Life is not measured ....

Bangkok

We arrive into Bangkok late at night, the heat hits as we get off the plane and the whole place is bustling with people and cars. It is very different to anywhere else we have ever visited.

The first morning we got in a tuk-tuk and travelled across the city, it was quite an experience!! A tuk-tuk is basically a moped with a covered trailer at the back – we squeezed in and then the driver took to the streets – it was scary stuff, these guys weave in and out of the traffic and because it is all open, you also get quite close to everything that is whizzing past. We discovered first hand why this form of transport is so cheap – not only do you risk life and limb but we also had various shop stops en route where the driver gets some sort of backhander for taking unsuspecting tourists in the hope that they will buy the suits, gems or whatever else is on sale. We found it all quite an eye opener but as there was the four of us at least we could have a laugh about it all. It could easily have felt quite intimidating. From there we took a boat trip down some of the canals off the river, the water was very mirky but it was really interesting to see where locals live right on the river – a real contrast to the high tech shops of downtown Bangkok. In the evening at the hotel we had a Thai meal with a show afterwards, it didn’t disappoint, the costumes were amazing, beautiful silk and very colourful.

We survived the heat, luckily the hotel had a good swimming pool so we were able to cool off each afternoon. We went to the Grand Palace which had temples galore and was full of gold statues and the odd Buddha. Everyone seemed to be fascinated by the kids – I think it must be good luck in Thailand to have one of each as lots of people oohed and aaghed about the fact that we had a boy and a girl. Daniel got used to people just wanting to touch him and Louise even had her photo taken with some Asian tourists.

You can’t visit Bangkok without a bit of shopping and we certainly did our bit. Ben had a casual suit tailor made, Louise bought a purple kimono and Daniel found a dragon paper light. We got into the whole haggling business and had quite a lot of fun, although I’m not sure we bagged any “real” bargains!

Bangkok photos

posted by Sharon, Ben, Louise and Daniel @ 4:38 am