Honestly

If you read the Lonely Planet guidebook, which is always a debatable practice, it warns of one classic scam which involves tourists asking a tuk-tuk driver to go to the Grand Palace, at which point he tells them that it is "closed", and ferries them to his brother's jewelry shop. Yesterday, our intrepid visitors Nikki and Mark headed off to the Grand Palace, only to be told by a nice young man at the river ferry pier that it was closed today. They phoned me up, and I said, oh no, I've read about these scams, he'll be lying. So taking my wise advice, they take the ferry up the river and trek all the way up to the Palace gates.
Needless to say, it's closed for the day for a special festival.

Essex People

We're delighted to have Nikki and Mark visit on their trip round Thailand. Having been warned by friends that Bangkok was dirty, hot and smelly, we opt to take them on an alternative tour, boating along pretty canals past coconut plantations and orchid farms. In a city this big, everything is on offer.
I'm intrigued to find out that they have some impressive family connections out this way, in that Nikki's cousin is Tony Fernandes, the owner of AirAsia and SE Asia's answer to Richard Branson.

Who's Reading This Drivel?

You can get these counters which show you who's been reading your blog, and why. Inevitably, a lot of people get here through google searches, and it's always amusing to see what they were actually looking for. A particular favourite seems to be people interested in a certain classic '70s ladies drink. Googling Babyshams inexpicably puts me at number 3.

The Daily Commute

My Thai lessons are in town; each morning I join the millions of commuters heading into Bangkok. There's a choice of transportation options, each allowing me to join a different stratum of Bangkok society. Cheapest and most entertaining are the government buses; with no aircon and guaranteed to be packed absolutely solid, these offer a lively morning workout just in the process of staying on one's feet. The more aspiring will splash out a few extra baht on an aircon bus; just as packed, but as well as keeping you comfortable, the cool air means the driver isn't so hot-tempered on the brake pedal. The middle classes will board a minibus, with the promise of a seat, speedier travel and personalised drop-offs. Of course, there's always the taxi option, but at £1, that's 10 times the cost of the bus with none of the entertainment.
So generally I'm to be found on the bus, enjoying the contrasts of cruising down a 26-lane superhighway whilst watching saffron-robed monks wander the pavements performing their age-old morning alms rounds.
The quickest route into town involves a change on to the skytrain, which speeds you above the hectic streets in chilled comfort. There's also the ultramodern underground, for those looking for a cool trip. And I am talking about the temperature; whilst London abandons efforts to cool its underground, the Bangkok version is chilled to the point that you worry about ice on the line. And mobile phones seem to work down there too. Smart.

Where's that Runner Bean?

So would you believe that Sara and I signed up for the Bangkok Midnight Run? We've been in training for a while now, and the big night is next week. It sounds quite cool in that they close off the centre of Bangkok, and several thousand people hare round (or tortoise round as the case may be) the streets at midnight. The idea behind the timing is that it's cooler, but unfortunately only by a couple of degrees or so. And let me tell you that running in Bangkok is a pretty messy affair. It's difficult to conceive of the amount of sweat the human body is capable of producing. After a few miles, I generally lose the ability to see due to the stream of salt. And after 4 miles, my shoes simply slide off.
Today we went running in Lumpini Park, Bangkok's take on Hyde Park and a popular jogging spot at dusk. I'm always amused by the bizarre spectacle of hundreds of runners frozen in unison for a minute at 6pm as the National Anthem is played.

Takes One

It's all a bit tragic to see events unwind in Burma. I see that Thailand's PM has been speaking out at the UN of his grave concern at the junta's abuse of power over the border. Although I can't help feeling that what with Thailand still being under martial law, and him being an army General, it must undermine his scramble up the moral high ground somewhat.