Good morning faithful followers, and I have finally reached my final post for this big fat little trip, and here I sit after 2 hours sleep in my ever so slightly grubby feeling room (it really is OK but I have been spoilt and I am a hard customer to please), just about to go an get my lift to the airport, hopefully with less teeth sucking than last night....
And what a trip it has been, not my epic adventures, but an adventure none the less. I have had a blast as always, revisited old memories and made new ones. Seen old places and found new ones. Laughed at lots, smiled a lot, thought a lot and most of all, sweated a lot. But what I haven't done this time is cry. And I see that as an achievement. It means I'm going to be OK, I think.
Thank you Bangkok for the madness once again, the way you made me feel alive and happy and safe and free, gave me cheap fabulous food, a wooden frog that I can annoy everyone with, the women who massage with killer elbows, harem pants for all to laugh at and a sweat tache like I have never had before.
And thank you Krabi for giving me Bliss, a little slice of tranquillity amongst the daily life of those people who live and work there. I know that it will expand, the locals know that, but I can say that I discovered it when it was still relatively undiscovered, for the sound of the waves, the rumble of the tipper trucks, the laughter and clattering of breakfast things early in the morning, Mr Chan / Wa Wa who really is a legend, for realising it is OK for kids to play in the sea right in front of you, even if you have waited 4 hours for the sunset, the Sunset Bar with the best food in Thailand, for my spot by the swing, under the ban yan tree, you know the one and most importantly time for me to put my life back into some sort of perspective
And thanks you all of you for following yet another one of my adventures. Here's to many many more and if someone, somewhere in the world that happens to see this that wants to offer me a travel writing job, just let me know!
Sometimes the path you think you are going to take in life changes, by your own hand or those of others but what is important is that you grasp what you have, follow that new path and, as I have said before, enjoy whatever it is that makes you happy, however small or trivial you think it is. And cherish your true friends and family, they will love you no matter what.
OK, so now I may cry a little bit, but not because I am sad but because I have another 2 weeks of fab memories to tell all my friends children when then bring their grandkids to wipe the dribble off my chin when I'm old(er), and because I am already planning the next one, and you will be pleased to know I don't think there will be any tie dye involved!
So until then faithful followers, lots of love, thank you and
TTFN xxxxxx
P.s I still didn't cry, I smiled xxx
Saturday, 29 March 2014
Just under 12 hours in a Bangkok airport hotel.....
Helloooooo!! I'm back in Bangkok and the last you heard from me I was knocking back the free nosh in the Bangkok Airways lounge.
Fab flight again, take off, food, coffee, juice,water, more juice, land, thank you very much goodbye!
Now considering my flight is at 8.30am tomorrow (Sunday) I made the decision to check into an airport hotel with free transfers in order to rest and get myself ready for home.
NOT!!!!!
This is Saturday night, I'm in Bangkok TAXI TO PATPONG NOW!!!
And so it was, I dumped my bags in what turned out to be a rather disappointing room (bit like pictures on a dating website, looks lovely on the net but in the flesh is just a little bit older and not quite as sweet smelling as you were led to believe...) but who cares, I've got shopping to do. And not just any shopping, this is Pat Pong, where again nothing is quite as it seems.....
The taxi driver tasked to take me there just kept saying Patpong, Patpong over and over again and I got the distinct impression he wasn't quite sure he knew where that was. Come on man, the whole world knows Patpong.
As we drove past Tesco and Ikea (I kid you not) I got the feeling that my driver would rather be somewhere else. There was traffic, lots of traffic, over an hours worth of traffic, 4 lanes either side not moving and there was lots of sharp brake use and sucking noises through his teeth, and I think his wife kept calling him with the hump. 'Yes dear' translates to any language.....
And then I was there at Pat Pong was its awesome, fake self. The handbags, watches, sunglasses, shoes, football shirts, jeans, and the 'Ladies'. For those of you not familiar with this rather interesting part of Bangkok, Pat Pong is basically 2 streets (Patpong 1 and Patpong 2) lined with Ladyboy bars on each side offering more things than you can ever imagine you can do with a ping pong ball and a whole lot more besides, with a massive night bazaar up the middle. But this is not your tourist tat, this is the fake capital of the world. Absolutely anything goes here.
Now for those of you who were hoping to see pictures of said Ladyboys strutting their stuff on the streets and gyrating on poles, you will have to take my word for it that it is a sight to behold and a wonder where they put it all when wearing a bikini the size of a Dairylea triangle, because you are no longer allowed to zoom in and take pictures from the outside, or to take pictures of the laminated sheet of paper they thrust at you detailing all they can do with the aforementioned ping pong ball (and many other things besides). Believe me, I tried to snap away discreetly (you have seen my work with the Norwegian Physiotherapist, I'm quite good, sorry Chritian) but even my covert operations were overthrown. How times have changed.
