21st Episode 'Fractured Little Piggy' in Bangkok

Oops pictures are in the wrong order for the text but you will be able to see what is what.



We watched the German Grandprix and when they were about ten laps from the end of the race Adam and I were feeling very positive about the chances of Mark Webber ending up with a ‘podium finish’. Rosalind however said “no way, his engine will blow up”.
Well it is history now that the prophet of doom was correct, and we have learned not to gainsay her. Sheila had gone to bed earlier still feeling ‘crook’ from her cough and I decided that I would also have an early night and continue reading my next book, ‘Into Thin Air’ written by Jan Krakauer, it features a description of a very ill-fated climbing season on Mt Everest.
Monday 31st July 2006
Rosalind started my morning by taping gently on our bedroom door and announcing that I had a call from Visa card I the U.S.A. Sheila’s emergency replacement card had arrived by courier yesterday, but there was not one for me. I then had to go through the process of requesting an Emergency card for myself. A process I had kicked off yesterday and they telephoned me to check via some ‘security’ questions that I was who I claimed to be and the address to which I wanted my emergency card sent. After the lady was satisfied with my identity she told me that I should get my replacement card on Tuesday afternoon. It seems to be a very efficient service and at this stage I have confidence that they will deliver.
Adam left for work and I decided to forgo breakfast and take up Rosalind’s offer to go to the local hospital and get my paw checked as my daily walks are still a bit painful and not getting much if any easier.
It was about 1230 when we arrived at the hospital, just a ten minute drive with Khun Boon Chuay. Very impressive hospital, clean, comfortable and a quick process that had me from reception, though x-ray via a very pleasant young doctor and back to accounts payable in about an hour.
The verdict was fractured fifth toe on the left foot. The treatment plan was, “don’t walk too much if it hurts a lot, and take some pain killers and calcium tablets to help the healing of the bone”. “Return in three weeks for another x-ray.”
When we returned to Rosalind in the waiting area Sheila announced, “See I told you there is nothing that can be done, it’s just broken.”
We were much relieved when it came time to pay the account and the all up cost including the calcium tablets and two x-rays, was 1,680 baht or 56 Australian dollars. We will also be able to claim that back from our travel insurance.
After we returned to the apartment we had lunch then Sheila and Rosalind went shopping to look for some replacement items that were taken in the robbery.
I have included some pictures of the plastic patient identity card I was given, the dinky little bag in which my calcium tablets were provided and the paperwork that was generated. I must say that from first hand experience I can only echo my earlier opinion that the Thai health system functions a lot better than the Australian system and serves about four times as many people. Of course I have no way of knowing, at the moment, what services would be available in rural areas where the majority of the Thai people live.

My patient identification card, dinky bag and calcium tablets.

‘He has fracture of the fifth toe of left foot’


