We tacked a Bangkok three night stop over onto the journey home from Japan. I am not exactly sure how we were anticipating spending it, but it was clear as we left Sahoro (and 6 days solid skiing/snowboarding) it would be rest that was mainly required and not so much sightseeing.
The trouble is, the husband and I find that hard. If we are somewhere new, we like to see and live it, but the kids are realists and are keen to remind us they are tired. The compromise has been a couple of hours touring here and there, followed by the remainder of the day by the pool and a few of these….
Thailand has a familiar kind of feel for us, having visited the country a couple of times before. I however, had not been to Bangkok. To me it just feels like the rest of the country, but on steroids!
There are the glaringly obvious incongruities, like the buildings that seem to be falling down around people, yet they house the latest model TVs. There are new model cars zipping around the streets and I even saw someone on a freeway on an electric scooter (you know stand up style like our kids have)!!! Then there are the buses that look like a wheel may fall off at any moment.
I first remember seeing crazy things like this, an almost blatant disregard for safety, when I visited Phuket in about 1998. Back then I was new to travelling and I found it all very confronting. Today I just find it a little puzzling……. I guess the disparity between rich and poor is just more evident in some places.
Yesterday we took a trip on the Skytrain (this is great, not delayed by the crazy traffic, air conditioned and with a view) down to the river. The kids were not feeling up to a boat trip, but we assured them it was worth a look anyway. The boats down there are something else, powered by V8 car engines!
Today we wandered over to the nearby Siam Centre, a huge high end shopping complex where you could buy anything from a cheap lunch, to clothes, electronics or a Maserati!! It was quite an eye opener. In some shops you had to be invited to enter. In others, escorted around as you browsed. We just gawked from the outside!
From here, we had an hour or so fun in Madame Tussaud’s, the kids loved ‘hanging out’ with some super stars and posing for photos. I didn’t mind it too much either….
Unfortunately though this holiday has come to an end. All we have left to do now is our obligatory Thai massage, then it is a 3:20am transfer to the airport tomorrow morning.
You know what they say……. ‘all good things must come to an end’. But, dam it sucks when it does! Here’s to planning the next trip.
TTB
The Travel Bee 