Off to Bangkok to meet with Camberley and his family.
When we both lived and worked in Sarawak, his offspring were tiny children, bouncing off the furniture and eating carpets, as all small children do. Now they are grown with boyfriends for the ladies and girlfriends for the men; which resulted in a party of ten people touring Sarawak, Sabah and then passing through Bangkok on their way home.
It was good to meet them all again, and Camberley supplemented the pleasure by presenting us with the now traditional gift from the UK:
The plan was to eat at a Thai restaurant in the evening. Asked for a recommendation, I chose Baan Kanitha which used to be good when I went there about eight years ago. Not so great this time, plus their automated booking system, which spat out a confirmation of my booking, failed completely and the restaurant had no record of a reservation. Just as well they had a table for us, given what we had to endure to get there.
The plan was to walk to take the skytrain from the Shangri La and then a soi bus down to the restaurant; easy. But then it pissed down and that plan had to be abandoned. She who must be obeyed transformed into action girl and mobilised a twelve seater van from the hotel. This turned out to be more of a ten seater van, but everyone squeezed in and off we set into the night. The journey was a combination of boredom as we sat in a traffic jam feeling hungry, interspersed with terror as the driver found an open stretch of road where he could accelerate in the atrocious conditions. Barreling down the outside lane with an intention of turning left, the nearside wing mirror smashed into something, presumably an offside wing mirror of another vehicle. But given the other vehicle was stuck in a huge jam in the inside lane (where we were meant to be), it was decided that the best course of action would be to just keep moving. Karma struck about 100 metres further on when we were spotted pushing into the left lane and stopped by the police.
The policeman was very stern and read out a long list of charges which would ensure that our chauffeur would lose his job. Our chauffeur produced two hundred baht which would ensure that no charges would be brought and the policeman would be his best friend for life.
All this was probably a little traumatic for our visitors, but it certainly gave them a taste for travelling in Thailand.
The afternoon had been spent in the MBK shopping centre where I acquired a couple of crucial photographic tools, and she who must be obeyed acquired a completely unnecessary Blythe Doll to augment her already bloated collection. So when I wandered round the hotel the following morning taking a few snaps, she insisted the doll be included.
I suggested we hire the van again and strap the doll to the nearside mirror, for some interesting action shots. She who must be obeyed declined; spoilsport.
Comments 🔗
2011-08-12| Barry saysI sometimes ponder how odd it is that adults of the feminine variety in many parts of Asia still like to have dolls. Maybe it’s a reflection of their sweet innocence and we can all go “Ahh.” I suppose the equivilant for men would be to still play with toy trains. You don’t have a toy train set do you? Like me, no room for one I guess. But own up - if you could have a train set and make choo-choo noises, would you? I would. Well, maybe I wouldn’t go choo-choo, but I’d make the railway go on strike so I could do something more useful with my time. Like read Pattaya Days.
2011-08-12| Andy Vale saysThanks for having us, it was a wonderful evening and I hope to return some fine day!
2011-08-12| Pete saysHow come the doll’s eyes change colour?
2011-08-14| Spike saysWelcome any time!
2011-08-14| Spike saysBecause they do. You pull a cord in their back et voila.
2011-08-14| Spike saysI don’t have a train set, but I do have the utmost respect for those that do. Racing cars are more my thing, which is why The Son had a Scalextric track before he was conceived. And yes, I did make Vroom Vroom noises.
2011-08-15| MSB saysHow do you take that photo of everyone in a circle looking down into the camera? Do you lie on your back??
2011-08-15| Spike saysProbably with Photoshop. It was a poster on a wall and she who must be obeyed covered the face of one hapless employee with her stupid doll.