Steamy Bangkok

Today was hot and humid.

We took another trip on the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River today. This time we went to the Wat Pho Temple - home of the Reclining Buddha. The oldest and largest buddha in Bangkok, which was built in the 16th century . It features the largest reclining Buddha and the largest collection of buddha images in Thailand.

Then we continued on to the Flower Market. The most famous wholesale flower market, and renowned for vegetables and fruits. This market was not quite what we had expected given the comparison to the floating flower market of Amsterdam. While there were hundreds of flower vendors, they were all packed together in a street market type atmosphere.

Next we went to the Jim Thompson House. We had lunch here which was quite good. We were going to partake in the tour, but bailed at the last minute as they were quite pushy about the whole thing. Jim Thompson was instrumental in reviving the silk industry of Thailand after WWII. He disappeared after reviving the industry in 1967 and was never found again.

This evening's dining experience comes from a recommendation from the Food & Wine magazine. The Mahanaga, which is a stylish restaurant serving contemporary Thai cuisine. The service was a bit overbearing, probably due to the fact that we were one of the very few people there. The presentation of the food was very good, but the balancing of different tastes was not optimal - everyone is a food critic!!!

On to the Lolitas! We decided to take a walk in the 'hood where we are staying. There is a sort of quiet desperation around here. Most of the restaurants/bars that we walked past contained young Thai women actively lobbying for us to come and join them. Some were dressed in themes of school girls, cheerleaders, vamps and other tarts. We finally escaped to the Atrium Lounge of the Windsor Suites to be the sole audience of their lounge act. We were asked to provide a list of songs, but the ones that we provided were evidently not part of their repertoire. Instead of Red, Red Wine we got Lady in Red!

Getting ready for the next leg of our adventure. We are leaving for Nepal in the morning. We received word from our friends that they will not be arriving in Nepal until late in the night so we are on our own tomorrow.

Stay tuned and let's hope that we have internet access in Nepal!

Deb & Karel