So, while one of our main purposes of coming to Bangkok was to celebrate Thai New Year (more on that later), that does not start for a few days, so what to do in the meantime? What else to do in Bangkok but eat their great food, get out and do some real shopping, and to enjoy the wide and varied nightlife. Well, we certainly did all three.
8 April, 2003
I have a lazy morning in bed, while I wait for Jacqui to show up. She gets there just after 11 AM with her friend Susan and we decide to head right out for lunch. Greg has just been to a Sri Lankan restaurant and recommends it, so we say, sure, why not. The food turns out to be very good and fairly reasonable. The afternoon is spend shopping - today is more of a recon rather than heavy duty shopping. Just to check out what is available and what the current prices are. For dinner, we meet up with Paolo, who was on our trips to Africa, South America and Central Asia (we just cannot seem to shake him). We decide to go and have some Thai food. It has been a long time, since we have had authentic Thai food, so it is quite a treat. After dinner, we head over to Nana Plaza to show Paolo some of the night life. On the way, we come upon a bug seller - he has a cart all full of different kinds of bugs cooked in all sorts of ways. We persuade Paolo to try some - did not go over well. Nana Plaza had not changed much - a bit more commercial - and a bit tiresome after a while. The usual bars with the scantily clad women (and girls and some ex-boys) roaming the bar and swinging to the music up on the dance platforms with the vertical brass bars.
9 April, 2003
Another slow start to the day and we head out for lunch at "You and Mee" at the Grand Hyatt. One of our favorite lunch spots in Bangkok. They have a great selection of noodle and other dishes. Lars always gets his favorite and washes it down with the fresh lime juice. They also have newspapers, so we can catch up on what is happening in the world. The war in Iraq is going on at this time, so it is nice to what is happening. Once again, the afternoon is spent shopping and we go from mall to mall. This time we do pick up a few things and the pile of goods that needs to be stuffed into our bags grows. It was a good thing that each of us brought a full suitcase, each of which was half empty. After a short rest at the apartment, we head out for a bite to eat. Greg sponsors a number of local children, and as they have been over at the apartment, they join us for dinner. Greg knows a nice, small local place that is frequented by locals, so we wander through the back alleys of Bangkok to get there. The food is actually very good and we, as usual when in Bangkok, overeat. After dinner, our original plan was to go out for a drink, but we needed to take the kids back to the apartment so they could collect their stuff and take a taxi home. While back at the apartment, we turn on the TV and watch some CNN. Well, we spend the rest of the evening staying in the apartment as we watch live, on CNN and BBC, the fall of Baghdad. While the war in Iraq has it's supporters and detractors, watching the people of Baghdad tear down those statutes and express such emotions at the fall of Saddam was to witness an historical event. Now just lets hope that the post-war reconstruction period can go well as well as it can.
10 April, 2003
The usual routine that we have gotten into - a slow, lazy morning and then out for lunch. We head over to Central Department Store, where we have lunch before we do some shopping. They have a nice, little cafe where we can get some good local dishes. We spend the next three hours shopping here and in some other malls, and then we split up. Lars heads back to the apartment complex, where he has an appointment with the local hairdresser for a massage and a haircut. The massage is nice and relaxing and the hair cut is well over due.
That evening, Greg, Paolo and we head out for dinner and drinks down in Patpong. We decide to eat at the Italian place between the two sois. It is actually quite good, except the wine is a bit expensive (and not so good). After dinner, we decide to show Paolo some of the night life down in this part of Bangkok. It has certainly become much more touristy over the years. There have also been some changes. One of our favorite bars with good music and cheap drinks has been turned into a gay bar. That was a shocker. Also quite interesting, many of the bars have been turned into shops - a sign of the times and where the money is??? We have drinks in a couple of bars and then decide to do some shopping at the stalls that fill the lanes. As we make our way around, we ignore all the touts trying to drag us to one of the upstairs bars for the tiger shows where all kinds of strange acts are put on. In the end, we find nothing of interest that is worth buying, even though we did take a close look at the imitation Tiffany jewelry. They did quite a good job and even had the pale blue boxes with the ribbons to pack it in. We finish off the evening by taking the first time visitor (Paolo) to one of the bars that is full of lady-boys. It is amazing how many of the "women" in the touristy and bar areas that are actually men (or were at birth). They are all in various stages of transformation. Anyway, we wanted to see if Paolo could spot them - he did OK, but missed a few. When in Bangkok - a word of warning, buyer beware!!!
11 April, 2003
Well, pretty much the same routine, except this morning we decided to do some laundry before we head out for lunch and some more shopping. Jacqui is doing a good job of checking out all the shops and finding the best deals. By the time we get back to the apartment in the late afternoon, our hands are full with all the shopping bags. This evening we are going out to meet Jacqui's friend Susan and her husband for dinner. We meet them at their apartment and then they take us to an excellent Thai restaurant nearby. The food is just absolutely fantastic. As a sign of how good it is, all the diners are local and the menus and calling cards only come in Thai, no English. This is were the locals go when they want some good local food. And that is always the best place. As usual, we way overeat. The food is just so good. After dinner, we all head over to the local Tesco to go look for water guns. Tomorrow is the big day - the eve of Thai New Year. Let the water fights begin. So we need to go and get our weapons and be ready (i.e., not defenseless) for the onslaught. They have a large selection at reasonable prices, so we pick up a few different variety of water guns. We get back to the apartment at around 11 PM, and decide that the night is still young and head over to Spasso at the Grand Hyatt for a drink and to listen to the music. Greg joins us and we have a couple of cigars over our drinks. The live band is actually pretty good and the people watching (for both men and women) is very good.
12 April, 2003
Today we are up and ready to head out early then normal - but we are not heading out for any tough activity, rather to have brunch poolside at the Regent Hotel. The place is empty for two reasons - SARS and it is a big holiday. We pretty much have the place to ourselves, grab a large table in the shade and sit back with our newspapers and enjoy the morning. We order some light dishes and fresh fruit juices to nourish us. We stay there for over two hours and then head out to do some more shopping - it never seems to end. We have gotten into a routine - Jacqui does the shopping and I do the hauling. Well, when the arms are full, we head back to the apartment. Our mode of transport has pretty much been the elevated light rail. It has been fantastic. It has a stop right outside Greg's apartment building and connects with most of the shopping centers that we have gone to. Further more, they have done a great job of building elevated walkways that allow you to get from the stations to many of the nearby buildings without having to brave the crazy traffic.
Once back at the apartment, we get ready to head out and celebrate the eve of Thai New Year.