The ‘next’ appointment and the account

20th Episode of Bangkok days and Nights

Bangkok railway station












The departure board to Bangkok railway station


28th July continued:
There was much post-mortem discussion about the bag snatch and of course Sheila felt violated about the incident in only the way a lady can feel about having her handbag stolen.
Dinner was a huge beef lasagne prepared by Khun Noy under supervision from Rosalind, it was great comfort food and the huge green salad that accompanied it made us feel a little more virtuous. However Sheila and I paid the price as we both endured each other having 'bad' wind, though of course Sheila felt more pain both in her stomach and her nostrils.
29th July
As we postponed our trip to Chiang Mai we felt a bit disoriented feeling that we should be in a different place. I went for my usual walk, though it was more of a hobble or hop, patting the heads of all four dogs who were pushing each other out of the way to get their head scruffed.
The two dogs with the longest hair were now sporting a close clipped look and I guess that was why they were missing the other day.
I struggled to the paper shop in Suanplu and the lady to whom I had given the photograph gave me a 5 baht discount on my paper. I also picked up the English translation of the Thai Police report, it cost 400 baht for the one page, that is about 14 Australian dollars, not bad when a couple of other places gave me quotes for 1,500 baht. Deciding to return via the market I called into the video shop and was pleased to hire 'Nanny Macphee' for 30 baht overnight. I could have saved myself the $2 though as when I got back Sheila and Rosalind said that they had seen it and Adam said he did not want to; Ce la vie, or mai pen rai. A more well received purchase was a couple of bunches of mint for 5 baht. I also managed to get some thin 'elastoplasts' to bind my two smallest toes together hoping that the larger one will act as a splint for the smallest one. But as Sheila says, "there really is not much we can do with it."Sheila and Rosalind decided that a bit of retail therapy was needed for Sheila and they went cruising in the shopping centres looking for sunglasses, bags etc to replace the ones that were stolen. When they returned much later they had 'only' bought some very large slabs of pate for dinner and various sauces etc to accompany it. Very few Thai wear sunglasses, there is not much direct sunlight, and the only ones on offer were 'wrap around' fashion statements that would not be suitable for the prescription variety that Sheila needed. Handbags will be the focus of a more intensive search on another day as more new season stock arrives.
Adam went to the gym, but I decided to stay home as my sore toe would make my normally powerful 'dolphin kick' into a 'tadpole wiggle'.
I watched various sporting events on the television including badminton, golf, and American football from last season. Adam came back from the gym and we just 'veged out' in front of the television until the girls got back from shopping. Truth be told we 'veged out' until dinner had been prepared and then we ate that.
I also kept up to date, via the computer. with the scores of the New Zealand versus Australia rugby union match about which I will say very little; from the scores it was a close result, but I did mention New Zealand first. We watched the qualifying runs for the German Formula one car race then in response to a special request from Sheila we watched the A.F.I award for 'Life time achievement' being presented to Sir Sean Connery. I must it was quite enjoyable and a vast improvement on most award ceremonies.
Adam was keen for us to watch 'Gladiator' as Sheila and I had expressed some antipathy towards the claimed acting prowess of Russell Crowe.
However Adam was unable to find his DVD copy and instead we watched 'DOWNFALL' which I think won an Oscar as the best foreign language film in the year that it was nominated. I was very impressed it would have been very difficult to make a film about Adolf Hitler in 'Der Fuhrer's Bunker' featuring his last days in April 1945 without bumping into various political, racial and religious concerns, but I think that the director and producer Oliver Hirschbiegel and Bernd Eichinger managed very well and have crafted and excellent film.
Sunday 30th July 2006
After my late night film experience and it being a Sunday I was not keen to rise too early and I managed to fulfil my ambition. After breakfast I decided to crawl down to Suan Plu and return the unwatched DVD of 'Nanny Macphee' and buy my paper. On the way various taxi drivers stopped their cabs enquiring if I needed a cab to relieve my struggles to progress down the road.
I declined believing that I need my daily exercise and that suffering a little is good for the soul.
I also showed the security guards opposite some pictures of our dog Chloe, that we had received from our friends June and Eric. The photographs showed Chloe in a smart woollen coat that Bette Paterson had made for her to keep her warm. I tried to explain to the guards that she needed the coat as it is cold in Australia at this time, but I think cold is a concept that the Thai do not experience therefore do not understand.
On the way back I called into the 'Tops' supermarket to get some soy milk as I would need some in the morning for my cereal and Sheila and Rosalind had been unable to find any for me in any of the large shopping centres they went into. Hmm I guess that Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuiton don't do much in the way of soy milk.
Adam went to the gym about 1230 for a work out and Sheila and Rosalind followed at about 1415 to do Pilates, again I declined feeling that my laps would lack my dynamic kick.We watched the German Grandprix and to be continued

