Bangkok, Day 5

Today was another public holiday in Thailand, meaning the roads were a little quieter than they have been, and we could catch a taxi to Chinatown for a look. Chinatown was humming with industry and markets, selling everything from sink plugs to building materials, motorbikes to lathes. Every now an then we spied a temple down a laneway. The buildings of the temples are incredibly ornate; reds and golds and striking roof lines.

The exchange rate is 30 Baht to 1 AUD. A trip on the skytrain costs $1 and a bottle of water costs between 30 and 50 cents. Lunch is about $3 in a local eatery, and a taxi ride half way across town is about $2.

Skybar at the Lebua

We had a fitting at the tailor in the afternoon, after which he completed the garments and sent them to the hotel for us. The shirts that Dom had made turned out beautifully, but the jury is still out on my suit, as I haven’t seen it without pins and tailor’s chalk. The tailor was a pleasure to deal with, however, and delivered all that he promised, on time.

Being our anniversary we had booked a table at Sirocco, the restaurant on the 64^th floor of our hotel, and featured in the movie ‘Hangover Part II’. The view over Bangkok is spectacular and we enjoyed the sunset and changing sky from our table, listening to groovy lounge beats. There is also a bar that has standing room only for those who come up for the view. 

We drank French champagne and a Californian red, and ate a wonderful Italian meal, attended to by well trained and polite staff, who presented us with a ‘Happy Anniversary’ cake for dessert. In my experience to date, if the view or location of a renowned restaurant is spectacular, the food often isn’t. This restaurant is an exception. It was my favourite dining experience ever. It was also the most expensive dining experience I have ever had – closely followed by our third anniversary dinner in Hong Kong.

If there was anything you ever needed but you had no clue as to where to obtain it, I have the answer. Chinatown in Bangkok! I am sure there are places similar on mainland China, but for sheer volume and variety of "stuff" Bangkok would take some beating. I have been trying to get some 17"  motorcycle wheels in Oz for some time, without success. Today I walked out of a little workshop with 4 brand new items, built and trued by hand in under 3 hours for less than $100. Suzy talked about filling a container with furniture and artwork, but there wouldn't be much room left it I had got in first. One other item of note, if you need to return to a place of business, take careful note of where it is. It took me about an hour to find this place again and I had a map and the address.