Bangkok!

Jan 10th

I arrived in Bangkok at 4am according to my bodyclock after an 8 hour flight from Sydney, checking into the Viengtai Hotel I fell asleep until 9am local time the next day.  Waking up in a strange city is a wierd feeling, nervous anxiety mixed with excitement of the new.  For the quivalent of 2 pounds I ate a buffet breakfast in the hotel (toast and eggs, croissant, jam and coffee) then headed out into the streets to look around.  The hotel is in the ‘backpacker’ area close to the Khao San Road – a short street of bazaars and street vendors neon lighting and everything from 24 hour internet to massages, beauty treatments and smoky bars. I bought a silk scarf which I might need for temple visits then walked to the Rambuttri Road and found ‘Wild Orchid’ a comfy looking open plan restaurant which served me Pad Thia Prawn for under 2 pounds.  An older couple in their 70’s from Austria chatted to me, telling me about their mammoth travel across SE Asia to mark the husband’s 80th birthday – they only married 10 years ago, so there is hope for me to find Mr Right and continue to travel into my old age!!!  I walked to the riverbank and through a small park where people were relaxing under trees, on park benches, nearby the Phra Sumen  fort was good for a few photos.  

Feeling a little jet lag and wilting in the humid heat I lazed by the hotel pool (very pleasant in a Spanish villa style) reading my Jackie Collins (almost finished) and later that evening went back to Wild Orchid for ‘Green Curry’ …. I was asleep again by 9pm!

Jan 12th

Started the day with another buffet breakfast then armed with water bottle and camera I headed out to find The Grand Palace and What Pra temple. The hotel porter told me not to take Tuk Tuk and convinced me that a woman alone would be  taken to shops where people would try to sell me stuff – I could have handled that with a firm ‘No’ but didn’t want the hassle so instead I walked along the River to the Grand Palace, about 40 minutes away. I got a bit lost!  walking through the university campus and along Maharat Road, a bustling street market  and hundreds of Thai people (hardly any tourists) buying food and other street items from the pavement hawkers. I walked along looking at the amulets, carved stones, charms and  portraits of the King and his family.  Recently the King’s sister died so the country is officially still mourning and there are shrines to her image all over the streets decorated with black and white ribbons, flowers and burning incense. I understand that Thai people are very dedicated to the King and his family which is evident in their behaviour. Finding the entrance to the palace eventually I queued up to by my ticket, 250 baht (about 3 pounds) then shuffled with the thousands to view the What Pra’s incredibly colourful temples and buildings, some decorated in gold tiles, all colours of mosaic and intricate lotus flowers carvings. It really was amazing, and I took over 200 photos! At a shrine to the Buddah, poeple offered lotus flowers and incense and hundreds of people in black made their way in organised lines towards the Palace to queue for hours in order to pay their respects to the Princess who lies there in state. Tourists were not allowed access and the Palace rooms are closed at weekends so all I could do was take photos and maybe go back another day.  On my way out I viewed the collection of royal jewels housed in an air conditioned (bliss) museum before heading back onto the streets.   Checking my map I was close to the National Musuem so headed there.  Free to enter and filled with history and intricate wooden buildings I did my best toi take in the facts about the country’s past and present.  I was tired, hot and thirsty though.  I was fascinated  by the royal funeral carriages housed inside a giant hall. These are used for state occasions and I asked a guide (who spoke very little english) if the princess would be carried in one of them at her funeral. He then patiently explained all about the ceremony, cremation and processions that take place.  I saw the carriage (huge) ornately decorated in painted and gilted wooden carvings, weighin 40 tonnes it’s pulled by guards from the military.  We may get to see this on British tv when the time comes – perhaps even our queen will attend?  Leaving the museum at around 2pm I headed to the riverside to navigate back to Khao San Road and the hotel.  I was thankful for the street sellers who stand out all day preparing fresh fruit and drinks, and for 30baht I had the best orange juice I have ever tasted! Drinking this I watched some fish jumping out  of a canal behind one of the ferry piers, the water looked horribly polluted and I wondered what these fish lived on.  Water Lilies seem to grow too, so it can’t be that bad. Stopping at a used book seller I found a James Patterson novel I had been looking for and paid 160 baht. Back at the Hotel I ate a light lunch of prawn with asparagus and tomato juice then headed to the pool again to cool off with my new book.  Jackie Collins will be donated to the book shop tomorrow! Refreshed again, I walked to Rambutrii Road backstreets for dinner of Yellow Curry at another open plan style restaurant with sofas and cushions and spent a few hours reading, watching people and drinking cold drinks. By darkness I was ready to experience something I had heard about – The Thai Massage!

Between Khao San Road and Rambutri Road is a series of cut through alleys where you can find all sorts of wierd and wonderful shops.  Inside a massage shop (like a cheap hair salon) I could see a row of beds the colour of bubble gum and lying on top like dead fish were women and men being pampered, prodded, preened and polished. I checked out the ‘menu’ and opted for a feet and shoulder massage thinking how serene and relaxed these customers looked. Paying my money (300 baht – honestly!) I was sent back into the shop where a small thai woman permanently crouched beneath a tap and wearing wellies washed my feet and towelled them before my masseuse took me upstairs giving me some cotton shorts to wear. In a  dark room  there were a number of mattresses where people were being pummelled!  I nearly ran downstairs but instead I decided to trust him and lie down. The 1/2 hr feet rub was good – reflexology like it should be, until he started to press his weight onto my legs and my thigh bones felt like they would snap. My shoulder massage was a full body workout!  I was folded, bent, crunched, pulled, twisted, squashed and reduced to a quivering jelly!  He even prodded around my head like he was examining my skull to check I was human! I had my eye sockets pressed, by nose squeezed, jawline cracked and ears pulled.  It did feel good, kind of. The worst part was when he stood on the back of my thighs and pulled my arms backwards, I thought I would snap! 

After a cup of warm tea, bottle of water and I was floating and ready to leave. By now it was 9pm.  However, I was tempted by one more thing – a full facial.  Lying in the ’serene’ room downstairs buried in towels, a thai woman with a kind smile smothered my face in thick creams, wiped them off, put them on again etc etc… Then came a series of wierd ‘power tools’ I felt like Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man – is it safe?!  She put an abrasive motorised thing all over my face like she was whipping egg whites on my skin, then a sucky thing which felt like a thousand guppies all sucking the flesh off my face, followed by a mud mask so thick that when it started to dry into hard cement I couldn’t move my mouth to speak.  This was a pity on acount of how the tea and water was filling up my bladder fast and I wanted to tell her I needed the loo!  At this moment in my weakened state, she asked if I wanted an eyelash tint.. I think I said no, but she took it as yes and cheerfully covered my eyes in sticky stuff and cotton pads so now I couldn’t see either. Whilst I ‘marinated’ she got to work on my legs (more pummeling) and I had to focus hard not to think about needing the toilet.  Before long it was over, the cement was being ripped off my face like I was having a full facial waxing!  My eyes were given a bath and my face polished with soft, dry powders whilst she slapped my face with the palms of her hands. I was done. The effect felt nice, but I hadn’t transformed into a Hollywood beauty – shame!    It was 10pm, and I was just able to walk my battered body back to the hotel, my memory had already softened the horror of the massage and I found myself idly thinking about what other treatments I could have tomorrow………