Insects are rampant here. Ants on the table, mosquitoes and flies everywhere. Split the Burmese Veg Curry with Sarah and snitched some morning glory (green weed fried in garlic).
We all seem to wind down and head to bed.
It’s been a brusing two weeks and most of us are tired. The desire for some personal space is increasing. Time to go back to Bangkok.
Up at 6:30am. Shower, pack.
Rice congee has chicken broth. No breakfast for me. No 10 baht coins so no internet for me. Load van and go.
Stop at Bridge on the River Kwai. Go to museum and memorial.
Check into hotel, Kasem Floating Hotel. We take a small motorboat over to island and check in. There is no air con, but the room is on the water.
Stay up playing UNO with Linda and Sarah. Read book.
Merv the Perv- a Merv has often come to Thailand for less than pristine reasons, the prototypical Merv is an overweight, older european male who has a pretty, young asian girl on his arm
We take a tuk-tuk to Patpong. The tuk-tuk driver tries to have us get out a block away at a friend’s restaurant. Sarah calls him out on it and gets him to go to our destination.
Bright Vegas lights illuminate the garish streets. It is the notorious district.
Pushy beer garden girls try to lure people into the pubs. The barkers walk up talking about “Ping pong shows”.
Interesting fact: Touching people in Thailand is rude. A barker touched Sarah’s arm and she gets in his face about it. She explains as we walk away that touching is a form of insult, indicating lack of respect for the person.
The nightmarket in Patpong has the usual trinkets. I grab some food from a nearby deli and join the group in a small bar where dancing is going on.
Rainbow shot for Alecia- its on fire.
We talked with the bouncers and got some info on the working conditions of the girls.
I skytrain to Silom area and walk to the Oriental. The other girls are there and have been turned away at the door.
Linda and Sarah arrive shortly and we breeze to the veranda and order drinks. My Bamboo (breeze?) is the tasiest of the bunch.
Post Oriental drink, Linda retires and the remaining group freshens up and head to Patpong.
Water taxi over to the famous Wat Phrow Kao. The heat is killing me and cranky is the start of how I feel.
Colorful demons, mini Angor Wat. I’m closing in on heat stroke, despite the water and hat. I struggle along with group looking for a cold drink. Finally we circle back to the front to find me a drink. I get two waters, a gatorade and a little food. Sitting in front of the weak a/c in the store I realize that I’m not going to do very well the rest of the day. We go into the musuem.
Head to amulet market for lunch. The amulets are small statue inside glass boxes that are worn around neck for various reasons.
Trying to get to electronics area, I follow Linda on the Skytrain and jump out at the Siam Paragon stop. Not feeling well, I stay in the well air conditioned building with the trifectas nearby and wait to feel better.
Explore the Paragon. Fancy shops for 7+ stories. One floor is the insane food floor. Every kind of food is there, including a overpriced gourmet gorcery store.
Found a Beard Papa’s. Heard about it online years ago so I had to get some cream puffs.
Trifecta- the largest (and most important) Venn circle is toilet paper, the smaller circle is hand soap and the smallest circle is western style toilet. The intersection of all three in one place is a trifecta. +/- for other factors such as smell, standing water on floor or having to pay.
See also: Bifecta, monofecta and nonfecta.
26.09 Bhat per Liter- have fun with that math
American Pie is on the radio.
We drink locally grown Thai coffee and then proceed into the garden. The flowers are gorgeous.
The orchids are a specialty.
The garden with hills and too many stairs.
“I’m just bitching in my mind.” - Amanda at the sight of yet another freaking set of stairs.
Waterfall. Little vignettes- orchid, desert, rainforest, English garden.
Memory card is full! 1300 pics. And some video. The cyber cafes in Chaing Rai don’t have burners but sell blank cds. I find this annoying.
I cave and have some American style food. I really hope to avoid eating non-asian dishes while here.
