Evelyn and Julie come to visit

We picked up Evelyn and Julie from the airport on 28th October. Their baggage took a long time to come trough because three large planes had landed simultaneously. We were beginning to get worried about them just as they emerged into the Arrivals hall.

They looked a little tired and dazed, not surprising. We took a Taxi to the City. We’re so used to how they drive here it doesn’t phase us now but the look on Julie’s face was classic. She thought we were going to be killed as they cabbie weaved in and out of the traffic. I know how she felt. When I first got in a Taxi from Bangkok Airport to the City I too thought I was going to die! Touch wood, so far I’ve never been in an car or other transport accident here.

Stopped off at 7-11 to get some beer. After checking them into their room in the same hotel we stayed up chatting and drinking until about 2:00am.

The next day we all headed out to the obligatory Royal Palace and Wat Po visit. This time as I wasn’t taking photos I saw much more than I had ever seen before. Little details of flowers on the sidewalls of temples and such. The Royal Palace is a deep well of things to photograph.

Breakfast was a very Thai. Rice and chicken in one of the Thai vendors in Sala Daeng.

On the 30th we took Evelyn and Julie to Chatachuk weekend market early in the morning. It’s the biggest market in the world. It’s so huge it needs it’s own map to have any hope of navigating your way through. Everything in the world is on sale here, including exotic and rare animals. Unfortunately we found the animal section of the market and got stuck in it trying to find our way out. It was very upsetting, and to Julie the most of all. I don’t understand the need for some people to feel like they have to own exotic and rare animals. I think they have a twisted gene somewhere.

There are supposed to be about 12,000 vendors here and the numbers of visitors is supposed to be about 200,000 over the weekends.

We found a great silk vendor. They had a large and inexpensive selection and understood we wanted to take our time and look at our leisure. Not that they didn’t try to sell us their wares, but they did it in a nicer than the hawkish street vendors and brazen tuk-tuk drivers. After some negotiation we all walked away with some nice silks.

After dropping off the goodies at the Hotel we took off for the airport and our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.