Valentine's dinner cruise

Sunday 14^th Feb 2016.

Dinner tonight is going to be a dinner cruise on the river with the mob, after they get back from a day of solid touring. We, on the other hand, are in great need of a rest, so we have a sleep in, the first this trip! Bliss! Then just chill out in our fantastic room, catching up on internet stuff, downloading photos etc, etc, etc (I have Yul Brynner in my head!). We want to go back to Sunrise Tacos and say goodbye to the lovely Filipino woman who has server us up there, so that will be lunch, with the obligatory beers. 

Lo and behold! Bangkok must have heard we were weary and they’ve brought the markets to us! Silom Road is blocked to vehicles and it’s now wall to wall market stalls! Aye Carumba! From Saladaeng Road down to the United Centre, 500 metres! It’s an amazing sight. All the time we’ve been here, it’s been almost gridlocked traffic with all the noise that goes with it. To see it like this, well, we just can’t get over it! 
 
We go and see Shiely (Shelley) and tell her we’re leaving and she gives us both big hugs and has photos with us. She has been a highlight of our trip we’ll long remember.

Silom Road, now Walking Street.

Sticking to my ‘I’m only buying it if I really love it’ mantra, I buy a small sandstone love heart shaped stone that’s meant to be used like a pumice stone, but it’s too nice for that. Not that I wasn’t tempted by the 2^nd hand medical equipment – dental tools, stethoscopes, surgical clamps, speculums! Yes, speculums!! Thinking about it now, I could have made an interesting sculpture………

The people here are so friendly. I was standing at a stall debating with myself about buying some snacks being made, when the lady in front of us turned around and offered one of hers for me to try. She didn’t hesitate. P.S. they weren’t very nice, so I was saved.
There’s the brand of ATM we need close by, so we cash up ready for tonight’s dinner and our stay in Pattaya. We wandered around the markets far longer than we’d planned and before we know it, it’s time to get cleaned up and get over to the Pathumwan Princess. The bus is leaving at 6pm sharp to take us to the river for our cruise. I love being near water and even this dirty river lifts my spirits, we’ve been here most days in Bangkok. Well, the tourers are caught in traffic, they had planned to be back mid afternoon for some rest and to get ready for dinner and they don’t get back till after 6. They charge in and race upstairs for a quick freshen up and we’re soon on our way.

Our boat is more the sort the locals go on, as opposed to the tourist boats. It’s great fun, the locals all make noise when we go under a bridge so they can hear the echoes and it’s not long before we catch on and join in. 

Wat Arun. Temple of the Dawn, shrouded in scaffolding.

The food just keeps coming, we’re not going hungry tonight. If only they’d clear some of the empty dishes when they bring more full ones, the table is getting very crowded!! The boat departs from somewhere near the Millenium Hilton, travels up the river to the bridge over Rama VIII Rd, under and around and back past the starting point to the Asiatique Markets, turned again and went back to the starting point.

Rama VIII Bridge

It took several hours and the breeze was very refreshing, hopefully I’ll have some good photos. More people had arrived during the day, so our group was even bigger tonight than it was last night. There’s 25 of us now.

Grand Palace

The bus takes us a different way home and I recognize that we’re not far from our hotel, so we ask to be dropped off and walk up the street, getting us home and into bed a bit earlier. As it is, it’s nearly midnight! And we’ve got an early start in the morning.........