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Every year after the summer holidays we would return to school to be set the task of writing the "What I Did During my Holidays" essay, this seems similar.Be warned fellow travelers (Jos, Kathy & Ed), Mr & Mrs P have decided that everyone who meets them has to provide a guest/celebrity blog.So here goes.
After 2 exhausting days of traveling I was met at Bangkok airport by two cheerful, well tanned and by now experienced travellers.After a good 12 hours sleep we hit the tourist trail.The first thing that hits you about the Far East is the smell, Rachelle says it "smells like a bottom" and she ain't kidding - it's certainly aromatic.The second thing is the amount of fume-spewing traffic on the roads, such as buses, cars, tuk-tuks and motorbikes and you take your life in your hands just crossing the road (a terrifying experience which I am still trying to get used to).
Like mad dogs and Englishmen we arrived at The Golden Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the heat of the midday sun.Both are impressive, if slightly gaudy, pieces of architecture.We hit lucky that the visit coincided with preparations for the Thai King's 80th Birthday celebrations and as a result we managed to catch a kick boxing match in the park next door along with other sporting events being held in his honour.
The evening brought a visit to the Pat Pong area, which is amazingly busy with the hustle and bustle.We visited the night market where I watched in awe as Tony and Rachelle turned into skillful hagglers, hampering down price after price.
Following the trading it seemed only right to take in one of Pat Pong's famous Ping Pong shows.Unfortunately we chose quite possibly the worst show in Bangkok.It seemed to be put on by local council workers, judging by the effort they put into it. The girl who whistled was impressive although we couldn't make out the tune (actually Rachelle thought she was break dancing).Tony pointed out that the "chunky girl" who extracted ribbons looked like she'd had four children (and that was just her lunch).To top it all they tried to screw us over the price of the drinks, the final insult upon which we left disappointed but entertained none the less.
Hung-over, the next morning we undertook a Thai cookery course taught by possibly the campest chef in Thailand.It turned out to a great laugh, informative and highly entertaining; thanks to the strangeness of our teacher and the fact that for once it was Tony who was constantly in trouble with him and not me.
Rachelle and I decided to go for a Thai massage (no happy endings offered here). The experience turned out to be highly relaxing, so much so that I dozed off.It even relaxed the masseuse who was performing my massage, so much so that whilst she bent over to massage me she broke wind in Rachelle's face.
If this is the pace that the guys have been going for the last two months, I'm amazed that they have any energy left to carry on.After two days I'm shattered and we still have Cambodia to come, where thankfully the blog duties pass back to those who do them best.
Rob
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