And so the end is nigh …

Not a great look, but the shoes are good!

And so, dear reader, the end is nigh. Today is our final full day in Bangkok. We met up as usual with Madame Cholet and Great Uncle Bulgaria for breakfast. Madame Cholet is still feeling very much under the weather. There is quite a trade going on in Imodium at the moment! As a consequence, and today being one of our scheduled free days, Captain Clarke and I strolled out of the hotel for a short walk and to see if we could find some souvenirs that we would like to buy. We hadn’t walked very far at all before we came across a shoe shop. Not just any shoe shop, but a shoe shop that sells all hand made leather shoes. We popped in for a quick look and, low and behold, they had some shoes that were just right for Captain Clarke! He tried them on, which wasn’t a great look(!), and they fitted perfectly. One pair of shoes purchased!

Not a bad view to start the day!

Now, dear reader, I have been very remiss in not starting this report where I should have done at the beginning! I awoke this morning and looked out of the window. I decided that it isn’t a bad view to start the day! For my part, my disorders of the lower regions are much as they have been now for some time. I have things basically under control but have resigned myself to the fact that I shall retain this condition until I arrive back in the UK. One good friend has suggested that the phrase ‘Deli Belly’ might be more appropriately changed to ‘Asian A**e’, (I think you can work this out!). However, apart from this, which I have learned to live with and has resulted in me losing over a kilogramme which was much needed(!), all is well.

Pavement sellers sell everything from fruit to clothes!

Back to our short walk. Having procured the shoes we arranged with the very helpful store keeper that we would leave the shoes until we returned from our stroll to save carrying them with us. We walked on past our very rich tailor, (he did say ‘Good Morning’ but we told him that we couldn’t stop as we had a pressing engagement … phew!), and onwards on Silom Street. At the first major junction there is a sign that says, ‘Bangkok’s finest walking street market, open 10:00-22:00 daily’. This seemed like an ideal spot to look for souvenirs. As it was, by now 11:30 we decided to peruse the stalls – it was shut! A little further and we found some pavement sellers. Captain Clarke spotted a rather nice shirt – they just happened to have it in his size. One shirt purchased!

Poinsettias in tubs around the ‘Mint’ restaurant

Onwards we went, we found another street market, this time selling fruit and vegetables. The buzz of these markets is quite sensational and great fun. We walked through the market for 5 minutes and then continued our journey. We passed a small restaurant that had beautiful tubs of poinsettia all the way around it. I took a photograph and, although a lady sitting on a nearby table seemed to object to having her photograph taken, I got a reasonable photograph. (I did explain to her that I had not the slightest interest in her, but was only interested in the poinsettias. I don’t think she full understood – maybe her Thai isn’t quite up to the level of mine!)

Actually, now that I mention language, dear reader, I should bring you up to date on my aim to be fluid in all languages of countries that we have visited. If you have been paying attention, I have completely mastered the Thai language, (Swadi, [pronounced ‘Sow-a-dee’], is Hello, Kopkhun, [pronounced ‘Cop-coon’], is Thank you and Wan ti di kab khun, [pronounced, ‘Won tee dee cab coon’], is, of course, Good Day To You), as well as the Lao language, (using the same phrases to make it simpler for you, dear reader, Sabaidee, [pronounced ‘Sab-a-dee’], is Hello, Kopchi, [pronounced ‘Cop chy’], is Thank you and Muthidi kab than, [pronounced ‘Moo-tid-ee cab tan’], is, of course, Good Day to You), but the astute side of you, dear reader, will have noted that there is a glaring omission – I have not given you any insight into the Cambodian language! I have to admit, dear reader, that I took a conscious decision not to be fluid in Cambodia too as I felt this might be perceived as showing off!

The local’s market!

