So we finally made it and although we're (severely) jet-lagged, we're loving it. Bangkok is such a colourful and fun place, even the drive on the highway from the airport was fascinating. The taxis here are a multitude of colours (I like the bright pink ones best!) and their buses covered in graffiti style art with minnie mouse, manga stars and smiley faces. Of course, we instantly noticed a few things which made us feel more at home, for example this must be one of the only other nations to drive on the left hand side and, of course, we saw Tesco! (I wonder if they have a cafe?) you just can't get away from them now!
Our first night we went out for dinner and had a nice slap up meal to treat ourselves. It was strange, this classy restaurant and the view from the window - girly go-go bar! Doing traditional Thai ping-pong dancing!
Saturday was a market day for us. After waking up (really!) late we went to North Bangkok on the uber-slick metro (their updated version of ourunderground). Gary was totally fascinated by the fact that instead of paper tickets you get a black plastic token with a computer chip inside it... it must be a boy thing.
When we got to the Chatuchak Weekend Market it was a bit of a shock. I don't think any description or pic could do justice to the sheer mass of people, crushing heat and miles and miles of warren-like stalls. It was definitely hard work but worth it. We then did the silly tourist thing of trying to find a vege restaurant with very vague description from our travel guide. THAT took up about an hour of frustrating search and we STILL didn't find it! We ended up bringing back a cap and an alarm clock (BTW do NOT bother with Tesco value 49p value alarm clock it doesn't work standing upright, not sure about horizontally).
Dinner was at A & Ws which is like MacDonalds but better (come on give us a break, it's our last chance for fast-food). For those who know it - Deena got a nice fiz of Root Beer float and curly fries. You get a sweet chilli sauce here alongside the ketchup- yum.
After that we took a stroll to ANOTHER market, the Suan Lam Night Bazaar. Gary was drawn there by the Roue De Paris ferris wheel and lasers which you could see from miles away. And YES, he persuaded Deena to go on it even though she was pumped with adrenaline and wingeing (scared of heights) but it was actually amazing with fabulous views over Bangkok. There was a large hall filled with tourists drinking and watching (strangely) a swiss style brass band performing. Hmmmm.... Anyway, it may be touristy but we recommend it, nice atmosphere.
We came back to the room and had showers (my feet were properly BLACK, Mum you would have been proud) and were about to settle down for the night but Gary's tummy started rumbling. So out we went again in search of refreshment. Up til now, we hadn't really understood that we were here during the rainy season and perhaps should have paid some heed to the electric blue flashes of light coming from the sky (commonly know as lightning!). So we got caught out and drenched! Gary grabbed some meat on a stick from a street vendor and we dashed back to the hotel. Gary, in his own words, could only smile however Deena was none too happy. Had another shower (the third in an hour).
This morning (Sunday 22nd Oct) we managed to get up early enough to go to the Red Cross Snake Farm which is the second oldest snake farm in the world, set up in 1923 as a medical research institute (yes, we were paying attention to the slide show). It was cool (well, if you're into snakes). While looking around the enclosures Deena hadn't noticed a snake in a tree at, oh about head height. Then she noticed a hissing in her ear. Woops. Later found out it was a king cobra the other side of the mesh! There was a display which showed how they milk the venom to make anti-venom. The handlers were crazy (and very brave!) and all had been bitten at least twice by deadly snakes - one missing a finger, the other with huge scars from skin grafts.
Tomorrow we're moving on to Kanchunaburi for a week to relax in our African mud hut (you'll see what we mean when I post photos later!) but we've really enjoyed Bangkok much more than we thought... the streets with their smells (delicious grilled food alongside sewage smells) and the colours. Most of all though, everyone's been very friendly and helpful to two uninitiated travellers!
