8 December 2015 - Down the Chao Praya River for lunch and a movie!

Just to make full use of the pool here we went for a swim this morning before heading out.  What a great way to start the day!  I'm always one for making the most of the situation!

Central World

Then we rattled along in the breezy bus to Central World which was marginally quicker than walking and as we had seats, really excellent especially as we were never asked for our fare so we travelled free all the way! 

We checked out the pink and very Disney "Christmas" displays sponsored by the likes of Sunsilk, Disney Hong Kong and Mastercard! Very commercial and "kitsch" to our western eyes. Then on to Siam Plaza which could be anywhere in the world with all the designer names and brands although there was a lovely elephant display raising money and awareness of elephants' habitats, etc.

Yeah!

Swinging in the sunshine!

Don't you love how Mastercard sponsors Christmas!?

See what I mean by pink!

Even a pink scooter!

Handstand by the enormous tree.

Tom and me!

A durian elephant - hard to think of a stinkier combination!

Bilbao, are you ready for the Bangkok Puppy?!

Sawasdee Thailand elephant

Finally we were on our way to the river and the river boat.  We decided just to enjoy chugging down the Chao Praya River to see the water traffic, the busyness of the river and the various points of interest along the way.  We didn't want to stop at temples this time as we are "templed" out although we did note the Dawn Temple was covered with scaffolding.  The Dawn Temple made a particular impression when we climbed it in January as it was so steep and so dangerous!  Apparently, it will be closed for three years for renovations so we timed our climb well!

Chugging along the Chao Praya

 We hopped off the boat opposite the Dawn Temple and found lunch at a little stall where we all enjoyed some noodles and soup (50 Baht each).  After sitting by the river in the shade we hopped back on the boat and chugged on back.

Lunch!

Slurping noodles is fun!

Slurp!

Some of us trying to relax by the river, others of us, ran around!

Luke almost camouflaged.

Freedom of childhood...I do hope he remembers our trip.

Farewell to the river!

 I bought some cooked meat from one of the street carts as we tend to do to add to our rice and veggies for dinner at home.  My usual pork stick seller wasn't there and neither was the "chicken" man so I spied another cart and asked what he was selling. He told me chicken but it did look a bit different and that's because, as we discovered, it was hearts, livers and ???? other bits of the chicken.  Most of us went vegetarian at dinner tonight!  All part of the learning!

At the cinemas

007 with Thai subtitles

Tim and I went to see the new James Bond film, Spectre, at our local cinema (180 Baht) where the tickets are significantly cheaper than Australia and the seats are magnificent!  I loved it!  What's more some of the scenes were shot in London and Rome so it was pretty exciting knowing we'd been there.  I particularly enjoyed the car chase along the river path by the Tiber as we'd walked on that path only a week or so ago!

7 December 2015 - Thai Massage and Snake Farm

It is lovely and quiet in this apartment despite being in a big city like Bangkok.  Once we get home, there'll be no more slow mornings for the forseeable future, but for now, it is nice to have a cup of tea in bed and not hurry to get up.

Quite some bike!

Not sure, but we wondered if this was a police booth.

Tim, Annika and I had been eager to have a Thai Massage and had spotted several places on the Sukhamvit Road which were charging 200 Baht for an hour so we wandered into the first open one!  We were ushered upstairs to low couches and given loose pyjamas to change into. 

Side by side, with a masseuse each, we were pummeled perfectly and sometimes painfully and we came away feeling well worked out and flexed and relaxed!  Such a great thing to do in Thailand! As neither Tim nor Annika drink tea, I drank all three cups provided and we walked home via some cooking carts where I bought soup and noodle something or others which were delicious and perfect for lunch.  Take away containers are generally plastic bags tied with rubber bands which are surprisingly leak proof!

All set to go for our massages in the provided massage pyjamas.

Bumping along in the bus, windows open, catching the breeze!

We had to make a relatively quick get away so we could be on time for the Snake Show at Bangkok Snake Farm.  We jumped on the correct bus, number 46, (an old rattly open air bus as opposed to to the air conditioned more expensive variety) and enjoyed thundering along the bumpy roads with the open windows.