Bangkok Bag snatch and the French Connection

25th July 2006
I visited the dogs on the way to Suanplu to get my Bangkok Post and the dogs were very lethargic. Not that I could blame them as it was very hot and humid. By the time I had walked home via the market my shirt and shorts were wringing wet with perspiration and I decided not to go to the gym with Rosalind and Sheila while they went for their Pilates sessions with their Finnish teacher.
I decided to have a siesta instead after starting another book. This one is a Dan Brown novel called ‘Angels and Demons’. Adam told me that he did not think it was worth reading and after just a few pages I tend to agree, but I persevered as it was soporific enough to assist my slumbers.
Dinner was home made beef burgers with ratatouille and rice, very nice but then again I am on the ‘see food’ diet.
We watched ‘air crash investigations’ on the ‘History’ channel, a fun program just prior to sleeping. Sheila had a persistent cough, which I hoped was not going to keep us both awake.
26th July 2006
After a restless night Sheila got up early and then I had some sleep before wandering out to the fridge in search of sustenance, however their was no soy milk for my breakfast so I decided to walk up to the supermarket get my paper and also a bottle of soy milk. In my haste to collect my wallet from our bedroom I hurried around the corner without noticing that Khun Noy, meanwhile had mopped the wooden floor and there was a liberal amount of water still on the floor. I skidded across the floor on my backside with two little toes jamming into the doorpost. Khun Noy came rushing to see if I was ok and I indicated that I had survived, but later I used the Thai English dictionary to describe Khun Noy as an assassin. This observation did not cause Khun Noy to be contrite in fact it produced gales of laughter, and much amusement whenever I tried to hide when Khun Noy brought her mop out. Sheila thought it would be a good idea for us to go to Chiang Mai for a few days at the weekend and with Rosalind’s help booked a hotel for us then went with Rosalind and Khun Bon Chuay to the railway station to make the travel reservations. It is a twelve hour trip we wanted to do it overnight one way and during the day on the other, so that we would get to see the scenery at least once, but travel while sleeping on the return trip.
When Sheila and Rosalind returned we decided to watch a DVD film called ‘Message in a Bottle’ starring Kevin Costner. The film was a great disappointment even for the aficionados of the ‘chick flick’ genre.
Thursday 27th July 2006
We all awoke reasonably early and were fed and watered by mid-morning. Adam left for work while Sheila and Rosalind started to check started to do some checking by telephone of the details for inclusion in the next Bangkok Guide.
Later Rosalind got ready for a Pilates class and Sheila said that she would go to a supermarket called ‘Villa’ to get some supplies for our train trip in the morning. I announced that I might walk up the soi and get my copy of the Bangkok Post.
“How is your foot John”, Sheila enquired solicitously?
“Not bad, I think” I replied stoically (and stupidly) as I placed my foot on a stool for inspection.
“Hm I think your toe might be broken”, was Sheila’s assessment.
“Yup I think you could be right”, I concurred awaiting much sympathy.
“Still they’re a bit like broken fingers aren’t they, not much we can do about it, except perhaps tape them together,” Sheila’s diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan.
Being somewhat naïve I then led with the chin;
“I might still go up the soi to get a paper”, I announced, thinking it would be a bit of a test for my toe.
“How come you don’t want to come shopping with me, you never want to go shopping” declared Sheila.
“Yes, I don’t want to go shopping, I will get a paper if I can get my shoe on”, I retorted.
I hobbled down to see the dogs with only one putting in an appearance and as I had no food he was not impressed either.
