We got back into Bangkok from Pak Chong at about midday and this time, feeling that we should actually see one of Bangkok's tourist attractions instead of just trying to avoid them, we devised a plan to check out the Siam district and then try a "tuk tuk" (open air taxi thing) to see Thailand's longest reclined Buddha. All plans were, however, in vain when Robbie and I lost each other at the Siam Sky Line station. As I had bought the wrong ticket and needed to get off early to purchase a new one for the last stretch, Robbie had shouted "see you at Siam station". Siam has, however, some 6 exits which spread between huge shopping malls. Let's just say that in an hour and 15 minutes I felt that I knew those exists quite well and decided to give up on what seemed like trying to find a fish in an ocean without any bait!
My frustration was soon appeased when I found a nice place to get some food and replan the afternoon (I could not go to see the Buddha as my shoulders weren't covered - Robbie had my shawl.) Feeling refreshed on a stomach of rice, chicken and prawns (well, one prawn), I tracked down the Jim Thompson house and caught the last tour of the day in English. Our Thai guide had the softest of voices so what with the building work going on behind the house, I could hardly make out a word she was saying. What I did catch, however, was that the Buddhas have long ears because Thais beleive "long ears mean long life", almost every ornament and construction feature of the house was "to keep bad spirits away" and Jim Thompson was born in 1906 - the year of the horse with the unlucky number 61. The guide waited for us to gasp when she explained that Jim Thompson mysteriously disappeared when he was 61 and nobody ever saw him again. I was smiling to myself throughout the tour - I guess those construction features didn't keep all the bad spirits away after all.
Back at the hostel Robbie and I united and got ready for leaving for Vietnam, wondering if things really would be as cheap there as people have made out to us or whether our hopes of buying things like sim cards and camera batteries would be dashed by cheap look alikes and scams. We manage to squeeze in that pending visit to the world's largest reclining Buddha early morning before our flight and feel like we are ready to leave Bangkok again. Another country, currency and language awaits us.
