36 hours in Bangkok

With a limited amount of time we managed fairly well to make the most of our trip to Bangkok, despite the fact that a large portion of our fe portion of our daytrip to Bangkok, despite the fact tairst day was spent at the Myanmar Embassy, arranging our visas for our trip there next week. With the rest of our time we made a trip up the river towards the Grand Palace, although we didn’t actually go inside as we were short on time and money by then. We did visit Wat Arun on the other side of the river, an impressive Khmer-style spire structure made up of a mosaic of tiles. We dared to climb the incredibly high, steep steps to about half-way up (but no further!) for views over the river.

Lily at the front of the river bus

Looking back towards the city

Buddhas line the cloister wall at Wat Arun

The scary steps up Wat Arun!

In the evening we dined at a semi-famous restaurant named Cabbages & Condoms, owing to the fact that the restaurant works to reduce the spread of Aids across Thailand through sex education programmes. The food is good too, and its large courtyard and upper mezzanine are decorated beautifully with fairy lights. Afterwards we had a look around the night market on Silom Road before taking the last skytrain to the hostel.

At Cabbages & Condoms restaurant

The next morning we had planned to meet Jessica, and two of her friends from Taiwan, at the airport in the morning. Owing to a last-minute realisation that they wouldn’t be able to purchase a landing-visa on entry into Myanmar, they instead had to come into town to meet us and arrange their visas through a travel agent. This gave Lily and I enough time to fit in a little more sightseeing in the morning. We visited the house of Jim Thompson, an American who promoted the Thai silk industry and gave it the world prestige it holds today. His house in Bangkok is beautiful; Thompson was very interested in Thai architecture and art and paid homage to this in his home, which infuses traditional Thai style with a Western-style layout. There are several buildings within the grounds, each purchased from different parts of the country and transported to the site. The buildings are made of teak wood and painted deep red on the outside. Within, they are decorated beautifully with antique furniture collected in the Chinatown area of Bangkok and Thompson’s collection of Thai paintings, sculpture and ceramics. It was a beautiful home and a delight to look around. Thompson himself vanished mysteriously in the jungles of Malaysia at the age of 61, and nothing has been heard of him since.

Flowers in the garden at Jim Thompson's house

One of the buildings at Jim Thompson's house (photos were not allowed inside)

Later we met Jessica and her friends to begin our journey to Hua Hin, a seaside town where we are spending the weekend. An old friend of Jessica’s owns a holiday condo here, and his driver was sent to take us there from Bangkok. We arrived in the evening, and I went for a jog along the beautiful beach. Then we headed into town for seafood and cocktails.

This morning Lily and I slept in, and awoke to a stern note from Jessica informing us that she would leave us to ourselves for the day. This has given me the opportunity to update my blog and upload my photographs, although we will try to find them later on. Nonetheless, it’s very nice to be by the seaside and to enjoy the sunshine.