It was painful to walk up to the end of the soi and back and when I returned I asked Khun Noy for a plastic bowl so I could immerse my foot in some cold water.
I sat and reads the paper while my foot cooled off and after an hour or so I lifted my foot from the water and the blue bruising on two toes was very obvious.
Sheila came back from the supermarket with the food supplies for the train trip and casually announced, “By the way I couldn’t find any tape for your toes”.
“No worries”, I assured Sheila, though I had hoped that I might have at least got some bandage to hold the smallest toes together. Adam had to take a client to dinner so we had an early meal and Rosalind got into her pyjamas to watch Dr Zhivago, our film for the night. Dinner was another piece of magic from Khun Noy it was Red Snapper in tempura batter with a mango and chilli salsa and a salad of various lettuce types and rocket. “Yummy” is a poor adjective!
We planned an early night as we were getting up before 0600 to leave, with Khun Boon Chuay, for the station at 0700. Well at least I did and as Sheila was still coughing she organised a bed on the sofa in the television room in case she was going to keep me wake. Nice thought but I find it heard to sleep without Sheila, and also hard to sleep with her when she is coughing.
I left the ladies watching the film and went to bed.
28th July 2006
Sheila and Rosalind finished watching the film about 2359 and although both said it was ok, the retrospective viewing made the British accents appear so out of context, but I guess it is still a major problem for film makers directing a film in a ‘foreign’ context with the language being English.
Sheila then did some ironing came to bed for about half and hour then got up and had a chat to Adam for half and hour when he came in from his night out with the client.
Sheila then woke up at 0430 and thought that she might as well make the sandwiches for the trip. At 0500 Sheila came and woke me and proceeded to shower and finish the rest of her packing of our one case. At about 0538 I leapt out of bed, well crawled out of bed and had a long shower to waken me. Sheila and I had a robust breakfast and at about 0615 Rosalind wandered into the kitchen fully booted and spurred announcing that she was going to the station with us.
Adam staggered through to the kitchen at 0645 to locate and down his third litre of milk; a night out with the boys in Bangkok can be very dehydrating.
Adam engaged auto-pilot and landed back in his bed wishing us “have great times in Chiang Mai”.
Rosalind Sheila and I found Khun Boon Chuay in the car park and we set off to the railway station.
Khun Boon Chuay was amazed at how little traffic there was, I thought it was very busy, but as he pointed out it was moving constantly and this was unusual for a Friday.
We arrived at the station at about 0730 and when we found out that we could not board until 0800 for the 0830 departure Rosalind and Sheila suggested that we have a coffee. We found a small café called ‘Black Canyon’ on a mezzanine floor overlooking the main arrival/departure hall. I decided not to have any drinks and just settled back to people watch while Rosalind bought two coffees. We found a seat near the edge of the floor and as we were manoeuvring our seats, and nice French couple near by moved a couple of chairs to help or access. At a few minutes to eight we noticed a line of railway policemen,
‘forming up’ in front of a picture of the previous Thai King. We were intrigued by this and even more when at eight ‘o’clock the ‘bips’ on the loudspeaker system announced the hour followed by the Thai national anthem. This was interesting as all the Thai national and many of the foreigners stood in respect. After this Rosalind said, “well we should probably walk down to the train.”
“My bag has gone” announced Sheila in a quiet voice.
“What do you mean your bag has gone” I declaimed?
“Someone has taken my bag it has gone”.
“Nah it can’t have been no-one has been anywhere near us”, I claimed with certainty, “you must have left it in the car”.