Still the pics I did take should convey at least some of the atmosphere of this unique place, even if if does look a little empty. At 9pm they were just getting set up and this place doesn't get really buzzing till midnight. But I had a plane to catch and after several more wanders up and down, and the bar owners still not tiring of the line 'Ping pong in Pat Pong Madam' (when do you stop being Miss and start being Madam? I want to be a Miss....), 2 pairs of designer sunnies, some other customary bits and bobs and a Singha, it was time to find a lovely taxi driver to take me the hour trip in horrendous traffic, back to the airport.
Not on your nelly. They are sly old foxes, all meant to be on the meter and the two I tried were not too keen on missing out on the quick trips in their own neck of the woods and tried to haggle with the master, so I made a decision to use my noggin and make my own way. A brain wave. Trains go straight to the airport, 24 hours a day and my hotel is 5 mins by taxi from there. Result.
So, the train it was. And seeing as Bangkok has an amazing public transport system, 2 trains, 45 mins and just under a tenner later (almost a quarter of the taxi ride and much quicker, with far less tutting) I arrived back at the rather swish-from-the-outside-with-an-amazing-lobby-but-has-a-strange-smell Crystal Suites.
And here I sit, at 1.20am, needing to be up at 5am but wanting to make the most of every second here, and not really able to sleep and someone keeps banging and crashing around in the corridor...
But try and sleep I must, in a bed that I can touch both sides of when pretending to be a starfish, ready to face my flight and my final post of the holiday. I know you love my summing up.
Until then my lovelies.....
TTFN xxx
Fab flight again, take off, food, coffee, juice,water, more juice, land, thank you very much goodbye!
Now considering my flight is at 8.30am tomorrow (Sunday) I made the decision to check into an airport hotel with free transfers in order to rest and get myself ready for home.
NOT!!!!!
This is Saturday night, I'm in Bangkok TAXI TO PATPONG NOW!!!
And so it was, I dumped my bags in what turned out to be a rather disappointing room (bit like pictures on a dating website, looks lovely on the net but in the flesh is just a little bit older and not quite as sweet smelling as you were led to believe...) but who cares, I've got shopping to do. And not just any shopping, this is Pat Pong, where again nothing is quite as it seems.....
The taxi driver tasked to take me there just kept saying Patpong, Patpong over and over again and I got the distinct impression he wasn't quite sure he knew where that was. Come on man, the whole world knows Patpong.
As we drove past Tesco and Ikea (I kid you not) I got the feeling that my driver would rather be somewhere else. There was traffic, lots of traffic, over an hours worth of traffic, 4 lanes either side not moving and there was lots of sharp brake use and sucking noises through his teeth, and I think his wife kept calling him with the hump. 'Yes dear' translates to any language.....
And then I was there at Pat Pong was its awesome, fake self. The handbags, watches, sunglasses, shoes, football shirts, jeans, and the 'Ladies'. For those of you not familiar with this rather interesting part of Bangkok, Pat Pong is basically 2 streets (Patpong 1 and Patpong 2) lined with Ladyboy bars on each side offering more things than you can ever imagine you can do with a ping pong ball and a whole lot more besides, with a massive night bazaar up the middle. But this is not your tourist tat, this is the fake capital of the world. Absolutely anything goes here.
Now for those of you who were hoping to see pictures of said Ladyboys strutting their stuff on the streets and gyrating on poles, you will have to take my word for it that it is a sight to behold and a wonder where they put it all when wearing a bikini the size of a Dairylea triangle, because you are no longer allowed to zoom in and take pictures from the outside, or to take pictures of the laminated sheet of paper they thrust at you detailing all they can do with the aforementioned ping pong ball (and many other things besides). Believe me, I tried to snap away discreetly (you have seen my work with the Norwegian Physiotherapist, I'm quite good, sorry Chritian) but even my covert operations were overthrown. How times have changed.
Still the pics I did take should convey at least some of the atmosphere of this unique place, even if if does look a little empty. At 9pm they were just getting set up and this place doesn't get really buzzing till midnight. But I had a plane to catch and after several more wanders up and down, and the bar owners still not tiring of the line 'Ping pong in Pat Pong Madam' (when do you stop being Miss and start being Madam? I want to be a Miss....), 2 pairs of designer sunnies, some other customary bits and bobs and a Singha, it was time to find a lovely taxi driver to take me the hour trip in horrendous traffic, back to the airport.
Not on your nelly. They are sly old foxes, all meant to be on the meter and the two I tried were not too keen on missing out on the quick trips in their own neck of the woods and tried to haggle with the master, so I made a decision to use my noggin and make my own way. A brain wave. Trains go straight to the airport, 24 hours a day and my hotel is 5 mins by taxi from there. Result.
So, the train it was. And seeing as Bangkok has an amazing public transport system, 2 trains, 45 mins and just under a tenner later (almost a quarter of the taxi ride and much quicker, with far less tutting) I arrived back at the rather swish-from-the-outside-with-an-amazing-lobby-but-has-a-strange-smell Crystal Suites.