It was just per chance that as it was a public holiday for the King's birthday and Fathers' Day as well, it was free entrance to the Snake Farm today!  After wandering through the serpentarium, we took our seats in the small arena to watch the show.  

The snakes were amazing and terrifying and the snake handlers were experts at not getting bitten!  We remembered the presenter from last time and he was equally good and entertaining.  We had seats right at the front so we could see each snake's beady little eyes. Shivers down my spine!

At the end of the show we all held the Albino Burmese Python for a family photo. We had a quick look through the indoor display and saw the array of snake skeletons  and poison information.
 

Snake Farm

They were just staring at me....eeeek.

King cobra

Siamese cobra

We were very close to the action.

Family photo!

Looking pretty warm at the bus stop.

Luke buying his coconut!

Back to the wet market by bus where we bought mangoes, jack fruit, watermelon, bananas and a fresh coconut each to drink.  Tim had walked home at this stage and Karl also set off on foot to go via Tesco to see what vitamins they stock.  Annika, Luke and I waited for ages for a bus and then hopped off too early again so we had quite a walk!  Their eyes lit up when they saw a pancake seller just close to home so that eased the pain of such a long walk!

Coconuts at the wet market.

Probably the most refreshing drink for the tropics.

These stairs were on quite an angle and were rather wobbly, not sure exactly how well they'll hold up long term!

After dinner, our hosts, Jayne and Mat and their children Manta and Minke called into see us.  Luke and the kids were instant friends and so we adults could happily talk.  It was a really lovely evening.  Luke so wants to see the kids again.  He has really missed children of his age recently so it was good to have friends and to know we are going home to friends.

Luke with Manta and Minke, our Aairbnb hosts' children.

6 December 2015 - Happy 18th Wedding Anniversary to us - not everyone gets to spend their anniversary in Bangkok!

It is hard to believe we have been married for 18 years and harder to believe we have just spent a year waltzing around the world with three children!  Spending our anniversary in Bangkok with our children was not exactly a romantic getaway but certainly one to remember!

We wanted to go back to Christ Church where we had visited several times before when  we stayed in Bangkok. It is much further away from our current accommodation so we took a calculated risk and boarded a bus and still had a little walk, but it was on familiar roads.

Bus ride to church

Christ Church

Luke, along with other children, was invited to ring the church bell which was pretty exciting! He joyfully skipped out to the Children's Program having met a friend, Joel.  Not only did he have a great time, he and Joel had lots in common being youngest boys with much older siblings and had both been home schooled this year.  It is such a shame that we didn't meet Joel last time we were there and we could have kept up some kind of correspondence.

Ringing the bell

Luke and Joel (whose parents work in a slum here in the Place of Grace)

As is the usual practice at Christ Church, there was lunch provided for a small contribution and today it was delicious thick rice noodles with chicken and pork.  Over lunch we chatted to some interesting folk.  Tom, 97, and his wife, Iris, 95, married for 74 years, moved to Bangkok from the Lakes District, UK, 8 years ago! They live with their son, his Thai wife and grandchildren, have a carer each and love life!  What gorgeous elderly people they were!  They recommended that everyone should have a son to look after them!!  Fancy leaving your home in your late eighties and moving to Bangkok!

The other woman I spoke to, Bani, had a sadder story.  She was a refugee from Sri Lanka, a Tamil, whose husband and other family members had been killed by a bomb and she had been raped by the army and said she was never safe at night.  She has two children and from what I could work out with her limited English, she lives in a room with her children, has health issues and struggles daily.  She learns English at Christ Church once a week but life is tough and often she doesn't make it to the church because she can't afford the bus fare.  My heart really went out to her as she showed me her UNHCR paper to show me she was a refugee, and an ECG to show me she had heart trouble.  Probably, her whole life was in her bag.  Luke had been playing with her son so that was good.  Her children go to school in Bangkok and are happy enough.  She holds it all together.  She told me that her UNHCR lawyer is Australian.  I am glad our paths crossed, I will think of her and pray for her.

We also had a lovely catch up with Bridget and Mike Blackburn who were so kind to us last time we were here and showed us around their home and school for disabled Thai children and youths and also showed us around Ko Kret, a little island near to their place.