Rosalind pulled her telephone out of her bag saying “yes I don’t think anyone could have taken it.”
A quick call to Khun Boon Chuay confirmed that Sheila was correct; her hand bag had been stolen. We stood there stunned there was disbelief that this could have happened right under our noses. Sheila’s bag had been wedged between her leg and the case and when she noticed that the pressure of the bag was less she had moved her leg towards the case and that was when she knew it was gone. Rosalind used her phone to cancel our credit cards, I got a refund on our train tickets, with no problem and we then sought out the railway police who had a police box on the main concourse. As we tried to communicate what had happened with our limited Thai and their little English, we became aware of a distressed Thai lady who had emerged from another café on the ground floor her bag had been stolen also. The police were quick to check their video surveillance cameras, but said that there was a ‘blind spot’ where Sheila’s bag had been stolen. We were accompanied to the railway police station where we made a formal report of the incident. This was the next challenge as the report was in Thai and we did not share much understanding of each other’s language. It was good that Rosalind was with us as she could translate much of the proceedings, it would have been near impossible without her. We kept saying that we did not spot any ‘bad guys’ and were still shocked that it could have happened. It was not until about 1030 that we left to go back to the apartment and abort the trip for at least this weekend.
Rosalind telephoned the Sheraton Hotel in Chiang Mai and also Thai Air Asia and everyone was very happy to change our reservations with no penalty. We got back to a very surprised Khun Noy and a concerned Adam; with us we had our copy of the police report in Thai that I took to Suanplu to get translated for our insurance company. It was to take a day and cost 400 baht.
Sheila and I ate the sandwiches that she had prepared and I had to shower as my trip to Suanplu had left me soaking wet.
It was only about then did we collectively realise that the helpful French couple would have witnessed what had happened and would have alerted us to the danger except they were the ones who were closest to us and they were the ones who disappeared at the same time as Sheila’s bag. Sheila also recalled that there was another French couple at a table a bit further away from us and the whole quartet vanished at the same time with us realizing the significance
Sheila was still feeling very shaken, and went to have a nap especially needed since she had not slept much the night before.
The lost items included: Sheila Gucci handbag, Mulberry purse, Motorola mobile telephone with just 10$ pre-paid credit, expensive reading glasses, prescription sun-glasses, some French make-up, French pah merde! Oh and cash about 5,000 baht. We were pleased that Sheila had asked me that morning to put a couple of thousand baht in my wallet. Sheila checked ‘on-line’ that our request for the cancellation of our credit cards had happened and we were pleased to find it had. So at the end of the day no-one was hurt apart from our pride and the ‘bad guys’ only got about 170 Australian dollars that would be of any use to them. The spectacles etc were of no value to them as quick action on the credit card meant that was going to be a high risk no reward option for them. Well we did see our trip to Chiang Mai as an adventure but did not expect that it would get so exciting so soon. We will try again next week and I hope that the French Connection will be careless and try the same game next week; I will be looking for them.
Also I decided that I should ask the railway police if any of their cameras had been operating at the time as I thought I could identify one of the women. I hoped that would be the case, but Rosalind suspects that there would have been no film even if the cameras do exist.

