Well we were here in Bangkok. We were staying at the Grand Mercure soi 22 off suckmawhatsit.

We had because of the earlier flight arrived an hour early I said this would be no problem as I was still slow and damn that new airport is big. Dave then set off like a gazelle on speed and me and Suze struggled behind. I was silently simmering. I find that if I am upset instead of being able to say this I get mad.

Anyway we went to find out if we could get our transport earlier and after a lot of misinterpretation we did. Our guide was Eddie and he was as camp as a row of pink chiffon tents. He talked about some of the tours and I only half listened as this was our 5th time in Bangkok. Suze was interested in the Grand palace and we agreed to go as well. Would you believe we had never been? We tried to get in once and were not properly attired and since then never tried again. So we paid 800 bt each and arranged this for Thursday.

We arrived at the hotel and the check in staff were pleasant and I wish I could say check in was swift but it never is anywhere you go. We asked for a non smoking room and Suze wanted a smoking. Both Dave and I stopped smoking 6 years ago and we were very heavy smokers 2 packs a day each. Since then I have turned into one of those people that I did not want to be. I hate it and can smell it at 10,000 paces. Especially after the pneumonia the mere thought of it made me cough.

We went up to our room on the 17th floor and as soon as I opened the door the smell of smoke hit me. I threw a hissy fit and rand reception. To be fair they acted quickly. I was saying the room is very small, smells of smoke I am not happy.
They showed us to a room on the 16th floor that was a disabled room and the door opened out. There was no bath and a wet room. This suited me but I could just imagine the girl wanting to say ‘Is this big enough for yer fat a$$e *****'. This was all in mind as it was smiles and kop kum khas all round.

We decided to walk through the queen’s park to the Emporium.

Oh this place did not do Dave’s blood pressure any good. Whilst me a Suze flitted from expensive bag to bag Dave took on the expression of someone waiting in the dentist. I went into one shop and asked the price of one bag to be told it was 81,000 bht. You have heard of the expression fight or flight well Dave nearly ran suppose it was a good job ‘cos the other alternative was to smack her one !!!

We had something to eat in here and a coffee later in the wanderings. We then went back to the hotel and arranged to meet at 7. We had tried on 2 other occasions to go to Cabbages and condoms and not been able to find it. You are getting the picture now we are bloody useless. The receptionist said oh it’s only 10 minutes…………. Famous last words.

“ should we get a taxi Dave”, ‘ no, she said it was 10 minutes”. Stepping out of the hotel into the sauna that is Bangkok in May takes your breath away not that I had much anyway ! I shuffled along the road and walked along side the lanes and lanes of traffic belching out fumes. Looking at the cockeroaches running out of the drains and wishing I had a saddle to put on them. We got to the crossroads and by this time I was leaving a puddle round me wherever I stood. We asked a young Thai girl who in typical Thai style rang her relatives probably living in England !

We got the general idea that we needed to go further down. We found it and by the time we got there I just wanted to sit inside in the aircon. It was not anyones fault. We had been told it was 10 minutes. Oh well we were here. The tension was pliable. We had the meal and it was fine. We then set off back the intention was to go slowly and have a few drinks on the way back. This all went wrong when we crossed the road to go into Robinsons. I still don’t know how we got across the road and then back again. Why didn’t we just get a taxi ???? we crawled back and then turned into our road. What we did not realize until we were half way down was that it was the road before and there was no cutting through no going back and we did not know where we were going. Dave did his usual marching on ahead without even a look round to see if I was alright. I was getting madder and madder but it was taking me all my time just to keep upright. We eventually got back to the hotel. Nothing much was said I did not trust myself to say anything or I would have exploded. We arranged to meet to go to MBK the morning after at 10am.

I was looking forward to going to MBK and we were going to eat there in the food hall. We were not in the hotel for breakfast so we went to a little place down the road um….ok it can’t always be good.

We went back to the hotel to get a taxi. The chef on the door….don’t ask…… said oh you must take the sky train. I am glad that we went for the Taxi option the sky train from there is quite a way and those stairs are a killer. I also know that you have to change trains and it is about 30bht each. When we got into the taxi I said to the driver if you take us straight to MBK you may get a tip. If you take us to some stupid shop you may get a smack! He understood this and got us to the MBK within 20 minutes the fare 55 bht and I gave him 100. Nice man.

Into MBK and stress level went up by 200%. I really don’t know why Dave came he hates shopping although he manages to buy himself enough…… I do love him really you know I am trying to convey my feelings at the time.

Bags, shoes, bags, shoes oh where to look first. Dave bought a pair of black shoes I got a fake chloe bag he got some white linen pants I got some more crocs.

Then I saw a beautiful large leather weekend bag………….This is where it started to go wrong Dave said why do you want another one you have one…..I have one…..I have one carrier bag but it does not mean to say that I don’t want another. And by the way if I want it………. I seriously thought of buying 3. I did not I left it to go and simmer some more. Hey I had to blame someone I had had a sh+t time and typing this out has made me realize that. We moved on…those escalators oh the vertigo….don’t look down look at my bag, don’t look down.

