24th - 27th April 2022 - Bangkok

'Waadee Kharb from Bangkok

The flight from Krabi to Bangkok was an easy hour and then we got a taxi from Don Muang airport to Villa Cha Cha in Soi Rambuttri - just behind Khao San Road. The cabbie was a bit lost and we rang the hotel a bunch of times before we found the joint and checked in to our mould smelling room. Oh well, at least the A/C worked and we could escape the 40 plus degree heat.

At 5pm we met our old Expat mates Manop (Mark) and Preety for drinks and dinner. It was great to catch up with these guys who are Sikh, but were born in Thailand and peak Thai, Punjab and English. Preety impressive. They even rocked up with presents for Jen-Jen. The first hour was spent in a bar in Rambuttri, where we had Leo beers - buy 4 longnecks get the 5th free - OK! We had Thai appetisers before they organised for a service - like Uber eats called Grab - to deliver Jen's favourite wine - Jacob's Creek Double Barrel Shiraz! What a different world 2022 is. Two dudes on motorbike rock up to a Thai bar and Mark transfers 3000 thb to their account and Jen- Jen gets to take her wine into the bar! I fixed Mark up, put the other two bottles in our room and off we went to Khao San Road to see how the last seven years had treated it, and to eat some Indian food. If I thought the world of Rambuttri was different in 2022 I was in no way prepared from Khao San Road!

The street was baking hot and everything is closed in the day. There are a few hostels/restaurants open and a few taxis, but 90% of the doors are closed and traffic uses the place like a normal street?? WTF?? At 5pm the street starts to come alive, but not with the traditional food carts, touts, frog ladies, massage shops, backpacker pubs etc.. The world of LED lights, signature cocktails and loud doof has taken over as the Instagram generation pose for pics in groooovy bars!! The reinvention of this street did not sit well with me, as the independent travel spirit seems to have been gobbled up by the multinational neon-lit social media blah-blah. The 7/11's are closed and no ladyboys screamed at me to enter the beer dens...The oldest and best hostel at the top of the street is now a sterile while subway tile and pink neon designer vodka bar... no grunge on the street anymore just 3rd rate glam...sad man...

Anyway, we found an awesome Indian joint on the second floor of an empty reggae bar and had lamb tikka, paneer, naan, tandoori chicken etc... and we washed it down with a small bottle of Sang Som whiskey... perfect. We then bid goodbye to our old mates with a promise to see them either before we left or in Oz in the near future.

The next day I woke up sick and coughing terribly from the mouldy A/C. Jen asked if we could change room and they changed us into a mould free room at 2pm. We chilled around the pool, ate fruit from the street vendors, had massages etc, before we felt better around 5pm and grabed a taxi to the newest and most glamorous mall in Thailand , the Icon Siam mall. 6 floors of airconditioned shopping heaven. Food courts and stalls, supermarkets, kid's playzones, high-end fashion, tech, toys, it had it all including a water and laser show in the riverside founatin - a bit like Darling Harbour. The river boats cruised by and there was kite making workshop outside were all of the kids were going nuts. We started our gastronomic evening with some Karage (Korean) fried chicken and of course MSR (Mango Sticky Rice.) After an hour or so of walking we decided on a contemporary Chinese joint called Fire Tiger. Baby bok choy w garlic, Duck roasted in 5 spice sauce and pork belly...delish. We then crashed in our new mould free room and woke up feeling much better.

We had a chillaxed day around the pool and A/C on Monday. Massages and pork and rice for dinner in a funky restaurant on Rambuttri called Truffle. Cool bar with DJ stand next to the ancestors shrine... Hey this is Thailand.

Tuesday at sparrows we got a taxi to BKK only to be told that our flight to Sri Lanka had been cancelled!!! They put us up in a schmick joint near the airport called Miracle and fed us three meals and a king room before we left the next morning without a hiccup.

We loved reconnecting with Thailand. Phuket felt great to be beach side and back on the road, Krabi was family friendly and clean, and we checked out a little bit more of Bangkok that we hadn't seen before, saw our mates, and reflected on how travellers/travelling is different post Covid. We do love this country and we're already discussing our return.

Khorb Khun Kharb Thailand, you hold a very special place in out hearts.

Sedge and Jen,

A.K.A.

Grandude and Jen'Jen