Sunday, October 08, 2006

Bangkok Day 2

We were up relatively early for morning sightseeing to the usual spots. The Royal Palace, Wat Pho, the Golden Buddha and the weekend market. The weekend market is a riot. 30,000 stalls selling everything under the sun. The Royal Palace is impressive as much for it's painstaking construction (200 years ago) as it is for the merciless maintenance requirements. But the"Emerald Buddha" housed here has been fought over and moved around the region for centuries. It's only been here a short while! And let's be honest. The stupas and decorative adornments around the complex are just a little tacky, okay? Sorry King Bhumibol. It's true.

Still, the city beckons! After a light lunch we said goodbye to our excellent guide, Tukkie. The rest of the day we meandered, stopped by the tailor for another fitting and relaxed at the hotel.
We repeated the Bamboo Bar - Sky Bar combination before heading over to the Four Seasons to meet Dennis one last time. After a liquid dinner and some snacks we said "see ya later" to him and made our way to the infamous Patpong Road - or, as Laine so affectionately calls it, "Ping Pong Road"! That just slays me. Good thing we were lubed up too, because it would have been ghastly otherwise. We were in just the right humor to haggle with the street vendors selling all the crappy knock-offs! Thankfully, being with Laine mostly kept the pimps-cum-vultures away. We capped the night with a riotously over-priced tuk-tuk ride home. These guys know how to work it and it doesn't help a bit when you tell them the destination is the Oriental Hotel!

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