I know I’m going to regret this when I return to downtown Totton but I really haven’t got my ass into gear as much as I feel I ought to during my time in Bangkok. Too many lazy hours beside the swimming pool or in bed when I should be out and about exploring. After all, we have 10 days coming up of island-basking so I really, really should do something!
CavTours came to the rescue on Saturday and forced us out of bed before 8 o’clock to visit the Ancient City just outside Bangkok. Difficult to describe, this is a sort of theme park for Thais (although the CavTours personnel violently oppose any attempt to devalue the experience by “Americanising” it) wherein they have tried to recreate or relocate some of the architectural wonders of the land in a single area. It was actually a lot of fun. The CavTours seniors cycled around on hired bikes while James the Driver chauffeured the Lampens around in the Bentley (OK, it was a golf cart really!). I could ramble on and try and describe it but, as usual, the Web does a better job on http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/bangkok/ancientcity/index.html. We had a cheap lunch
at the picturesque floating village before a high speed race back to the entrance in our Bentley before our three hour hire time ran out. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of all the brightly coloured buildings with my newly-purchased 8Gb flash card (which, for just £18 in MBK, will take over 4,000 pictures at medium resolution to bore the unwary visitor to chez Lampen – and just wait until I get the virtual darkroom software for the RAW shots, Andy!).
Last night, CavTours thought it would be a great idea for everyone to go on a pub crawl at Soi 11 – so we did! Linda and I had an initial problem or two getting there having nearly been dumped on by one of the street elephants who decided that, right outside a pavement restaurant as we were passing, it would be a good idea to void all his internal bits, and then, finally escaping the stench and pandemonium, finding that our chosen bar, “Cheap Charlies” no longer existed. However, we all finally met up at the Pickled Liver (an English pub with a picture of George Best outside) and mooched off to a German Beerhaus, followed by a Spanish Tapas Bar for dinner. Very European for a change! Mike then decided to take the assembled to a bar on the seedier side of Sukhumvit on Soi 4 where expats played pool, the local barflies tried to seduce the tourists, rock music thundered from overhead speakers, and the occasional elephant’s trunk appeared over the balcony to steal food. Underneath the bar the traffic roared by as usual and there was one interesting street vendor whose barbeque delivered only a single produce – insects. The girls were well impressed by the diversity of species on offer; cockroaches, grubs, crickets and locusts, plus a few other fried specimens that I couldn’t identify. It was at this point that the ladies decided that enough was enough and it was time to go home. Mike and I, stung by Ginge’s last comments implying inadequacy in the drinking department, decided to have a pub crawl, although it was more of a whirlwind bar race. We lasted until three in the morning before we ran out of money (and we had a lot to start with!). Without going into too much detail, the crawl was duly “interesting”, reminiscent of the old song from Chess (remember “One night in Bangkok” by Murray Head in 1984? Great line: “The queens we use would not excite you” . . . must use it when I mix my video back home . . .).
A day of recuperation now and then we travel to Ko Samet, an island south of here for a three day New Years binge. More anon.
CavTours came to the rescue on Saturday and forced us out of bed before 8 o’clock to visit the Ancient City just outside Bangkok. Difficult to describe, this is a sort of theme park for Thais (although the CavTours personnel violently oppose any attempt to devalue the experience by “Americanising” it) wherein they have tried to recreate or relocate some of the architectural wonders of the land in a single area. It was actually a lot of fun. The CavTours seniors cycled around on hired bikes while James the Driver chauffeured the Lampens around in the Bentley (OK, it was a golf cart really!). I could ramble on and try and describe it but, as usual, the Web does a better job on http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/bangkok/ancientcity/index.html. We had a cheap lunch
at the picturesque floating village before a high speed race back to the entrance in our Bentley before our three hour hire time ran out. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of all the brightly coloured buildings with my newly-purchased 8Gb flash card (which, for just £18 in MBK, will take over 4,000 pictures at medium resolution to bore the unwary visitor to chez Lampen – and just wait until I get the virtual darkroom software for the RAW shots, Andy!).Last night, CavTours thought it would be a great idea for everyone to go on a pub crawl at Soi 11 – so we did! Linda and I had an initial problem or two getting there having nearly been dumped on by one of the street elephants who decided that, right outside a pavement restaurant as we were passing, it would be a good idea to void all his internal bits, and then, finally escaping the stench and pandemonium, finding that our chosen bar, “Cheap Charlies” no longer existed. However, we all finally met up at the Pickled Liver (an English pub with a picture of George Best outside) and mooched off to a German Beerhaus, followed by a Spanish Tapas Bar for dinner. Very European for a change! Mike then decided to take the assembled to a bar on the seedier side of Sukhumvit on Soi 4 where expats played pool, the local barflies tried to seduce the tourists, rock music thundered from overhead speakers, and the occasional elephant’s trunk appeared over the balcony to steal food. Underneath the bar the traffic roared by as usual and there was one interesting street vendor whose barbeque delivered only a single produce – insects. The girls were well impressed by the diversity of species on offer; cockroaches, grubs, crickets and locusts, plus a few other fried specimens that I couldn’t identify. It was at this point that the ladies decided that enough was enough and it was time to go home. Mike and I, stung by Ginge’s last comments implying inadequacy in the drinking department, decided to have a pub crawl, although it was more of a whirlwind bar race. We lasted until three in the morning before we ran out of money (and we had a lot to start with!). Without going into too much detail, the crawl was duly “interesting”, reminiscent of the old song from Chess (remember “One night in Bangkok” by Murray Head in 1984? Great line: “The queens we use would not excite you” . . . must use it when I mix my video back home . . .).
A day of recuperation now and then we travel to Ko Samet, an island south of here for a three day New Years binge. More anon.
3 comments:
If all you read is true there is no point rushing back, as Frank has done the deed.Why hasn't he got a blogg from the West Indies??
(PS Frank any chance of a large Rum)
Sounds like fun these late night pub crawls,I suppose the lady boys get better looking as the Singa goes down(dangerous)and the Elephant piles can get a bit dodgy in the dark at least we only have to avoid piles of pony/cow pat on the way home.
Maybe you could get Eric to broaden his range of over the Bar snacks on your return,I'm sure Rich N would be able to supply him with allsorts of creepy crawlies to BBQ
TTFN Bar flies
Hi, hope you all had a Merry Christmas, the Tompkins managed not to kill one another, but managed to consume some very interesting varieties of fowl without any side effects, and I kept my end up on the fluid side !!
I enjoyed Vietnam very much and the latest adventures in Thai. Bit sneeky of Frank going off like that, I presume he took Denise ? Anyway best wishes and a Very Happy New Year to you all. HIC !!
What Ho all (or should that be Angkor Wat Ho?) - I have been tardy in my blog gazing due to the fact that I have been in deepest Kent where the internet barely reaches - odd isn't it you can travel the world and get a good internet connection but if you are 6Ks from an exchange in the UK you are f*@^€d worse than under the elephant with piles (how did the elephant get piles? I suppose in Thailand I shouldn't ask!). I await with interest seeing your photos in the RAW (can I feel a photo Shop face off coming on?). Seasons greetings to one and all and centipede for crimbo dinner means everyone gets a leg. Once I've caught up properly as the big chap in the sci fi film says "I'll be back"
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