I have been away for four weeks on a family holiday to England, stopping for 3 days in Bangkok on the way over. (We got back just over a week ago but I am only now just recovering from the jetlag!)
We stopped over in Bangkok to spend some time with my beautiful Sister-In-Law. She is a doctor and has been on a mission for the past eight months and met us in Bangkok as she would not be returning to the UK until after we have left.
What most people with children know is that when you go on holidays with them, you do things that you may not normally do, often giving yourself permission to do things that you really do want to do, or open yourself up to new experiences.
We went to an Elephant show that showed the history of elephants in Thailand, finishing off with a few tricks such as playing instruments and then kicking soccer(football) goals. Yes, it was 'touristy' but interesting and the highlight was going on an elephant ride thru the park afterwards.
We did a tour to Jim Thompson's House and Vinmanek Palace which is made from Golden Teak.
Jim Thompson was an American who lived in Bangkok and revitalised the Thai silk industry. He was an avid collector so there is much to see in this beautiful house that is now a museum. We really did not spend long enough here to see everything, and my sister-in-law recommends the restuarant there though we didn't get to experience it ourselves.
An interesting bit of information, from our tour guide, was that each day of the week is represented by a colour:
Monday - Yellow
Tuesday - Pink
Wednesday - Green
Thursday - Orange
Friday - Blue
Saturday - Purple
Sunday - Red
We also went swimming in the hotel pool, did some shoopping, and ate out. Not really surprisng then that our time went quickly and that we were back on a plane in no time!
Last time I went to Bangkok was over ten years ago (1996). The air did not feel as heavy this time, it certainly felt cleaner, less polluted. It was still hot & humid, and when it rained you felt like you were drying at the same time!