Operation "Blunderbuss" Part 10

Chapter 10 - The last straw

"Hotel hobbies padding dawns hollow corridors, a typewriter cackles out a stream of memories"

I got up around 11am and had my breakfast, there wasnt much to do today so i just chilled out around the hotel. Andy & Ho left around 6 pm & after our goodbyes i was on my own. I wasnt really planning on doing too much that night & didnt want to stray too far from the hotel as i only knew how to get to Soi 13 & back.

I had my tea & had a nice cheeseburger & chips in the hotel cafe before nipping out to a bar just next door for a few beers, i sat at the bar & started drinking. As the evening wore on i felt a tingling sensation just above my ankles which got stronger & stronger. By the time i left the bar at 1 am the tingling was getting quite uncomfortable. I put this down to my sunburn i got from the boat trip in Phuket & the fact that i had received a few insect bites down there as well. I went back to the hotel & went on the computer in the lobby, i got talking to an american guy called Lee who was on the computer next to me & we decided to go to Soi 13 for a couple of late drinks.

We got to Soi 13, took a table & started our first beer, it wasnt long before the street vendors came over & Lee couldnt wait to get his wallet out & was buying laser pens, nuts, snacks & all sorts. I noticed Lee had a fancy watch on which was also a telephone & he received a couple of calls from some women he had on the go in Bangkok. Lee offered to "hook me up" with some of his "women" he has in various parts of the world but i said no thanks mate, ill find my own, Lee certainly was a character. A little later a couple of thai ladies came over to us & we got talking to them. One of them insisted on giving me a hand massage & as she did she said that i had something wrong with me. I thought she was messing about but she noticed just above my ankles where i had the sunburn & insect bites & said that i had to go to the hospital. I said she was overcooking this but about an hour later i could barely walk & my feet & ankles were starting to swell up. It was time to get a taxi to the hospital, i was very worried indeed, luckily the thai lady (i forget her name) came with me, very nice of her.

We arrived at hospital & i was surprised that there were no patients in A & E at all, it was very quiet, even more surprising when you consider it was about 5 am on sunday morning. The doctor saw me & explained that i had been bitten & this had become infected on both ankles, luckily it was a slow infection & i would be ok to fly home that night. I was wheelchaired through to the pharmacy area & had to pay 1,000 baht/£20 for some antibiotics. What a relief, i'd got visions of having my feet chopped off, being unable to fly and/or shelling out hundreds on seeing a doctor. I was a very lucky boy & in the hospital less than 1 hour. The thai lady came back to my hotel & made sure i got inside & tucked up in bed ok, very kind of her & i was very grateful. Anyway a bit later she left & i managed a small amount of breakfast before sleeping in most of the day. I woke and was managing to hobble gingerly on my feet & my left foot in particular was painful & uncomfortable. I checked out of the Honey & had a last cheeseburger and chips before i got a taxi to the airport.

My flight was extremely restless & uncomfortable, i just couldnt sit still with my feet aching &tingling all the way home. Things got a bit easier when i caught my transferring flight from Istanbul & by the time i had got home i was so shattered I spent for most of the next 2 days in bed.

Epilogue

All in all i had the time of my life in Thailand, i met old and new friends, met loads of other fantastic people and had mind blowing exeperiences! There wasnt a day that passed that i didnt enjoy, saw something amazing or did or experienced something new. If i return there i wouldnt go to Bangkok for as long, a couple of days is all that is needed, id probably spend more time in Phuket or try somewhere else. I've really enjoyed writing my blogs and hope that i have given you something interesting and funny to read about. Thanks to Rich, Chris, Neil, Andy, Ho and everyone else i met there and who i spent time with.

Operation Blunderbuss was a resounding success.

Operation "Blunderbuss" Part 9

Chapter 9 - Ya Yo Gakk

"Ya yo gakk, ya yo gakk, ya yo gakk, bye-bye"

I had a good nights sleep & met Andy & Ho for breakfast, i needed some food to set me up for what would be a long day. When we'd done we got a lift with a Thai chap called David who Andy has known for some years. David dropped us at the entrance of the Grand Palace, it was really busy with taxis dropping someone off almost every second & loads of people milling about & making their way in.

There is a promenade of about 60 metres to walk up before you get to the ticket office, yes you have to pay to get in, about 300baht/£6 but Thais get in free. I was surprised that even in Thailand where money rules (i suppose it does everywhere but more so here) you have to pay to get into a place like this. You also have to dress respectfully which means long trousers for men. We paid & walked into the palace area proper, the first thing i saw was a small prayer area with a Buddha at the centre, people were lighting candles & incense & presenting these to Buddha along with some flowers. You could buy a "prayer kit" so I had a go, lit my candle & incense, placed them with the flowers & prayed. Now, i'm not a religious person by any means but if i had to pick one it would definitely be Buddhism, they never seem to be at war with anyone. Anyway, i prayed for enlightenment & grace, im a believer that knowledge is king over physicality, presence & feeling & i could always do with a bit more grace, time will tell if Buddha answers my call.

