Home Sweet Home

Desi's birthday

COC - Aussie Rules
a 12 degree February Day in Bearspaw
Bob, Randy and Moi - the young pup of the group
mr. moose - oooops make that Mrs. moose

Great to be back in beautiful Alberta but I find myself very much missing, even after three weeks, the adventure, novelty and thrills of my extended journey through Thailand and Malaysia. Since my return there have been some fun COC funtions - Aussie Rules, encounters right outside my front door with deer and a moose, great weather - in fact warm enough to get some reading in, out on the deck and two big birthday celebrations - my own with buddies Bob and Randy down at the old Double Greeting Noodle House - we miss you Mike - and of course, my granddaughters 4th on Valentines Day!

The only down side has been a scary incident with my eyesight - it seems the bright flashes of light I was experiencing even while on my trip - were indicators of a tear in my left retina - for which I just had laser surgery! Extremely grateful it didn't become a problem until I returned home!!

Stay tuned.....hockey tournament in Montreal in April, a weekend golf trip to Phoenix in the spring, maybe San Fran in June and I am going to do my best to make a COC West Coast Trail excursion in July! Hopefully my good fortune of 2008 and early 2009 continues!! Best wishes to all - thanks for following along!

Brian

More Bangkok

homeward bound

a "street" entertainer
my last Thai meal - only $1.80 and way more than I needed
last minute shopping - hey men do it too!
Kosahn rd from the pool deck at Rikkas

Jim Thompsons House
After Wat Po I looked for a tuk tuk driver to get me home.........while negotiating a reasonable fare a passer-by Eva, from Sweden, volunteered to get be back to Kosahn Rd - got to take in a few more sights, share about our respective travels and I saved a few baht!! Once back, we shared a meal together courtesy of one particularly intersting street vendor - Eva was a bit more adventurous, or perhaps the right description would be courageous, than myself!! I then took in a few of the sights and sounds of this busy area before calling it a night.

On my final full day I was up fairly early determined to see and experience more of Bangkok. I hiked a few blocks to the Khlong San Sap ferry and took a ride several kms to the Ratchathewee transit station. I then boarded a monorail to the very farthest point north......somewhere near the big Chatuchak weekend market......unfortunately it was Wednesday so I opted for plan B - a hike around the nearby park. Afterwards back south on the monorail to the Victory Monument and then on to a tour of Jim Thompsons House (the man who revived the Thai silk industry in the 40's). Afterwards back on the canal ferry to my original location and one last Wat - the Golden Mount.......and of course the 2 or 300 stairs that seem to be common to all these Wats!!!!



hmmm - dinner time

Wat Po or the Reclining Buddha

Part 13 - BANGKOK

A view of the Grand Palace and the Chao Phraya River from Wat Arun



pretty cool pants Bri






Grand Palace pix start here


My "tuk tuk" time with Joe ended mid afternoon when he dropped me off at the busiest tourist attraction in all of Thailand - the Grand Palace. I'll just let the pictures do the talking - an immense area filled with govn't buildings, temples and monuments. After that was a quick visit to Wat Arun - I accidentally found a little public dock where ferries shuttle people back and forth across the Chao Phraya River - and that dock happened to be close to this Wat. I finally ended my tour with a visit to the reclining Bhudda or Wat Po.




After taking in a few of the nearby sights that evening - the Democracy Monument, Wat Ratcha naddaram, and the Golden Mount - followed by a great nights sleep at Rikkas Guest House - I was up early in the morn and tracked down a government tuk tuk driver named Joe to take me on a tour of the sights in the downtown district. What I didn't realize about Joe is that even though the rates for this service were unbelievable (20 baht - about $0.60 cdn - for what ended up to be over 5 hours) part of his "job" was to make sure clients get to various markets, gem stores, tailors, etc. in a hope that tourists support Thailand businesses, and of course Joe gets a nice little commission for each client he brings whether they purchase items or not!! Needless to say I ended up spending a good portion of my day in many places I didn't care to be! And did I mention earlier in my blog that I did pick up a nice custom made suit and a pretty little ring for my granddaughter.......so their strategy evidently works!!




Well as much as I talked about the impossibility of accurately conveying the beauty of the Krabi area in a few pics.......the same impossibility holds true for Bangkok in terms of it's size, diversity of culture and just plain number of things to see and experience! A totally amazing city.......in spite of the pollution and it's unforgettable fragrances!!