June 28, 2005
Well, we've had a fun but busy day. Since we didn't get to bed until close to 3 am, we all slept until about 10 am Bangkok time. I think the adjustment to the time zone is behind us. It was after 11 when we went down for breakfast - so there was no breakfast. Brennan & Kaley both ended up having plates of Singapore noodles with curried chicken. They loved it. A little much for me first thing in the AM. Jim had a hamburger. He said it didn't quite taste like any cow he'd ever met before but it wasn't bad. I (being the pathetic person that I am) had a waffle.
After breakfast we headed out for some exploring. Since Derek won't arrive until late Tuesday night, we decided to wait and do the Palace and that kind of touring with him tomorrow and get some shopping in today. We bought day passes for the skytrain that moved us swiftly around the city. We still had a few blocks to walk though after getting off at the station and it was HOTTTTT. We went into a couple of city malls. All had the same named stores we're used to and some more Thai shops as well as upscale shops. Gucci, Prada. Kaley was drooling. Prices seemed good. We went in an adidas store and Jim got a lightweight shirt for $8 with the conversion rate. Brennan was checking out soccer shoes that would be over $100 at home according to him but they were selling for about $60 here.
Our big experience of the day was visiting the Panthip Plaza. This is an IT center for the city where many of the computers and technology goods are sold. What an experience. Seven stories of geek stuff. Bootleg software, movies, cd's.... All out totally in the open in a shopping mall type atmosphere. Very strange. I'm sure Mr. Gates can't be happy about it.
After spending a good bit of the afternoon shopping we headed to the Siam Square area with the Hard Rock Cafe as our dinner destination. Yes, we're boring. But we'll have plenty of time to experiment with local cuisine. About the time we left the restaurant it started to pour. Cats and dogs, thunder and lightning. We went into a covered market for a while in hopes that the rain would let up. It didn't. So eventually we entered the drowned rat contest and made our way to the skytrain station. The traffic here is horrible and noone pays any attention to the lights. In many locations it is totally impossible for pedestrians to cross the street. There seem to be many more cars than there were when I was here 14 years ago. Back then we road tuk-tuks everywhere but now the tourist authorities discourage their use. We also noticed that within Bangkok at least, most everyone seems able to speak at least some conversational English. When we would stop to look at our map, often someone would approach us and offer to help. Always in English. It seems that the economy here is very different than it was a decade ago. Everyone is talking on their cell phones and you see lots of young people shopping in the fashion stores.
We did get a few puzzled looks walking around with Brennan & Kaley. Kaley had stopped to buy some perfume from a vendor selling knock-off scents out of large jars. She turned to me and said, "Which one do you like Mummy?" To which the woman working at the booth let her mouth drop open, looked at me and said, "How she you baby?" I tried to explain the whole adoption thing, but I could tell she was stumped. :-)
Well, it's almost 9:30 our time and I'm thinking of rounding the troops back up to go to the night markets. Life is short - we've got to play hard, right? Today was a good day to work through the fog of jet lag. I think by the time we leave for Cambodia on Thursday we'll be rested and ready.
Hugs to all -
Lisa & Crew
PS - Chick trip ladies.... the shopping and crafts and low prices here make this a perfect chick trip destination. But since we only go for 3 days, we may not be able to add this one to the list. Oh well. :-)
Well, we've had a fun but busy day. Since we didn't get to bed until close to 3 am, we all slept until about 10 am Bangkok time. I think the adjustment to the time zone is behind us. It was after 11 when we went down for breakfast - so there was no breakfast. Brennan & Kaley both ended up having plates of Singapore noodles with curried chicken. They loved it. A little much for me first thing in the AM. Jim had a hamburger. He said it didn't quite taste like any cow he'd ever met before but it wasn't bad. I (being the pathetic person that I am) had a waffle.
After breakfast we headed out for some exploring. Since Derek won't arrive until late Tuesday night, we decided to wait and do the Palace and that kind of touring with him tomorrow and get some shopping in today. We bought day passes for the skytrain that moved us swiftly around the city. We still had a few blocks to walk though after getting off at the station and it was HOTTTTT. We went into a couple of city malls. All had the same named stores we're used to and some more Thai shops as well as upscale shops. Gucci, Prada. Kaley was drooling. Prices seemed good. We went in an adidas store and Jim got a lightweight shirt for $8 with the conversion rate. Brennan was checking out soccer shoes that would be over $100 at home according to him but they were selling for about $60 here.
Our big experience of the day was visiting the Panthip Plaza. This is an IT center for the city where many of the computers and technology goods are sold. What an experience. Seven stories of geek stuff. Bootleg software, movies, cd's.... All out totally in the open in a shopping mall type atmosphere. Very strange. I'm sure Mr. Gates can't be happy about it.
After spending a good bit of the afternoon shopping we headed to the Siam Square area with the Hard Rock Cafe as our dinner destination. Yes, we're boring. But we'll have plenty of time to experiment with local cuisine. About the time we left the restaurant it started to pour. Cats and dogs, thunder and lightning. We went into a covered market for a while in hopes that the rain would let up. It didn't. So eventually we entered the drowned rat contest and made our way to the skytrain station. The traffic here is horrible and noone pays any attention to the lights. In many locations it is totally impossible for pedestrians to cross the street. There seem to be many more cars than there were when I was here 14 years ago. Back then we road tuk-tuks everywhere but now the tourist authorities discourage their use. We also noticed that within Bangkok at least, most everyone seems able to speak at least some conversational English. When we would stop to look at our map, often someone would approach us and offer to help. Always in English. It seems that the economy here is very different than it was a decade ago. Everyone is talking on their cell phones and you see lots of young people shopping in the fashion stores.
We did get a few puzzled looks walking around with Brennan & Kaley. Kaley had stopped to buy some perfume from a vendor selling knock-off scents out of large jars. She turned to me and said, "Which one do you like Mummy?" To which the woman working at the booth let her mouth drop open, looked at me and said, "How she you baby?" I tried to explain the whole adoption thing, but I could tell she was stumped. :-)
Well, it's almost 9:30 our time and I'm thinking of rounding the troops back up to go to the night markets. Life is short - we've got to play hard, right? Today was a good day to work through the fog of jet lag. I think by the time we leave for Cambodia on Thursday we'll be rested and ready.
Hugs to all -
Lisa & Crew
PS - Chick trip ladies.... the shopping and crafts and low prices here make this a perfect chick trip destination. But since we only go for 3 days, we may not be able to add this one to the list. Oh well. :-)
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