Lumpini Park

Pedalling our swan!

 From Christ Church we walked via Lumpini Park, where we hired pedal boats (swans) for 40 Baht for 30 minutes, to "Super Rich Thailand" which offers the best exchange rates to change our Swiss Francs into Baht for the last few days here.  Back to Pantip Plaza to show Karl the techno stuff and return a faulty DVD and buy another.  Round and about and back to Lumpini Park to catch the festival activities of the evening: drumming acrobatics, a fire juggler and other minor acts.  We hopped on a bus and hopped off a km or so too early but made it home finally.  Annika had a rotten headache so she was upset that we could have taken the bus a bit further - poor girl. 

Swan Lake? Lumpini Park

Drumming parade - noisy and fun and acrobatic!

Graceful statue

After dinner, while Annika rested, the rest of us had a mandatory dip in the pool.  Such an opportunity can't be missed. 

5 December 2015 - Chatuchak Market pilgrimage

On the top of our weekend To Do List was the Chatuchak Market to buy a few things at the tail end of our trip that we didn't buy last time and didn't have to carry around the world with us!  As it happens the market is at the end of our local BTS line so it was an easy trip to get to Mo Chit and a short walk from there to the market.

The spelling changes often - lost in translation!

Lots of copies: Space Fighters instead of Star Wars!

It was crowded as expected, hot as expected, smelly as expected, tiring as expected and most enjoyable, also expected!  I, for one, LOVE the buzz of markets and the sniff of a bargain and bargain we did in a restrained sort of Keesman way!  We had our lists, and pretty much stuck to them knowing that we do have to pack and transport anything we buy next Thursday and moving days, even for our homeward journey, are never fun and always exhausting.

Crocodile - formerly alive!

Not sure that Australian customs would let us through with this one!

By the end of our expedition through the hot and narrow alleyways we had bought Thai Boxing shorts for Tim, elephants for Annika, insects in resin for Luke and a handbag for me and a few other items and we felt most pleased with our purchases.

Hot, just waiting for a drink.

The kids' absolute favourite food from Thailand.

Lunch was also part of the market experience which was Pad Thai and spring rolls and various Thai versions of cooling drinks and a special coffee prepared by a man with better coordination than I would ever have!

Pad Thai

Spring rolls

Deep in thought...mmm...sweet chili sauce and spring rolls - can't go wrong!

Looking rather warm!

Our gorgeous waitress, with a beautiful smile, no taller than Luke, and working, .

Coffee man dancing and pouring!

Then we hunted for the animal section which we finally found.  It is fascinating and disturbing with little respect for the poor animals in their crowded, tiny cages in the heat.  The big kids really did not want to be there but Luke could have studied each animal for ages.  Several times I was told off for taking photos of baby birds and other creatures which were probably not brought into Thailand by legal means and certainly weren't treated in a humane way.  

The sugar gliders and tree shrews and chameleons and snakes seemed quite happy in their environments as did the over-coiffed puppies.  There were hot little bunnies and poultry that clearly didn't enjoy the heat and humidity.

The humidity was so high that we could feel that rain was imminent.  It didn't actually rain while we were there but Karl said that it poured down at our accommodation, so somehow the rain cloud skirted the market. 

Dwarf hamsters don't belong in the heat.

Neither do hedgehogs

Tree shrews are happy little creatures, they don't seem to mind the heat.

More tree shrews

Baby chameleons

Macaw

 

Maggots anyone!!

Once home, we all hopped into the pool and had a refreshing and welcomed dip.

The big kids and I dashed down to the local market strip to buy some pork sticks to go with our dinner, and it was then that the big dark clouds started letting go of their load!  We ran back up the street catching only a few drops before the deluge occurred. It was tropical and fierce for half an hour and then all was clear!

After dinner we walked to Benchasuri Park to see some illuminations we'd seen advertised but there was little to see other than a nice park and a throng of people, all dressed in their celebratory yellow tee shirt, celebrating the King's birthday.  There seemed to be some kind of ceremony with singing and music.  By the time we walked home again, it was time for another shower to cool down after the sticky heat!