Hof Art Now

The Bangkok traffic hasn't got any better. This taxi managed to block the five lane road outside the hotel for five minutes with a very ill timed U-turn. 

We spent yesterday with local boy Jim so we took in a few more unusual sights. Including a detor through this Japanese shopping mall. 

Then a stop off at a small coffee shop that serves Soya milk. 

We spent most of the afternoon checking out an indie Art gallery called Hof Art Now.

We got chatting to one of the curators of the gallery, for anyone who does a bit of art and goes to indie galleries in far off lands this is a surprisingly normal occurrence. After checking out some of the interesting bits in the gallery and the artsy area around the gallery we headed off for a chill out by the pool.

We didn't actually go in the pool due to the weather, see rain clouds behind by very wooden pose in the photo underneath. We chatted to some of Jim's friends, including C who it was great to meet again. As usual C cooked us some amazing food.

 For all of our relatives concerned re: Jim's health hopefully this picture demonstrates his good heath and cheer. Also not the steak promotion behind his head, £2 for a steak dinner!

We have just spent another pleasant day today with Jim checking out the Thailand happiness festival, very happy, and drinking more coffee.

Tomorrow Vietnam.

Back, seems like it's been for EVA

Back in Bangkok, so very humid, was it this humid before?

I was feeling a little grim when we boarded the plane yesterday, I think it was the common bug endoftermfluenza, so wasn't looking forward to 12 hours in a Pringles tube. I think the airline fairy's were smiling on us though as we were given emergancy exit seats, we had so much leg room I could have had a nap on the floor. We had the pleasure of flying with EVA Air the Taiwanese airline. The plane was very clean and well maintained, and the flight staff were very smartly dressed and attentive, the food however was very close to inedible. Interestingly EVA are the consumer arm of Evergreen container shipping.

After the Taiwanese efficiency we were very surprised that getting across the Thai boarder was equally as efficient. We were at our hotel in central Bangkok about an hour after getting off the plane.

So far we have raised three different sets of eyebrows with our very minimal luggage. For our four week trip we are only carrying small backpacks each, so small that both could fit into the box the airlines use to check the size of airline carry on bags. The lady who checked us onto the plane gave an audible noise of surprise when she realised just how little luggage we were carrying. Time will tell if we have over done the packing light.

We have just finished our first ice coffee, after a very sweaty walk around Lumpini Park. Now we are off to meet up with my brother who is going to take us to a new, aircon'ed, art gallery. It really is very humid.

Last week in Thailand

I cannot believe it. It does not seem real. This is our last week in Thailand. I almost don’t want to say anything, every time we leave Bangkok we say this is the last time we will be here on this trip. And yet here we are again, in the air-con heaven that is Siam Paragon- shopping utopia.  We originally only intended to spend one month in Thailand. That month has quickly become three, we have welcomed in the New Year (both Gregorian and Chinese), met some of the most incredible people at Isara in Nong Khai and strangely I feel that I am better at navigating my way around Bangkok than Birmingham. Having been here so long, there are certain things that no longer seem odd or strange to me, here are a few that Matt and I were thinking about yesterday as we found some shade in the beautiful Lampuni park (for all you Brits reading, its 33* and sunny all the way here!)

Random dogs, often with missing limbs… everywhere.

The legend of the hot shower. Hot water in a shower is a privilege; water pressure is something I vaguely recall from my youth. Oh yeah and 9 times out of 10, the toilet is going to be in the shower. Great for those early morning showers where you’re not quite ready to stand. Not so good if you forget to remove the toilet paper.

Food being available 24/7, any cuisine, very cheap.

Going to an ATM and withdrawing thousands of Baht and feeling like Richie Rich.

Driving down a road, and a group of people are moving a marquee, do they stop and move out of the way? Hell no, they lift it higher and continue to walk up the freeway so the cars can drive through it!

A motorbike with less than three passengers and a dog on it is a waste. 

If I have to wait longer than 5 minutes for my train, it is a national outrage.

Electrics, if it doesn’t visibly and audibly spark when you plug something in, do it again, it must be broke.

Massive lizards everywhere!!

Anyone that has been to Bangkok has mastered their own 7-11 dash, the quickest way from the MRT to your apartment via as many air-con soothing 7-11s as possible!

Too hot? Go inside. Too cold? Go outside.

Not understanding any billboards or television programs. Ever.

Asian pop music, strangely the songs will get in your head and you start to think that liking Girls Generation is acceptable!

The daily assault course that is the sidewalk. Vats of boiling oil, holes in the ground and low lying electrics. Walking in the road is actually safer.