And here I sit, at 1.20am, needing to be up at 5am but wanting to make the most of every second here, and not really able to sleep and someone keeps banging and crashing around in the corridor...
But try and sleep I must, in a bed that I can touch both sides of when pretending to be a starfish, ready to face my flight and my final post of the holiday. I know you love my summing up.
Until then my lovelies.....
TTFN xxx
A few last pics of Bliss......
 |
| The pile on the left is the stuff I wore, the stuff in the middle I took but didn't wear and the stuff on the right I bought!!!! |
 |
| I'm gonna miss the view from my shower! |
An unexpected little post from Krabi Airport.....
Hello my friends, I bet you thought you wouldn't hear from me for a few hours but an unexpected delight waited me at Krabi airport - Bangkok airways have their own posh little lounge with free food and wifi and everything! For all their passengers, not just the snooty ones! Think on Stelios, this flight was only £40.....
So where was I, oh yes I had just woken up and was ready for my last breakfast on the beach. Another interesting conversation with Mr Chang / Wa Wa along the lines of 'Can my taxi come at 1pm to pick me up please' Mr Chang 'yeah you go beach, yeah it hot ha ha hmmmmmmmm yah na na na hmmm 3.20' I wasn't sure I'd make it to the airport....
Nice little breakfast again with the crystal clear waters lapping the shore, the wind picks up later but at this time the sea is like a sheet of glass. I had booked at foot massage at 10am so after a lovely conversation with the Norwegian Physiotherapist I headed up to see the woman with the killer elbows. It was to die for and she didn't bat an eyelid at my toenails, but if she did feel the usual revulsion that people experience on seeing them, let alone touching them, she didn't show it. She even gave me a kiss and a cuddle!!
Another quick chat with Christian (for that is his name and I must start calling him that as he has asked for my blog address, and I also must apologise to him for the sneaky body shots I took, I hope you don't mind if you are reading this!) I headed off to the sunset bar for my goodbyes and last coconut. Why does fresh coconut from a coconut not taste like coconut.....?
All too soon it is time to go and unable to find the lovely Christian (to me always the Norwegian Physiotherapist) so I left him a little note. I just hope Mr Chang / Wa Wa understood me when I said to give it to him.....I dread to think. After the last 'hmmmm yeah ha ha ha no yeah la la la ' with a heavily sweating Chang (my sweat tache / chin o-meter has now become a whole face-o-meter and if Mr Chang is sweating it must be bad) I was into the taxi.
The taxi driver didn't speak but didn't need to, he drove like he was auditioning for The Fast and the Furious 12 whilst sucking on a lemon sherbet like a sink plunger.
And so here I sit, in the lounge surrounded by a million pairs of elephant harem pants, kicking the arse out of the free food!
Next stop Bangkok and what to do with my last few hours at an airport hotel......
TTFN xxxx
So where was I, oh yes I had just woken up and was ready for my last breakfast on the beach. Another interesting conversation with Mr Chang / Wa Wa along the lines of 'Can my taxi come at 1pm to pick me up please' Mr Chang 'yeah you go beach, yeah it hot ha ha hmmmmmmmm yah na na na hmmm 3.20' I wasn't sure I'd make it to the airport....
Nice little breakfast again with the crystal clear waters lapping the shore, the wind picks up later but at this time the sea is like a sheet of glass. I had booked at foot massage at 10am so after a lovely conversation with the Norwegian Physiotherapist I headed up to see the woman with the killer elbows. It was to die for and she didn't bat an eyelid at my toenails, but if she did feel the usual revulsion that people experience on seeing them, let alone touching them, she didn't show it. She even gave me a kiss and a cuddle!!
Another quick chat with Christian (for that is his name and I must start calling him that as he has asked for my blog address, and I also must apologise to him for the sneaky body shots I took, I hope you don't mind if you are reading this!) I headed off to the sunset bar for my goodbyes and last coconut. Why does fresh coconut from a coconut not taste like coconut.....?
All too soon it is time to go and unable to find the lovely Christian (to me always the Norwegian Physiotherapist) so I left him a little note. I just hope Mr Chang / Wa Wa understood me when I said to give it to him.....I dread to think. After the last 'hmmmm yeah ha ha ha no yeah la la la ' with a heavily sweating Chang (my sweat tache / chin o-meter has now become a whole face-o-meter and if Mr Chang is sweating it must be bad) I was into the taxi.
The taxi driver didn't speak but didn't need to, he drove like he was auditioning for The Fast and the Furious 12 whilst sucking on a lemon sherbet like a sink plunger.
And so here I sit, in the lounge surrounded by a million pairs of elephant harem pants, kicking the arse out of the free food!
Next stop Bangkok and what to do with my last few hours at an airport hotel......
TTFN xxxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)