Day 2 in Bangkok

We repeated our morning trip into town on Friday, this time heading for the Royal Palace, not far from the museum. Once again we took a free tour, this time with a very good Thai girl. We were glad of our overview of Buddhist stories and statues at the museum and enjoyed our morning very much. We then wandered across to the river and caught an express boat down to Sathorn/Central where we took the air-conditioned Skytrain back to Sukhumvit. Looking for lunch, we chose an air-conditioned Indian restaurant and enjoyed a curry and beer before once again heading back to the hotel for a swim and rest.
The tour group arrived from Perth around 7 pm and we had a very poor tasteless meal in the hotel. Good Thai food was not part of this tour, although we became practised at finding condiments to enhance things.

Day 1 in Bangkok

We met for breakfast at 7 am and headed out to explore at 8 am. It was not far up the road to Klong Saen Saeb and a fast trip by commuter longtail boat, but first we had to negotiate a road crossing. Yes, the traffic allows you to cross on a pedestrian crossing if you venture out from the kerb. Fortunately it was one way apart from some motorbikes.
The longtail boat was a great adventure. I asked someone where we should get off for the National Museum and he had studied at Monash, and was also getting off there.
Next challenge was the helpful advice in the street that the museum was closed, but I had read about this scam and was keen to get there by 9.30 for a free tour, so I kept my head down while the others politely listened to the advice. We made it in time and enjoyed over 2 hours with a NZ expat guide, then stayed on for a simple lunch before wandering back to hotel via a back street klong, then onto the longtail which was no longer crowded with commuters, just some local shoppers. Needless to say, Bangkok in late April was hot and sticky and we were glad to get back to the hotel for a swim before venturing out in the evening for a beer and dinner.

Off to Bangkok

After a busy few days completing our first draft of Sgt John Steel of the 2/2 Pioneer Btn, we drove down to the airport for a 2pm flight to Bangkok. It all went smoothly, aided by internet check-in. Nine hours later we landed to another smooth transition and waited an hour for Ron and Bronwen to arrive from Melbourne, before taking a taxi to our hotel. The only trouble was that I ate too much, partly due to a very good lunch of leftovers which we ate at the airport after checking in.