First lot of missing Bangkok shopping pictures

Trying for the first few

The missing Bangkok shopping pictures

I Hope

17th Episode of Bangkok days and nights

I am having problems up-loading pictures so I will try and do another lot after this.

The pumpkin soup was excellent and was washed down with quite a few ‘Tim Tams’ and ‘Chocolate Royals’; well it was Sunday so we could spoil ourselves a bit.
In the evening we watched some old episodes of ‘The Office’, the English version, ‘Porridge’ starring a very young Ronnie Barker and then an old ‘Inspector Lynley mystery’ they are oldies but goodies, just like Sheila and I.




Monday 25th July 2006
A couple of days ago Sheila, at long last, received a parcel from Warnambool in Victoria. The parcel contained two tops and two pair of pants, all made of crushed silk that had been made to order by a lady who Sheila had met at a ‘Fibre Muster’ in Orange, a few months ago. This was the second time that we had received them as they had been delivered before we had left Bathurst, but had borne no resemblance to the goods ordered and had been returned for an attempt to ‘make them good’. Sheila was very disappointed that they were no better and after a suitably crafted e-mail from Adam, Sheila’s deposit was returned and I was to post the parcel back to Warnambool.
I took the package to the Suanplu post office where the usual helpful lady provided me with a box and a little plastic package. After I addressed the box I opened the little plastic bag and found inside four strips of strong clear tape and a small ball of string. I sealed the after box, after succeeding in the challenge of removing the backing strip, and then wound the string four times around the box and finished it off with a few ‘granny’ knots. I took it back to the friendly lady at the counter and mentioned that I wished to register the parcel and send it via the Sea Air and Land option, which is cheaper. “For SAL you have to go to other counters” and she waved towards the fifty or so seats behind me that were filled with people waiting for service at the other counters. “No worries, airmail then”, I decided very quickly. I filled out a little form required for an airmail package and the box was adorned with ten very beautiful stamps. They were not just moistened they were glued to the box with large quantities of liquid glue. I think a procedure to stop stamps being pilfered from the post.
After leaving the parcel in very capable hands I took my camera memory card to five shops trying to get some prints made. In the fifth one I was successful it was nearly opposite my usual paper shop. It took about fifteen minutes to get nine pictures printed, which I thought was good service. The photographs were prints of the pictures that I had taken a few days earlier, featuring my paper shop lady and various other ladies from the market also my barber. I was following up on a suggestion of Sheila’s that I provide copies to all of the models. As I bought my daily paper I delivered the first photograph and the lady appeared very pleased. This pleasure was emulated by all the other ladies, particularly the fishmonger who proudly showed her photograph to other stall holders. The banana seller and the seamstress were also pleased to show them to their neighbours. And all of the ladies in the barber shop were effusive in their thanks; a great idea Sheila.
Rosalind had her Thai teacher arriving to give her private tutoring and Sheila thought that it would be appropriate to give them some privacy persuading me to go shopping with her to the modern shopping centres and not my usual haunts.
Khun Boon Chuay drove us to the first shopping centre called ‘Emporium’. Part of the purpose of the trip was an attempt by me to return the VCD called ‘Searching for Neverland’, as Rosalind already had the DVD version.
Adam and Rosalind thought that I had ‘Buckley’s hope’ of returning it as they believe that the concept of ‘buyers beware’ is a strongly held maxim. If you make a mistake it is your problem if you change your mind. However when I approached the desk and explained “I bought this as a present, but they already have,” the young lady checked that the cellophane was intact, the barcode correct and replied “No problems”.
Pleased with this helpful service I bought a DVD called ‘Message in a Bottle’ and a double VCD selected by Sheila, ‘Dr Zhivago’ the older and superior version starring Geraldine Chaplin, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, Rita Tushingham and Omar Sharif.
Sheila asked that I take some pictures of the modern shopping centres so that people might see a different version to the one I usually photograph.
On the way I took a photograph of a statue illustrating two Thai boys and their ‘fighting cocks’.


I have had to fiddle with the contrast and brightness to make the statues more visible.
Sheila in front of one of her favourite bag shops.





Sheila looking like a ‘kid in a lolly shop’ “which one do I sample first?”
Al though not very obvious ‘Hermes’ of Paris, though the tower is a clue.



The glass elevator that reminded me of ‘Willie Wonker’.



A coffee shop on the ground floor

Another ‘bag’ shop of which Sheila is very fond.


The magnetism of the ‘Sale’ sign.



One of the few ‘male’ shops I saw.




A collection of ‘ethnic minority’ dolls


One of the famous ‘Jim Thompson’ silk shops

Sheila recharging her batteries before the next foray, “just what do I do with this plastic from around this blueberry cheesecake?”



A supermarket aisle on the top floor
The sky-train which we took to the next shopping centre ‘Central’ at Chitlom
The elevated track on which the sky-train runs.