The palace was busy but no so much that it made getting around a hassle. As we moved on i was in awe of the attention to detail the structures, buildings & statues had, all were absolutely fantastic & the beauty of the Grand Palace really knocked me out. We made our way to one of the temples in the palace which was the "Temple of the Emerald Buddha", you have to take your shoes off before you go in & not point your feet towards Buddha. The temple itself was magnificent inside, it was about 30 metres long by about 25 high, the Emerald Buddha was right at the top & about 1/2 a metre high, you could easily miss it. The Buddha sits atop what looks the front of a house, every inch of which is covered gold, gems or other shiny expensive things, it is amazing to look at. You can sit on the floor in there for as long as you want but there is a constant stream of people coming in or out so probably best not to spend too long there. We left & put our shoes back on before having another walk around the grounds. It was a fairly hot day but nothing too heavy so i was fairly comfortable in long cargo pants, i thought having to wear long trousers might be a hassle it wasnt too bad. We made our way to another temple (cant remember the name) & went in. Unfortunately Ho wasn't allowed to join us as she was wearing jeans & for some reason ladies can only go inside this temple if they have a skirt on! The temple was smaller than the Emerald Buddha temple but just as spectacular if much more plain in design. The centrepiece were about 4 golden life size male statues, i think the main statue was of a previous king but i'm not sure, the only puzzling thing was that statue had what appeared to be a black wig placed on top of it! That aside the statues were beautifully constructed & finished i would love to have seen them being made. There were less people inside here than the previous temple & it had an air of serenity to it which was quite special, i felt privileged to have access to these marvellous areas & to be able to see the delights within.

As we walked round the grounds again i noticed that on some walls there was a large mural, i believe this tells the story of how the scriptures were transported to India but i might be wrong. The mural is nice to look at & in keeping with everything else in the Grand Palace the attention to detail is brilliant. We spent another hour or so looking around & all of it was fantastic, the Grand Palace is one of the best places i have been to. If you go to Thailand, go there!

We left the Grand Palace & got a taxi to Wat Pho, another temple where inside was the Reclining Buddha, along with James Bond island this was one of the main things i had come to Thailand to see. On entering Wat Pho i was disappointed to see the general state of it was in a slight disrepair, unlike Grand Palace which was immaculate. As a result we didn't stay here too long & made our way straight to the star of the show. The Reclining Buddha is housed in a large building in the centre of Wat Pho, it is about 50 metres long 15 metres high and is literally a massive golden Buddha laid down just chilling out. It is absolutely brilliant & one of the best things i have seen in my life. You enter at the "head" enter & walk all the way around it before leaving at the "head" again. This is the ideal place for photo opportunities, i would hate to have left there without some lasting "hard copy" memory of it. There isn't much else to see in Wat Pho so we left & went for a walk to the riverside.

I forget the name of the river but there was a fish market next to it selling fish & sea creatures the like of which i had never seen before let alone tasted. As we walked through there it led into an indoor market selling various goods, at the end of that was a turnstile that led to a river ferry. We got on it & crossed the river, at the other side there was a man stood adjacent to the ferry drop off point selling bread, i thought that was strange, only bread, i wonder why that could be? Anyway on this side of the river was a park & more temples, there was a large high temple in the centre & i could see people climbing up a steep staircase to get to the top. To be honest i wouldn't have minded going up there but i was "templed out" & ready to go back to the hotel. We had an ice cream & a quick walk in the park but then made our way back to the ferry. As we did so i saw the bread man again & realised why he was selling bread only. A young couple had bought some bread which they had thrown into the river, this caused about 40 large black & grey fish to compete & fight for it. They were going at like good 'uns & the surface of the river turned into a fish based combat arena, nice! We returned to the ferry port & waited for another ferry to take us down river (the ferry we had been on only goes from one side of the river to the other) towards a BST station (see chapter 3). This larger ferry was standing room only & quite full, it took about 10 minutes to reach our destination & we caught the BST back to our street, Soi 19.

We were due to meet some of Ho's friends that evening & have a meal but me & Andy were starving so we went to the hotel cafe to eat. Ho took this opportunity to get her hair done, Andy said he fully expected that when Ho returned she would new hair & new fingernails. We were to meet at about 8 pm & then go to a large outdoor eating area in the "Lumpini" area of Bangkok. Me & Andy sat outside the hotel having a beer waiting for Ho who arrived fashionably late at 8.45 with new hair & nails (both finger & toe), Ho's friends arrived just after & we got a taxi to Lumpini. The eating area was massive with hundreds of plastic tables & chairs, it was rectangular in shape & about 80 metres long. On either side of it were stalls selling the food, you could get anything from thai to german food to burgers, pizzas & anything you might want. There is also a large (almost arena sized) stage there where a live band was playing. We sat near the back & ordered a 3 litre pump full of Singha beer, then went to get our food. For some reason you have to buy tokens before you buy food & then when you've finished you redeem the ones you haven't spent for cash, a pointless exercise as far as i could see. Between us we had rice, noodles, spare ribs, sausauges & of course chips! It was ok & we shared a bit of what was on offer. After the food & more Singha Andy & i left the girls & made a short trip to Patpong where we'd been on our 2nd night.