So Thailand, we are going to miss you and your ways. It will be strange no longer sawadee ka-ing' and 'kop kun ka-ing' people. But for now I better finish my coffee and enjoy my last Bangkok food court. Tomorrow we head to Hong Kong. And we all know what that means… Disney Land Hong Kong! 

Fairy tale of Bangkok

Fired up after our amazing experience at the cooking course we were very sad to leave Hua Hin and head back to Bangkok. This was made all the worse as Jim had to go back to work so our little group lost a member on Saturday.

Not sure how C never ended up in the group photos - guess we will have to do it all again.

To help us get over our blues at Jim being back at work and Mom and Dad’s part of the trip nearing its end we decided to have a couple of days of retail therapy. On Saturday we visited the amazing Chatuchak weekend market where we managed to finish our Christmas shopping and get me a much needed new pair of trousers. It was really nice to have C with us who found lots of small cool stalls that we might have missed.

Bangkok is really going for the Christmas decorations this year

Unlike my photography which is getting worse - boo

On Sunday we found our way to Bangkok’s air-conditioned heart, at the huge malls around Siam Square. We relaxed with a few cups of coffee and enjoyed the Christmas decorations that have been put up. Not buckling to nagging but rather realising that having long hair in the tropics is like wearing a woolly hat in the summer I decided to get a hair cut. It did not go entirely to plan as rather than getting a dashing Jake Gyllenhaal hair do, I ended up with the regulation Chinese ½ inch all over. Never mind hair grows.

Conscription haircut 300 bhat

To celebrate our last evening together in Thailand before Mom and Dad flew home we went to bar 55 on the roof of one of Bangkok’s taller hotels. We enjoyed a nice cocktail while enjoying the view and the soft jazz band.

Roof top bar - don't mind if I do

The last few weeks have been brilliant filled with some of the best experiences of the trip and amazing company, thanks so much to Mom, Dad, Jim and C for being part of our journey.

Bangkok

We have had a busy few weeks since our last blog post. After watching the coverage of the floods in Bangkok on the news we travelled to the city with some apprehension. As we neared the outskirts of Bangkok, there were certain tell-tale signs; hawkers selling rubber dingys, the normal t-shirt sellers selling waders and at the market, instead of the familiar walls of flip flops there were wellington boots.

On the way to Wat Arun

 And then we had our first glimpse of what we had been watching on the television; brown smelly floodwater, around 2 feet deep. Amidst all this however, people were getting on with their daily lives, using the afore mentioned rubber dingy to hawk food as opposed to the trusty motorbike. Luckily for us, the water was no match for our packed out mini van and we made it safe and dry through the water. 

Even for Bangkok the traffic was bad and movement minimal. Fortunately we started to notice familiar landscapes and as chance would have it we saw Jim’s apartment block (aptly named ‘The Mansion’). Due to the non-moving traffic we were able to jump out in just the right spot.

Many buildings succumb to the water

After checking into our rather swish hotel it was time for a little family reunion. The last time we saw Jim was last year at our wedding when he, rather heroically, flew half way across the world to share the day with us (just the one day mind.) It was fantastic to meet up with him and have him show us around his hometown, including delicious food and local drinks of whisky and coke. Needless to say a good evening was had by all.

Slightly worse for ware, the next day was spent in the refreshing air con of the many Bangkok malls doing some Christmas shopping, which was a strange experience when its 35* outside. Then it was time for a bigger reunion, as Matt’s mom and dad joined us in Bangkok.  There were a few tears at the airport and even jetlag could not stop the reunion party.

Some of the sights at Wat Arun

As Jim had work the next day (poor Jim) we went to visit Wat Arun with Ann and Clive. Matt and I visited the temple last year but we can honestly say that it was even more impressive than last time and definitely one of our favourite places in Bangkok. From the tranquil gardens to the bells ringing in the wind and continual smell of incense.

The temple is decorated with elaborate mosaics made from Chinese porcelain, a left over from Chinese Ships who used the pottery as ballast. From afar the Khmer-style tower looks tall and impressive but on closer inspection you are taken aback by the sheer detail on every inch of the temple.

In bustling central Bangkok you would not think that just a few miles out people are living with 2-meter high floodwater. Our only indication was on the way to Wat Arun, reaching the water taxi involved wading through some unsavoury water (although two hours later on the way back it was all clear) and what appeared to be gallons of water being pumped out of the temple grounds and climbing over strategically placed sandbags.

After another great meal we hopped on a northbound sleeper bus without Jim, who had to work again and headed towards Chiang Mai.