However, back to our day. Captain Clarke and I continued to walk onwards and found another, very local, in which we were the only westerners. The fare on sale was interesting and remarkably good value, (two shirts purchased for under £4 for the pair!), and as we progressed through the market we came across stall after stall that was selling hot food. These were, by far, the busiest stalls in the market. It was, by now, we realised approaching 12:00 and it appears that this is the time of day when the Thai people take luncheon. We walked out of the back of the market and into what was quite clearly a business district. What was interesting about this was that outside every office was rows of tables where all of the office workers were congregating to eat lunch that was provided from a caterer with a cart full of hot noodles, broth and other, (somewhat unidentifiable), foods that were clearly very popular indeed!

A street for cat lovers!

We continued our stroll, (although it was beginning to feel a little more like a marathon), and, purely by chance we ended up walking through Patpong, (that area of Bangkok for cat lovers and ping pong), which, we discovered, is completely deserted during the day and is an empty street. This was amazing when one considers how packed it is in the evening and how many stalls there are. The only sign of the nocturnal activities in the street was an un-illuminated sign which clear shows that there are some very special residents in the street! We walked on, out of Patpong and turned north. We were, by this time, thinking that we would get a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel, but we thought we would have a brief look at another street that seemed to be very busy just to the north of Patpong.

Thai people that lunch, lunch!

It transpired that this was another business district and, once again, the streets were lined with tables and office workers who were enjoying a lunch of more noodles, broth and other things which were somewhat more difficult to identify but seemed very popular indeed. Eventually, my legs were frankly threatening to give way, we decided it was time to get a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. This, it transpired, was not easy, because it appears that Tuk Tuks don’t go to the business areas of Bangkok. We walked back towards Silom Street and, eventually, having found our way back, we discovered something else. Tuk Tuks don’t seem to park, or be available, on the southbound side of Silom Street. We ended up walking right to the bottom of Silom Street before we found our first Tuk Tuk and, by then, we were only a few hundred metres from the hotel. We declined the myriad of Tuk Tuks that were now offering us a ride, picked up Captain Clarke’s shoes and returned to the hotel – we had walked 12.5 kilometres!

After a quick drink to refresh at the hotel, (a fruit ‘mocktail’ called a Paradise, which is!), we met up with Madame Cholet and Great Uncle Bulgaria and took a short walk, (can you believe it!), back to our very rich tailor. This time we were only collecting our many purchases and it was with some delight that we established he no longer had time to make us anything else! (He did, however, show me some material that he thinks will be ideal on our next visit to Bangkok!). Madame Cholet has one more visit to our very rich tailor tomorrow, so all is not lost yet – they don’t leave until Monday!

‘Shocking’ street wiring in Bangkok!

Having returned to our hotel with some very heavy bags, we deposited them in our room and, after a short rest, Captain Clarke persuaded me to go for a massage. Madame Cholet also came along and we went to one of many massage establishments that are near to our hotel. It was quite clear that Captain Clarke has become somewhat of a regular by the way in which they greeted him! I had a foot massage and a pedicure and, since this was my first time, it was actually an experience I enjoyed. I may return tomorrow for more! As an aside, I thought, dear reader, you might enjoy a photograph or some typical Thai street wiring – it is, almost literally, shocking!

Following the massage, we returned to our hotel where Great Uncle Bulgaria had generously booked a table in the restaurant to use his ‘Golden Circle’ vouchers up. I have some points too, but the vast majority will come when I settle my bill on this visit to the hotel! We enjoyed pre-dinner drinks in the Horizon Club Lounge and then went down to the restaurant where we enjoyed some stunning food once again. Unfortunately, Madame Cholet was still not feeling up to too much food which was a shame as the selection was incredible with everything from Thai to Indian to French and Italian. A veritable feast which we thoroughly enjoyed!

Tomorrow is our last day in Bangkok. We leave for the airport shortly before 5pm. It will be with some sadness that this holiday finally comes to an end but, as with all good things, it must end so that we can return to the UK and I can return to work to start to earn enough cash to pay for all the purchases we have made! It’s RudyMenTerry!

View the photo gallery for this post here