Some views of inside Central follow



Some of the rare greenery in Bangkok


On the sky-train

One of the sky-train stations


We bought a small non-stick pot for Adam and Rosalind and a very small omelette pan for ourselves. They were in a ‘Sale’ so of course one saves a lot of money shopping during a sale. I still do not understand why ladies don’t realise that one can save even more by NOT shopping!
The yellow shirts are worn by the Thai people as an indication of their respect for their King.
Don’t tell John Howard, though I think his shirt would be a version of brown.
When I got home I had an e-mail from a Thai author of a book that Adam had bought. I made contact with him offering to help correct the ‘Thinglish’. I was invited to visit the author at his home about three hours down the Gulf of Thailand; but the family have ‘convinced’ me that I should not go as it might not be good for my health. Hmm!
Dinner was salmon steaks with a variety of dark green vegetable material, Adam got home later from the gym and opted for an omelette, I thought a better option than the green things from the dark lagoon.
We watched some more old ‘Seinfeld’ programs and I think that I am getting the dialogue off pat and quote the script just before the characters. This was followed by an episode of ‘House’ that Sheila and I were pleased to see as we had missed that particular program.
I then went to bed and finished reading a novel called ‘The Piano Tuner’ written by Daniel Mason. An enjoyable adventure story set in Burma in the 19th century.
25th July 2006
I visited the dogs on the way to Suanplu to get my Bangkok Post and the dogs were very lethargic. Not that I could blame them as it was very hot and humid. By the time I had walked home via the market my shirt and shorts were wringing wet with perspiration and I decided not to go to the gym with Rosalind and Sheila while they went for their Pilates sessions with their Finnish teacher.
I decided to have a siesta instead after starting another book. This one is a Dan Brown novel called ‘Angels and Demons’. Adam told me that he did not think it was worth reading and after just a few pages I tend to agree, but I persevered as it was soporific enough to assist my slumbers.
Dinner was home made beef burgers with ratatouille and rice, very nice but then again I am on the ‘see food’ diet.
We watched ‘air crash investigations’ on the ‘History’ channel, a fun program just prior to sleeping. Sheila had a persistent cough, which I hoped was not going to keep us both awake.
26th July 2006
After a restless night Sheila got up early and then I had some sleep before wandering out to the fridge in search of sustenance, however their was no soy milk for my breakfast so I decided to walk up to the supermarket get my paper and also a bottle of soy milk. In my haste to collect my wallet from our bedroom I hurried around the corner without noticing that Khun Noy, meanwhile had mopped the wooden floor and there was a liberal amount of water still on the floor. I skidded across the floor on my backside with two little toes jamming into the doorpost. Khun Noy came rushing to see if I was ok and I indicated that I had survived, but later I used the Thai English dictionary to describe Khun Noy as an assassin. This observation did not cause Khun Noy to be contrite in fact it produced gales of laughter, and much amusement whenever I tried to hide when Khun Noy brought her mop out. Sheila thought it would be a good idea for us to go to Chiang Mai for a few days at the weekend and with Rosalind’s help booked a hotel for us then went with Rosalind and Khun Bon Chuay to the railway station to make the travel reservations. It is a twelve hour trip we wanted to do it overnight one way and during the day on the other, so that we would get to see the scenery at least once, but travel while sleeping on the return trip.

Sixteenth episode of Bangkok Days and nights

I have had a few problems trying to 'up-load' the pictures and have broken it into three lots I hope.


The pumpkin soup was excellent and was washed down with quite a few ‘Tim Tams’ and ‘Chocolate Royals’; well it was Sunday so we could spoil ourselves a bit.
In the evening we watched some old episodes of ‘The Office’, the English version, ‘Porridge’ starring a very young Ronnie Barker and then an old ‘Inspector Lynley mystery’ they are oldies but goodies, just like Sheila and I.




