Sukhumvit Crown Hotel Bangkok

... on a bed. It makes for comfortable drinking (and exists elsewhere, I understand, but I'd never seen that style in person). Next we returned to the Banyan Tree, likely to be one of the most expensive hotels in the city, but more importantly it houses an "al fresco" (outdoor) bar/restaurant on its 60th floor rooftop. We were going for a the view and a drink at the bar, but stayed for dinner after finding out we could get a table. The views ...

... of the years I lived in Bangkok (1970-1975, when I was between 3 and 8 years old):
- The luxurious Dusit Thani Hotel, where we'd go occasionally just to hang out, especially when the evenings were really hot
- The Erawan Shrine, where many people, including my Mom, went to pray for luck since it's very sacred
- The VNese Embassy, where my father used to work.
It brought back some fond memories of childhood... the only disheartening part of the day ...

... know I am brand new to Thailand- jaw half open, starign agast at everything, rooted in place. I quickly regained my senses and walked away when he quoted the ridiculous price of 2000 baht for 2 pairs of fisherman pants- claiming the fabric was 'near cashmere quality.'

To avoid hawkers- don't make eye contact, or stand still, and whatever you do- don't look around in desperation, or stare at a map. That attracts every taxi and tuk tuk driver within a two kilometre radius! Don ...

... which means 3rd class with no AC and uncomfortable seats. 12 hours at night stuck on this train is something to forget about asap, on the other hand the good thing about it is the total lack of control and rules on board, for first time in years I was allowed to smoke on my seat, to keep the windows open (dangerous as the temptation of getting your head out of the window is huge and the train runs really close to metal structures, you may ...

... only had a miserly 15 days before we had to leave the country. To extend this we had to visit the immigration bureau and spend a whooping £40 each to get an extra 7 days. After going to the old immigration bureau in the city centre we were told it had now moved 30km north of the city. So we jumped in a cab and headed north. Two hours later and our directionally challenged taxi driver finally arrived at our destination after spending most of the ...

... it became apparent that our driver hadn't a clue where the hotel was. He tried 2 or 3 before we told him to drop us off at the end of Khaosan road and we walked from there. The only indication as to its whereabouts was a sign pointing through the throng of shoppers and traders to a narrow allyway. 100metres or so meandering past dingy shop stalls and large puddles we encountered our abode for the next 5 days. Shoehorned into a square mile of ...

... Royal's Way). En route you can see many magnificent temples and architectural buildings, including the City Pillar Shrine, National Museum, Democracy Monument, Golden Mountain, Thai Boxing Stadium ...

After a weekend in Bangkok, some unspicy food, some retail therapy and a glass or two of white wine it was time to depart for Ma Ser Yo. We had also spent some time chatting to the next volunteers to go to Ang Thong and were able to tell them what we had done with the children and hopefully make it easier for them and provide a little continuity for the children.

Our next school, Bang Thon is a border police school, the staff are all police officers but also trained teachers ...

... br>Kitchen & Dining
Kitchen & Home AppliancesLooking for to Buy Apple Airport Express ...

... restauant on the top floor overlooking the area. Food was great and the view was nice. After a movie we went down to Patpong to walk around and check out the Lucifer disco. There were 10 Chinese people there doing the craziest dancing I've ever seen and then us two. We had a drink and then left.

July 5
I wake up with a sore throat, eat and head out to the Siam area. I do some walking, shome shopping and ...