Well, we hit the shops good and proper today in the form of the weekend market. Basically there are around 9000 stalls and in the 3 hours we were there I think we saw only 3 rows of stalls. The girls and boys split up to make life a bit easier and we were amazed at the range of goods on offer - if this was a 2 week holiday Steve and I would come home loaded with gear! I bought some plant pots for our imaginary house and Steve presented me with a lovely t-shirt with the slogan "I do all my own stunts" - which I think was in reference to my clumsiness in Beijing! After much sweating and some bartering we met up with everyone else and beaten by the heat and crowds we fled for the safety of the guesthouse, all shopped out. Following an afternoon nap we gathered the troops together and headed for Khao Sarn Road for an evening of Thai whiskey - this tasted like pop when mixed with red bull and cola so not surprisingly it went down very well! Lots of dancing and bad photos soon followed as well as some of the group munching on Barry's stash of grasshoppers bought from a street stall....Steve and I declined the offer only to find ourselves a couple of hours and 2 bucketfuls of whiskey later munching on a scorpion - Thai whiskey is not good for the health!!!!! As the following day was a complete write off involving lots of food to feed the hangover monster, we decided to visit the top site in Bangkok on Monday before leaving for the islands. The Grand Palace is the jewel of Bangkok and certainly has tons of sparkly bits. Basically every king has added a building or monument to the grounds so there is a real mix of styles but it is all very bling! It was impressive but as it was so crowded and the heat was scorching it was not a good place to walk casually around, and Steve (not me surprisingly) was starting to get very irritable so we made a sharp exit. It is definitely time to leave Bangkok behind....the islands are calling!