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Location Date Europe 1322524800 Africa 1322352000 Asia 
1268179200 Oceania 1263686400 South America 1258934400 -
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Location Date Bangkok
1268179200 Ko Tao 1267488000 Surat Thani 1267401600 Khao Sok National Park 1267228800 Ko Lanta 1266364800 Phuket 1266105600 Similan Islands 1265932800 -
Location Date Wed, 10 March 2010
1268248320 Sun, 07 February 2010 1265560620
One final stop on our trip before the long flight home, and back to reality, whatever that might mean. Work on Monday? (Actually, for Andrew, that's a genuine question - on arrival in Bangkok, still no job confirmed). Wearing shoes rather than sandals? HOW MUCH FOR A BEER?
We'd tried to treat ourselves to a nice hotel, staying in the same place as the last time we'd been in Bangkok, but it turned out to be a bit rubbish. They put us in a tiny, naffly-decorated room that smelt damp. After a complaint we got put in a slightly better room but still nowhere near as nice as the previous visit, despite much use of the 'H' word. Wouldn't really recommend staying there.
But it does sit next door to Bangkok's weirdest tourist attraction, the Lingam phallus shrine (see picture). Scores of willies, large and small, apparently attended by any Bangkok woman who wishes to be blessed with child. Very odd.
By luck, the 'red shirt' protests were due to start on the 14th, with us flying away on the 12th. As the front line of these protests turned out to be Wireless Road, the location of our hotel, we were pretty jammy it turns out.
People rave about the shopping in Bangkok but we didn't really get it. It's got loads of western shops but with western prices. You can, of course, go to the massive markets but the shopping centres are fairly unremarkable.
What we did enjoy a great deal was the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, a new-ish place with lots of small shops and stalls selling art, some great temporary exhibitions and a really welcoming vibe. It also had a load of Tibetan Monks chanting, playing music and making art... then destroying the art (this is partly to say "you don't take anything with you from this life" and partly to say "China has destroyed our country"). Fun.
So... lots of reflection to do but maybe not here. We've had the most amazing time of each of our lives and would recommend such a trip to everyone. But it will be good to see friends and family and that's what we're going to do. Chins up, luggage packed, let's go.
We'd tried to treat ourselves to a nice hotel, staying in the same place as the last time we'd been in Bangkok, but it turned out to be a bit rubbish. They put us in a tiny, naffly-decorated room that smelt damp. After a complaint we got put in a slightly better room but still nowhere near as nice as the previous visit, despite much use of the 'H' word. Wouldn't really recommend staying there.
But it does sit next door to Bangkok's weirdest tourist attraction, the Lingam phallus shrine (see picture). Scores of willies, large and small, apparently attended by any Bangkok woman who wishes to be blessed with child. Very odd.
By luck, the 'red shirt' protests were due to start on the 14th, with us flying away on the 12th. As the front line of these protests turned out to be Wireless Road, the location of our hotel, we were pretty jammy it turns out.
People rave about the shopping in Bangkok but we didn't really get it. It's got loads of western shops but with western prices. You can, of course, go to the massive markets but the shopping centres are fairly unremarkable.
What we did enjoy a great deal was the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, a new-ish place with lots of small shops and stalls selling art, some great temporary exhibitions and a really welcoming vibe. It also had a load of Tibetan Monks chanting, playing music and making art... then destroying the art (this is partly to say "you don't take anything with you from this life" and partly to say "China has destroyed our country"). Fun.
So... lots of reflection to do but maybe not here. We've had the most amazing time of each of our lives and would recommend such a trip to everyone. But it will be good to see friends and family and that's what we're going to do. Chins up, luggage packed, let's go.
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