I am going to continue this later. Reliving it is stressing me out.

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Kiss
God laughs at people who make plans.

C'mon Jax it;s also very theraputic for you and i am P****** myself,here.Um am i supposed to?You are sure one feisty lady.
xo laurs

Ahem. A few comments....

1. "Suze was interested in the Grand palace and we agreed to go as well. Would you believe we had never been? We tried to get in once and were not properly attired and since then never tried again. So we paid 800 bt each and arranged this for Thursday."

800B EACH for the Grand Palace??? My god. How much would a taxi and the entry fees cost?

2. "I went into one shop and asked the price of one bag to be told it was 81,000 bht. .... Dave nearly ran suppose it was a good job ‘cos the other alternative was to smack her one !!!"

This is indeed a wee bit pricy for a hand bag. (It's 4 months salary for a state university teacher) So you did the right thing not buying it. Also choosing to leave in a dignified manner rather than smacking the shop assistant one was the correct thing to do.... otherwise you would have lost face which is THE worst faux pas in Thailand!


3. "We had tried on 2 other occasions to go to Cabbages and condoms and not been able to find it."

For those who don't know cabbages and condoms...it's on soi 12 after the dodgy Turkish bath place on the right... look for the fairy lights. Overpriced and almost entirely patronized by tourists but it's in a good cause...the proceeds go towards AIDS prevention and helping AIDS victims. Also you get a free condom after your meal rather than a chocolate. The quality of the food varies according to what chef is on...usually it's OK and the setting is nice and quite romantic.


4. "This all went wrong when we crossed the road to go into Robinsons. I still don’t know how we got across the road and then back again.

For those of you who do not have Jaxw's intrepid sense of adventure....

If you look carefully at busy roads in Thailand you will see pedestrian bridges with steps leading up to them at frequent intervals. Also you can cross over the road at BTS stations. Both these life saving options can be found very near Robinson's department store at Asoke. In Thailand cars don't stop for pedestrians.... it's quite logical, you risk getting more of a bruise than the driver does.... so it is customary in Thailand for YOU or smaller vehicles like motorcycles to get out of the way.


5. "I said to the driver if you take us straight to MBK you may get a tip. If you take us to some stupid shop you may get a smack! He understood this and got us to the MBK within 20 minutes the fare 55 bht and I gave him 100. Nice man."

The taxi driver probably only actually understood the words "MBK" (and maybe "tip"). But usually any taxi driver would have taken you straight there anyway. Ah well, I'm sure he appreciated the 45% tip! It's usual just to round up to the nearest 10B....sometimes more if it's to the airport or in the wee small hours and he doesn't need to be asked repeatedly to put the meter on.


Ummm finally, the shopping for bags thing.... why on EARTH did you take him with you? It's torture for all concerned! Next time, just put him in a massage place or a bar for a couple of hours and present him with the shopping bill afterwards...then everyone is happy!

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“Not all those who wander are lost.” Tolkien.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Every time I swear I will leave Terry to do something else but he always says he'll come with me! Will I never learn??? He cannot grasp the concept of having a real good look at things and perhaps or perhaps not buying. With him it's what do you want, there it is, buy it!

The only time we got it right was in Singapore when the world cup football was on and I left him watching it in a bar and shopped til I dropped!

__________________
Alison

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It's Better to Burn Out than just to Fade Away!

Dave does not like football !! Mind you that's handy in other ways.

__________________
Kiss
God laughs at people who make plans.

Jaxw I'll chaperone him in a bar next time if you like ... not too keen on football either, though it's marginally better than shopping in MBK. I always get the urge to run out screaming after about 30 minutes too!

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“Not all those who wander are lost.” Tolkien.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Jax, I love how you tell it like it is.

My husband and I nearly divorce ever time we go shopping.

I get the "great, leave me with the kids thing" if I don't take him .... I just can't win!!!

I hope you are feeling better now. Such a shame to happen on your holidays when we all knew how much you were looking forward to it.

I saw the title of this thread, and thought you entered yourself in a Muay Thai match....lolol.....j/k.

Nice reports. Something to remember when you are shopping at Emporium, and similar high end name brand shops, is that there is a 200% import duty on these shops. If it's not made in Thailand, there is a very high duty on the imports, a low of 60%, a high of 200%, depending on the luxury factor of the item.

you have my sympathy, mind you i can sidle with dave too!!! (sorry! lol) ian does this

' ill just pick this up for the kids'....' oh mum would like this '.....' how about this '....

i do the

for **** sake how much longer I didnt come all this way to shop etc etc etc!!!

if you think bangkok causes divorces, try singapore, one shopping mall connected to another for miles, there was nearly a murder!!!!

glad your'e feeling better though hun
xxxx

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" good morning starshine.......the earth says hello "

Love it Jax! These JBRs are bloody hilarious!!!!

Waiting for the next one!

Ali x

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I still believe in paradise. But now at least I know it’s not some place you can look for. Because it’s not where you go … its how you feel for a moment in your life. If you find that moment … it lasts forever.