This is the third day of my trip. My day of traveling was not a pleasant experience due to a 3 hour plane delay... It would have been happier if we were delayed in the airport rather than sitting on the plane for that amount of time. I thought I had a cold and my ears were at bursting point on the plane... but my arrival in Bangkok has seen that affliction disappear and the hot weather is just what I needed.
I actually arrived at my Hotel around 4.00 am Adelaide time and after a welcoming shower I fell into an exhausted sleep.
My Hotel the Marriott Bangkok is a pleasant respite from the hectic pace of our my tour over the past 6 weeks.
My room overlooks the Chao Phraya River It's dark still, but as I sit at my desk facing the river, the lights of Bangkok are causing long streams of light to dance on the surface of the water.
My family and I are familiar with Bangkok. Keith and I first came here almost 30 years ago to adopt son Joshua. It was a life changing experience. How things have changed in the past 30 years ... I think we have visited almost 20 times and it's some 8 years since my last trip. The change has been even more dramatic than at any other period of time.
Keith and I stayed in some very interesting places... unknowingly our first Guest House "The Maya Guest House" turned out to be the local brothel....!!!! even in those days I was told to "walk more slowly" by the proprietor of the guest house... I was running everywhere, while the locals slid in their flip flops and didn't raise a sweat- an introduction to the pace of Thailand.
That first encounter of Bangkok is a precious memory. At 27, Keith and I were positive in our naivete and embraced the philosophy that we could change the world. Well I guess we did in our own way. Shopping was limited to the local markets and one small department store called Robinsons, which serviced the needs of the expats. Klongs (or small rivers) were everywhere and served as a means for transport and ablutions. Even 8 years ago transport was impossible. A 3 hour trip in those days took me 30 minutes yesterday.
