Thailand - Bangkok

We spent 3 days in Bangkok, where we met our guide, Band (this is the guide's name!) & the other 2 members of our group, Jen & Rachel, whom we'd be travelling with under the aegis of Greenway/Greenstay. www.activeinasia.com Our hotel was wonderful - air conditioned rooms, a thick & comfortable mattress, a bath, a shower with hot water, bathrobes, armchairs ...... & on top of all these welcome luxuries, everything was clean. It was tempting just to stay in our room for 3 days enjoying the comfort, but we resisted & took the chance to see the sights on offer.

We took in the delights of the Khoi San Road, a jumble of shops, stalls & restaurants, heaving with people, where we were pleasantly surprised not to be constantly harrassed by touts & hard sellers. Those who did approach took "No!" for an answer immediately. We discovered that there are MacDonalds, Boots, 7/11, KFC, Hagen Daaz & Tescos in Thailand. We had expected Bangkok to be crowded, noisy & full of crazy traffic but in contrast to Indian cities it seemed calm & orderly.

We spent a day visiting the Grand Palace & the nearby Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho). The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 & houses the official royal residence & throne halls as well as government offices & the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Keo). The complex covers an area 218,000 square metres inside 4 dazzling white walls which are 1900 metres in length. There are halls, mansions, pavilions, chapels, a mausoleum & a library. There are chedis/stupas everywhere. There are statues everywhere - of Buddhas, of elephants, of mythical beasts, of grotesque warriors & of Chinese merchants & noblemen. There is gold everywhere & glowing colours. There are wonderful paintings, tiles, china & mosaics. It's impossible to adequately describe the opulence.

The Temple of Wat Phra Keo is a royal monastery & one of the most venerated sights in Thailand. The Emerald (actually green jade) Buddha sits on a gilded, carved wooden, traditional Thai throne & was wearing his summer clothes when we saw him! The statue has 3 seasonal gold outfits (summer, rainy season & winter) & the costumes are changed during a ceremony presided over by the king. The royal family themselves are much venerated. Images of the king & queen are on display wherever you go. In temples, in the streets & in people's homes their presence dominates Thai life.

The other temple we visited was Wat Pho, with its immense 45 metre long gilded statue of a reclining Buddha. It is the oldest temple complex in Bangkok & covers 20 acres to the south of the Grand Palace. It's an important centre for traditional medicine, with Thailand's foremost college of Thai massage in the grounds. There are 95 chedis dotted around in a maze of temples, courtyards & inumerable statues of Buddha - another amazing place.

Our 3rd day was spent at the Jatujak Weekend Market, with its 15,000 stalls offering just about everything you might ever want to buy. We don't usually enjoy shopping & initially thought that a couple of hours would be long enough but we were seduced into spending 7 hours (& 50 pounds, Howard grumbles) there & would have happily lingered linger. Howard is now the owner of 5 pairs of shorts that fit him (the 1st he's bought since he lost weight 2 years ago) & 5 new shirts (an attempt at co-ordinating outfits), while Fiona came away with a mere 1 pair of trousers & 2 tops.

Before leaving the city to experience rural life, we managed to see the Chao Praya River & eat some very delicious meals. We really enjoyed the change of diet after 3 months of Indian cuisine. We were surprised to find that vegetarianism is a rare phenomenon in Thailand but,since food is usually freshly cooked to order, we were able to sample a range of dishes unadulterated with meat or fish. Fiona's favourites were Pad Thai (noodles),fried cashew nuts & hot & sour soup with coconut milk. Howard's favourites were fried rice with cashew nuts & sweet & sour vegetables. We both loved the variety of crunchy vegetables, the papaya salad & the vast selection of fruit, some of which we'd never seen before such as longan, mangosteen, pomello, rambutan & dragon fruit along with the more familiar pineapple, mango, coconut, banana & water melon.