Patpong was slightly busier than the first time we went there, there was more competition to attract our attention & therefore money than before. I i was having none of it, i knew where i wanted to go & made the short walk to the "Kangaroo" bar whereupon entering i was recognised by Ya (see chapter 3) who raced across the room to give me a massive hug. Anyway we had a drink together whilst Ya & i renewed our acquaintance, which was nice! Shortly after we left & caught a taxi back to Soi 13 for another late night street drink. A couple of beers later it was time for bed, Andy & Ho were leaving the next day so that would leave me alone in Bangkok for my last night, oh lordy!

Operation "Blunderbuss" Part 8

Chapter 8 - Skyscraper

"Can i reach it now, im not up here often, God only knows and he aint talkin', im a skyscraper"

I left Pai Lin & got dropped off at Phuket airport. Before long i was back in Bangkok & got my next transfer taxi from there. I was pleased a man stood at arrivals with a board with my name on, i'd always wanted to be greeted by someone like this but the plonker had spelled my name wrong! Oh well. I got dropped off at the "Honey" hotel & by chance as i was checking in Andy breezed into reception, he said we'd be meeting later in the evening & going for something eat and a few drinks but i wasnt sure where we were bound for, that was a secret for now. I went to my room & got settled in. After being treated to 2 really nice hotels earlier in my trip the room in the Honey was a bit of a come down, it was cheaper but the room was really small, the bed was proper comfy though. The hotel itself was ok with good staff & a cafe next door, so all in all for the money i couldnt grumble.

I met Andy & Ho in the evening &d to see some friendly faces put thoughts of Phuket/Karon Beach out of my mind, hell, i was on the final leg of my holiday & was living each day as it came. Not much time for looking back (other than to share my Phuket tales with Andy). We took a taxi to Baiyoke Tower, Thailands highest building & the place we would be eating at. As the taxi pulled up i saw how immense the building was. Baiyoke Towe is the tallest building in Bangkok & is over 300 metres high, it has numerous restaurants & bars inside it, there is even a golf driving range on the 18th floor! The piling/foundation of the building runs 65 metres underground, thats about the same size as a 22 storey building! The lobby of the hotel was bustling & it was clear to see that it much more than a hotel, it was also a mini shopping centre! We had to take about 2 or so lifts to get to the restaurant on the 76th floor & paid about 500 baht/£10 for an "all you can eat" buffet meal. There was a cornucopia of food on offer, rice, noodles, seafood, steak, sushi, chips, pasta, duck, curry & much more besides, i was hungry &ready for this sumptuous repast! I dont usually drink alcohol with a meal, i had a coke & found that it was refillable with as much ice as you could want, mint!! I made my way through about 3 or 4 platefuls of various types of food & enjoyed the lot, i made a pig of myself by troughing most of the above delicacies but who cares, im on holiday. Andy was raving about the steak so i thought id try a bit, i went to the counter &the guy behind it put a fresh piece on the griddle, then turned it over, it was cooked in about 30 seconds, ace! Next to the steak counter were large pots of pepper sauce & mushroom sauce, no stone left unturned foodwise then! After all the savoury stuff i fancied a dessert, which i dont normally do as im a savoury kind of guy but i found something that was different & that i liked. I tried a dessert from a "cray pot"which resembled a large earthenware jug & inside was a warm concoction of coconut milk &bananas. Very nice & like nothing id ever had before. We'd all had a good feed & i noticed that Ho's plate was brimming with king prawns & even a full crab! Ho is a very slim woman but she can eat loads & loves seafood, her plate looked like a fishmongers dustbin!

After the meal we made our way to the top floor of the tower which is revolving roof & we had a great view of Bangkok by night. I could see the lights from the traffic which were small distant blurs down below. As i looked down i could see a much smaller building with people on that roof, they must've been about 150 metres below us & they were still high up in the scheme of things. I dont normally like heights but up there i felt comfortable up there, it was a great feeling & a great view at the top of the world! After this we made our way down to street level & went for a couple of drinks in an Irish bar before going to the "Log Home" a hotel where Andy & Ho got married. We had a few drinks in the bar where there was a live band playing rock music covers. Eventually the bar closed & we made our way to Soi 13 for another drink. Soi 13 is a street where people come for late drink on the street as the bars in Thailand close at about 1am. There are small plastic tables & chairs there & the vendors sell beer & food from their trolleys/stands. After a couple of beers it was time to go home, i had a really great evening & the memories of the food & view from Baiyoke tower would stay with me.

After another long day i was pleased to get to bed as we had another big day ahead of us tomorrow, we were to visit the Grand Palace & reclining Buddha.