Bangkok

"Bangkok, Oriental setting
And the city don't know what the city is getting"

The Grand Palace, and the temples within it, was dazzling on the sunny day that we visited. The sun sparkled off all the individual mosaic tiles.



Check out Nav's website for more photos:

http://www.navroz.com/Bangkok/2004_07_16_archive.html

Bangkok has always held a fascination for me. Now that I have spent some time here I am happy to leave the pollution and the big city feel. But I will remember the great food, gorgeous coloured temples and markets.

This weekend just gone I went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Huge! Some say over 15,000 stalls and I believe them now! Had a wonderful time seeing the range of stalls that sell just about everything...
- pet mice, hampsters, dogs, snakes, fish, squirrels, turtles, birds, cats;
- beautiful orchid plants;
- books, incredible range;
- and one of my favourites...clothes! Some great original designs (bit like Spitafields or Portabello in London at a fraction of the cost). Unfortunately I'm not quite Asian size so quite a few of the tops that I wanted were too small.


(Me in the palace grounds)

(The ongoing restoration of the palace)

Jim Thompson's house

Loved this place!  Jim was an American who came to Bangkok after WW2 and saw the market for Thai silk worldwide. Hence he made a fortune, built a beautiful house and garden near a canal in Bangkok and then disappeared in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia age 61 (interestingly enough the year that his Chinese birthchart said bad luck would occur).

More photos at:

http://www.navroz.com/Bangkok/2004_07_17_archive.html

Also see the website:

http://www.jimthompsonhouse.org/

 
(Jim's garden)

Will be happy to leave Bangkok on Wednesday.  We fly into Delhi and then catch a bus up to Dharamsala.  Plan to stay up in northern India to the last week in September.  Then it is off to Nepal for a month.  Back to India end of October for a friend's wedding (really looking forward to this) and so the travel through India will continue.