour of Bangkok. If you want to know where I went refer to day 4 of my trip as it was exacty the same i.e. temple of reclining buddha, temple of emerald budha and grand palace.

The kings sister dies in january so she is on display in the grand palace for the Thai people to pay their respects to. there were lots of school kids around who were doing the same. Did you know that kids in Thailand where school uniform all the way through university. In high school they wear shorts. And the high schools lads have the same hair cut i.e. short - not allowed anything else! that would work at home...

Today we fly to chang rai at lunchtime and then 2 hour drive up to the Laos border by the side Mekong. Over to laos tomorrow.

see you later. I shall report from my Saga trip...