Bangkok

1st March - We're in Bangkok!

Flight out only slightly delayed last night from Heathrow and terminal 2 was quiet so we managed to get a meal before we boarded. Unfortunately the guy sitting next to us on the plane was suffering from some sort of plague and coughed and sniffed for the entire journey and therefore removing all possibility of sleep...shame as it would have been a reasonable flight if it hadn't been for him!

Very quick through Bangkok customs and baggage claim and met, as

promised, in Arrivals for our private transfer to the hotel. Bangkok traffic is as bad as London traffic, that was our first reminder of home. Not sure how we arrived in one piece as the driver was busy on his phone and iPad for the duration and even had a Skype call with his mate and we got to say hello to him too!

Hotel Icon is fine with a pool and bar on the 6th floor rooftop. The view is great at night. We had a stroll up towards Sukhumvit Road which is only 5 minutes away and it was mad - loud and crowded but a great atmosphere if "just a touch" sleazy!

Glad to get to bed tonight as neither of us slept much on the plane.

2nd March - that's it we're Buddha'd out! We asked the hotel staff best way to get to the Grand Palace and they said two trains and a boat up the river. Have I ever mentioned Derek's loathing of public transport?
Anyway, we managed it and the rail is so cheap! Just £1 each to get the two trains to the river. We did the 'tourist thing' and got a long boat up to the palace which started out fun but then we got a bit of a soaking with brown polluted river water....thank god we had our mouths closed at the time.

The Grand Palace was heaving with tourists, must be one of the most densely populated selfie stick attractions in the world.

We didn't get a guided tour, just wandered around on our own which has its downsides like missing the Emerald Buddha... I didn't realise it was so small and didn't even know that I'd missed it until Derek mentioned it after we'd left that particular area. There were coach loads of people dressed entirely in black and they were there to pay respects to the dead king. We thought the whole place was very impressive and there was a lot to see.

On to Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha, you couldn't miss it...it's huge! It's only a short distance from the Grand Palace and so much quieter. We walked past a couple of large Government buildings decorated with black and white ribbons (as are many buildings) in respect of the dead king. There was also a shrine covered with flowers and there are massive banners and billboard photos of him everywhere. We were told he was a much loved king.

Wat Pho has some really lovely buildings and water features to wander around. Obviously a spot for school trips as there were several kids in uniform visiting.

Next we walked back towards the water and headed north. Ended up walking through an indoor market where stall after stall sold the same thing, seemed to be coins, jewellery and charms. The next section was all food stalls and it looked like a lot of locals eat there.

We stumbled across a temple called Wat Mahathat and there were very few people so we decided to go in. An elderly lady in white robes insisted we got on our knees and had a quick prayer to that particular Buddha with her.

With vey sore feet we headed back to the hotel but used a normal boat instead of the longboat as we didn't fancy another drenching - it was less than half the price of the longboat and we didn't get wet - well not until Derek dropped his large coke anyway. Hotel laundry needs to be made use of!

It was nice to be able to jump (well step) into the pool when we got back to the hotel, water is quite warm so no risk of Derek having a

heart attack which he threatens to have every time he gets into the villa pool in Spain!

Went to a lovely Indian restaurant (as you do when you're in Thailand!) about a ten minute walk from the hotel. We would never have found it without the Bible that is Trip Advisor and Google Maps. Strange location on the 5th floor of a building. We couldn't make out whether it was a hotel or maybe serviced apartments but it seemed popular with Westerners. We had the best biriyani we've ever had and it was as far removed from our local village takeaway version that you could possibly find. Apparently it was a specialty of the chef who had been taught the recipe from his grandmother. Not sure I could have another UK one having tasted this!

3rd March - both wide awake at 2am..thought the first night had been too good to be true, the time difference has hit us today.

Having tried to get money from an ATM and put off by the extortionate transaction fee charged in Thailand we braved it into a local bank and managed to get some cash without paying any bank fee and got a good rate so pleased that we made the effort.

Lazy morning by the pool followed by a trip this afternoon to see the Golden Buddha, weighing in at 5 tons. It's housed in a very ornate building close to China Town. We took the train and underground to get there which was straightforward, we're practically locals now!

China Town area is large and complete chaos. We escaped down the side streets and alleys to get away from the traffic only to find that mopeds, motorbikes, mobile food carts, delivery trollies etc. use the alleys barely wide enough to walk through as rat runs. Lots of beeping!

We had planned to eat street food in China Town but wimped out as the smell was a bit off putting and decided to find somewhere closer to our hotel. Took the underground and thought we would walk the rest rather than catch the BTS, we knew it wasn't far, or rather it wouldn't have been if we hadn't turned in the wrong direction! Maybe we're not locals after all.. By the time we got back it was so late we ended up in the hotel restaurant again, our feet couldn't contemplate any more walking and we were starving.

4th March - another lazy day by the pool resting our aching legs. The plan was to take a taxi to Lumpini Park, walk through the park and on to the rooftop bar called Vertigo. You should never change the plan..

For some strange reason we thought it didn't look too far to walk to the park...if only we could stop walking in the wrong direction - I got the blame, Derek said I had the map upside down.. we got there in the end and it's a busy park late afternoon. Outdoor aerobics ( no I didn't join in!), basketball, kids playground, outdoor gym (no again) and an outdoor concert (karaoke according to Derek). Oh and lots and lots of runners/joggers/walkers.

We eventually got to the bar which is at the top of The Banyan Tree hotel (61 floors up) at about 6pm which was perfect timing. Fortunately a couple vacated their table just as we arrived and we nabbed it. Ordered the most expensive mojitos we're ever likely to drink and watched darkness fall and Bangkok light up. Stunning.

The next part of this evenings plan was to eat at a restaurant just around the corner from the bar but we couldn't find it. We walked and walked until we were so fed up we jumped on a train and headed

back to Sukhumvit station. We had stopped last night for a beer at a place called Luigis which was a 'fusion' Italian and Thai restaurant close to the station so we decided to go there. It was busy and the waitress was not a great advert for the 'land of smiles'. She cheered up a bit towards the end, maybe she was near the end of her shift!

5th March - There are 3 large shopping centers close by so we visited all of them this morning. Every designer store you can imagine plus a six storey department store called Zen. Outrageous prices. I took a fancy to some sunglasses - (£300) and Derek picked up some trainers (£250). Walked away quickly! We should have seen the signs with Ferrari's and Aston Martins parked out front.Very nice toilets though!

Back to the hotel and had the pool area to ourselves. Very nice.

Not to be beaten we went back to the same area as last night to find the restaurant called MoMo that we had wanted to eat at. It was literally a minutes walk from the rooftop bar we had been in, how annoying. Had a really nice meal - more rice!

Then off to visit notorious Patpong Night Market, a long strip of market stalls selling fake everything you can think of. Needless to say we didn't buy anything although Derek bartered a pair of trousers down from 850 baht to 250 baht. Shame they were big enough to fit a giant and therefore no sale! Each side of the stalls are various bars and 'dancing' clubs where apparently you can watch girls doing tricks nudge, nudge, wink, wink!

Had a drink in a bar next to the market to do some people watching and couldn't believe it when a young couple we'd seen book into our hotel earlier today sat on the seats next to us! Of all the bars..

Bye bye Bangkok, Monday - it must be Cambodia next.