bangkok part two
It was great to get back to the nice hotel. A very spacious comfortable room with satellite TV and excellent, inexpensive room service. A short hop from the Skytrain too. Pattaravadee returned to work. One of my best friends came to town from Hong Kong for a weekend so that was a good reason to upgrade from street level Thai food to the best Bangkok could offer. It was well worth the additional cost as the food is simply wondeful.
It was a good time to be in Thailand too. The 12th of June would mark the 60th anniversary of the King coming to the throne. He is not only honoured but simply adored by his subjects. Dare you if you say anything bad about him. For instance, a noted Thai broadcaster once referred to him as ´the skipper´(the King likes boats) and was promptly arrested. In Thailand, the King is everthing. I researched a little about him and afterward I found myself liking him too. He does a lot of good work for the poorest of Thailands regions. Kind of of puts the European monarchs to shame.
However my admiration stops at the point of wearing a yellow shirt of some sort to demonstrate my full dedication to him. It seemed everyone in Bangkok was wearing yellow in the run up to the celebration. Countless street vendors satisfied the endless appetitte for all things King. The great pity for me was that I would leave Bangkok on the official celebration day. A lot was planned; a royal barge procession, street parties, fireworks to name a few. Plus every Thai person would be falling over themselves crying at the feet of the great man. They did too. I saw it on TV.
Although I probably wouldn´t have been in a fit condition to partake. My final three days in Bangkok were clouded by a hellish fever. Three days in bed. Not sure of its origin but I was most concerned about the flight to Rio. First, 25 hours on an airplane isn´t a very good remedy. But more importantly I was worried that they would deny me the right the fly. You see, many airports in Asia use thermal scanners as a preventative measure against the spread of SARS. So, imagine me burning up with fever trying to get to departures. Fortunately Bangkok doesn´t have these scanners as I later found out.
So I waved goodbye to South East Asia for now. A wonderful place to travel, with lovely people and amazing things to see. An unmissable part of the world that deserves its fine reputation.
It was a good time to be in Thailand too. The 12th of June would mark the 60th anniversary of the King coming to the throne. He is not only honoured but simply adored by his subjects. Dare you if you say anything bad about him. For instance, a noted Thai broadcaster once referred to him as ´the skipper´(the King likes boats) and was promptly arrested. In Thailand, the King is everthing. I researched a little about him and afterward I found myself liking him too. He does a lot of good work for the poorest of Thailands regions. Kind of of puts the European monarchs to shame.
However my admiration stops at the point of wearing a yellow shirt of some sort to demonstrate my full dedication to him. It seemed everyone in Bangkok was wearing yellow in the run up to the celebration. Countless street vendors satisfied the endless appetitte for all things King. The great pity for me was that I would leave Bangkok on the official celebration day. A lot was planned; a royal barge procession, street parties, fireworks to name a few. Plus every Thai person would be falling over themselves crying at the feet of the great man. They did too. I saw it on TV.
Although I probably wouldn´t have been in a fit condition to partake. My final three days in Bangkok were clouded by a hellish fever. Three days in bed. Not sure of its origin but I was most concerned about the flight to Rio. First, 25 hours on an airplane isn´t a very good remedy. But more importantly I was worried that they would deny me the right the fly. You see, many airports in Asia use thermal scanners as a preventative measure against the spread of SARS. So, imagine me burning up with fever trying to get to departures. Fortunately Bangkok doesn´t have these scanners as I later found out.
So I waved goodbye to South East Asia for now. A wonderful place to travel, with lovely people and amazing things to see. An unmissable part of the world that deserves its fine reputation.
posted by Ciarán at 9:07 a.m.
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