When I was planning my trip, I knew there would be many intensely active days, and I especially knew that my time in Siem Reap would be very busy, so I decided to give myself a few extra days in Bangkok to time adjust, relax and sightsee.  It was definitely the right decision.  The past two days have been very busy, but in a very different way.  I’ve seen a lot, walked a lot, had a few massages (yes, a few!), ate a lot.  For my friend J.D. who seems especially interested in the food, I’ll say that I did eat plenty of pad thai, drank iced lemon grass tea, ate green curry with chicken served in a coconut shell.  But my favourite of all is a little “amuse bouche” of an undisclosed edible leaf filled with a collection of nuts, scallions, lime bits and sauce.  You pop the whole thing in your mouth for a taste sensation.  Marvelous!

A dear friend of mine from the States is on her way to Bali and so she stopped over to spend these few days in Bangkok with me which made sightseeing that much more fun.  We saw Wat Po with it’s giant reclining Buddha, marble surroundings and coin ceremony where you place one coin in each of twenty or so small bowls, saying a specific prayer or blessing each time.  There is also the Royal Massage School on the grounds of this collection of temples (wats) and that’s where I had a 50 minute foot massage…beyond belief.  After that, we visited the Royal Palace with it’s own series of wats, one of which houses an exquisite emerald Buddha.  That evening, I met Jenny and her husband for a drink at the aptly named Vertico Bar with it’s panoramic view of the city and then onto a full Thai meal, ordered by Mr. Jenny 🙂 who speaks Thai and very much knows what he’s doing!

 The next day, Saturday, began with a Sky Train ride to the Chatuchak Weekend Market.  The Sky Train is Bangkok’s mass transit and although it was intimidating at first, I soon got the hang of it.  For a Londoner, it was a revelation — quick, comfortable, on-time, air conditioned, and because it’s elevated you get a sense of the urban planning which otherwise seems non-existent.  Chatuchak is a market of thousands of stalls, crowded together and mostly under cover, selling everything from parakeets to leather belts to aromatherapy soaps.  It is huge and crowded and noisy and steaming.  A real experience.  The picture here is of a stall selling musical instruments.  We spent a few hours there and then, en route back to the river and the hotel, we stopped for lunch at the Siam Peninsula mall.  From one extreme to the next.  The photo of the escalators gives you an idea.  After more pad thai and lots of water, we ended our day with an hour long canal boat tour through the back waters of the city where temples sit next to ramshackle huts next to riverside villas. 

And now, I’m off to Siem Reap.  I can’t believe my time in Bangkok is already over. I really feel as if I’ve gotten comfortable with this incredibly busy city.  There’s talk of my running a workshop here next year.  It would be amazing to be able to come back and do that.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves because the main show is about to begin.  Next stop, Cambodia.