Back to Bangkok

Sunday we flew back to Bangkok from Siem Reap. (That's a picture of the West Baray (see December 6) from the air). We even landed at the once Forbidden Airport of Suvarnabhumi. We had considered trying to fly from Phnom Penh to Sydney, our next major stop, but Bangkok is of far greater interest and the hassle of making flight changes seemed hardly worth it. So we are in Bangkok. Strolling and shopping in the area around our hotel (the PJ Watergate, in Pratun), you would not guess this place is in the midst of political turmoil and crisis. The PM has been deposed by the courts, the King failed to address the nation on his (81st) birthday (first time ever; sore throat), and also failed to reconvene the parliament to form a new government; and so on. We are hoping they can keep the lid on till midnight Thursday, when we jet away beneath the southern cross. In the meantime, the Thai are eminently likable people, and Bangkok one of the world's eminently interesting places.

Monday we did a morning tour of temples (part of the hotel deal), most notably the enormous reclining Buddha (46 meters of gold leaf) and a variety of other interesting sites at Wat Pho; and also a drive around the old town and the government district. Wat Pho was a treat with its great variety of monuments, artifacts, and institutions (e.g., the original official Thai massage school). In the afternoon we shopped and window-shopped the huge shopping district our hotel is in, most notably the giant electronics center at Pantip Plaza...five floors of all things digital, including some pretty interesting deals. The Asus 900 I am typing on was $560 in the US last July. It, or rather its successor model, was $285 at Pantip.

Vicki adds:

December 7—Bangkok, Thailand

We made it here with no problems and were able to book a reasonably priced hotel in central Bangkok from the tour desk at the airport. It certainly isn't a 5 star, but so far clean and quiet with tv, fridge, and even a nice bathtub for only $46 with breakfast and taxes. It is a few blocks to the skytram but only 1 block to McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yes, we will eat lots of the wonderful Thai food, but tonight we had KFC, which tasted exactly right. When everything is so different and everyday an adventure, you have no idea how important a taste of home can be! My arm is considerably better—still achy, but I am not taking double pain meds every four hours to get through the day. That means I can answer email again and would really like to hear from any of my friends and relatives willing to write. Take pity on a woman who has had no one to talk to for 14 weeks but her husband!

By the way, I promised to comment on the practical from time to time. One of the most important things away from home is the toilet or lack there of. As you know, Nepal was awful. It has been interesting that in India, Thailand, and Cambodia all the facilities for tourists have been Western toilets—no squatters, but they have all had hose and spray attachments next to them attached to the wall—exactly the type that we use to rinse dishes with at the kitchen sink. Of course Japan has the best in the world—wash and dry with warm water and air, freshener, and even sound effects to cover up any bodily noises you don't want to inflict on the neighboring stall occupant. And all that was just at the airport! When Mark and I win the lottery, a Japanese loo will be a definite purchase.

I also did a recent tally of our expenditures and so far we are staying within our budget—except spending more on gifts than I thought. We divided our budget into one part for Asia where costs are relatively low and one part for Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii, where costs are much higher. Once we get to New Zealand I will run the final figures on the Asia part. Mark and I were just talking today about how if we wanted to come back, we could travel so much more cheaply the second time around. This time we have been willing to spend more in order to avoid uncertainty since we have never traveled in Asia before and really never done the hotel type thing either. (We still think camping is by far the best way—just not available in Asia at all.) Also we wouldn't be going back to India and that ended up costing the most per day as traveling independently there is for the young or the crazy.