After our time in Chiang Mai, we flew back down to Bangkok for a few days before heading off to different beach locations. Bill and Val were out here for three weeks so they went down to Railay Beach for 6 nights, my mum only had ten days so we went closer to Bangkok to Samed Island. Before going off to the beach we had one more Bangkok institution to see...Thai Elvis at Radio City on Patpong. There are a number of Thai Elvis impersonators in the city, but the one at Radio City is apparently the best, and you also get to see Tom Jones at the same time.
We went down to Patpong after a posh dinner at the Arun Residence and a walk down through the flower market. Walking down Patpong has to be one of the things that every visitor does. While most people have little interest in actually going in the famous girly 'go go' bars, they are a part of Bangkok that everyone is always curious about. Patpong is one of the best places in Bangkok to get high-quality copied bags, watches and shirts, so you can walk through the market while also getting to glance in some of the bars. It's not a place for kids, but they can be shepherded along the middle if you're worried about protecting their innocence!
The Elvis in Patpong performs 6 nights a week complete with sequins, flares and dodgy pelvic thrusts. He must be at least 60 and still manages to put on quite a show. The evening we took our family we got more than we bargained for, not from Elvis but from other members of the audience. We had been there about 45 minutes and had managed to get a good table with a view. Just as Elvis came on 6 drunken guys and their 'girlfriends' came and moved high stools in front of us. Nick politely asked them to move, then not so politely after they refused, and the guys absolutely flipped and started shouting and pushing Nick. Bill was in the toilet so it was only Nick and three of us ladies with these 6 guys getting aggro, Bill got back and backed up Nick while the pushing and shoving escalated, to the point where one of the guys started to threaten Nick with a bottle. While this was happening one elderly guy was leaning over the table and hurling abuse at our mums, not at me, but at the two most certainly respectable ladies in the bar. You will be pleased to know that the staff did absolutely nothing while all this was happening, just looked on from the door. The whole experience left me really shocked, even after peace had been made. In Thailand, to show any form of aggression or any emotion for that matter, is a complete loss of face. It is for this reason that outside of gang related issues, there are very few incidents of violence or even verbal conflict. What was stranger was the fact that these guys looked like professional business men, all middle aged or nearing retirement yet were out staring fights like young English yobs. Very, very odd experience.
I didn’t want my mum coming all the way from cold dreary England without getting some beach time, so we also managed two nights on Koh Samed while Bill and Val went down to Krabi. We stayed somewhere new on Samed; Mooban Talay Resort. Nice place, slightly more up market than I’m used to on Samed, and definitely pricier, but thankfully, not a cockroach in site. http://www.moobantalay.com/
We returned to Bangkok and took my mum to the airport. Nick and I then had one day to recover and do nothing before starting school and facing Semester 2 and the horror of the Variety Show. Bill and Val came back from Railay, and the following weekend we went up to Kanchanaburi to show Bill the museums, cemeteries, bridge and Hellfire Pass, all in 24 hours. More rushing around, eating lots and being tourists, Kanchanaburi has a lot of history to take in. If you visit Kanchanaburi check out the ‘Oriental Kwai Resort’, a bit out of town, but really nice. http://www.orientalkwai.com/rientalkwai.com/
After all this, Nick and I were just about done. Bill and Val had more in them though and took a day trip up to Ayutthaya to visit the old temples. They also did a bike ride around Bangkok on the wettest day of the year, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much water fall out of the sky. This was definitely one of those trips where you needed a holiday to recover from the holiday.
We went down to Patpong after a posh dinner at the Arun Residence and a walk down through the flower market. Walking down Patpong has to be one of the things that every visitor does. While most people have little interest in actually going in the famous girly 'go go' bars, they are a part of 
1 comment:
Thai Elvis was certainly an experience - the best bit was look on Bill's face when he came back from the loo to see Nick with a guy trying to throttle him! He's not had a 'dust up' like that since he played rugby!
Val
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