Monday 25th July 2006
A couple of days ago Sheila, at long last, received a parcel from Warnambool in Victoria. The parcel contained two tops and two pair of pants, all made of crushed silk that had been made to order by a lady who Sheila had met at a ‘Fibre Muster’ in Orange, a few months ago. This was the second time that we had received them as they had been delivered before we had left Bathurst, but had borne no resemblance to the goods ordered and had been returned for an attempt to ‘make them good’. Sheila was very disappointed that they were no better and after a suitably crafted e-mail from Adam, Sheila’s deposit was returned and I was to post the parcel back to Warnambool.
I took the package to the Suanplu post office where the usual helpful lady provided me with a box and a little plastic package. After I addressed the box I opened the little plastic bag and found inside four strips of strong clear tape and a small ball of string. I sealed the after box, after succeeding in the challenge of removing the backing strip, and then wound the string four times around the box and finished it off with a few ‘granny’ knots. I took it back to the friendly lady at the counter and mentioned that I wished to register the parcel and send it via the Sea Air and Land option, which is cheaper. “For SAL you have to go to other counters” and she waved towards the fifty or so seats behind me that were filled with people waiting for service at the other counters. “No worries, airmail then”, I decided very quickly. I filled out a little form required for an airmail package and the box was adorned with ten very beautiful stamps. They were not just moistened they were glued to the box with large quantities of liquid glue. I think a procedure to stop stamps being pilfered from the post.
After leaving the parcel in very capable hands I took my camera memory card to five shops trying to get some prints made. In the fifth one I was successful it was nearly opposite my usual paper shop. It took about fifteen minutes to get nine pictures printed, which I thought was good service. The photographs were prints of the pictures that I had taken a few days earlier, featuring my paper shop lady and various other ladies from the market also my barber. I was following up on a suggestion of Sheila’s that I provide copies to all of the models. As I bought my daily paper I delivered the first photograph and the lady appeared very pleased. This pleasure was emulated by all the other ladies, particularly the fishmonger who proudly showed her photograph to other stall holders. The banana seller and the seamstress were also pleased to show them to their neighbours. And all of the ladies in the barber shop were effusive in their thanks; a great idea Sheila.
Rosalind had her Thai teacher arriving to give her private tutoring and Sheila thought that it would be appropriate to give them some privacy persuading me to go shopping with her to the modern shopping centres and not my usual haunts.
Khun Boon Chuay drove us to the first shopping centre called ‘Emporium’. Part of the purpose of the trip was an attempt by me to return the VCD called ‘Searching for Neverland’, as Rosalind already had the DVD version.
Adam and Rosalind thought that I had ‘Buckley’s hope’ of returning it as they believe that the concept of ‘buyers beware’ is a strongly held maxim. If you make a mistake it is your problem if you change your mind. However when I approached the desk and explained “I bought this as a present, but they already have,” the young lady checked that the cellophane was intact, the barcode correct and replied “No problems”.
Pleased with this helpful service I bought a DVD called ‘Message in a Bottle’ and a double VCD selected by Sheila, ‘Dr Zhivago’ the older and superior version starring Geraldine Chaplin, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, Rita Tushingham and Omar Sharif.
Sheila asked that I take some pictures of the modern shopping centres so that people might see a different version to the one I usually photograph.
On the way I took a photograph of a statue illustrating two Thai boys and their ‘fighting cocks’.


I have had to fiddle with the contrast and brightness to make the statues more visible.
Sheila in front of one of her favourite bag shops.





Sheila looking like a ‘kid in a lolly shop’ “which one do I sample first?”
Al though not very obvious ‘Hermes’ of Paris, though the tower is a clue.



The glass elevator that reminded me of ‘Willie Wonker’.



A coffee shop on the ground floor

Another ‘bag’ shop of which Sheila is very fond.


The magnetism of the ‘Sale’ sign.



One of the few ‘male’ shops I saw.




A collection of ‘ethnic minority’ dolls


One of the famous ‘Jim Thompson’ silk shops

Sheila recharging her batteries before the next foray, “just what do I do with this plastic from around this blueberry cheesecake?”



A supermarket aisle on the top floor
The sky-train which we took to the next shopping centre ‘Central’ at Chitlom
The elevated track on which the sky-train runs.


Some views of inside Central follow



Some of the rare greenery in Bangkok


On the sky-train

One of the sky-train stations


We bought a small non-stick pot for Adam and Rosalind and a very small omelette pan for ourselves. They were in a ‘Sale’ so of course one saves a lot of money shopping during a sale. I still do not understand why ladies don’t realise that one can save even more by NOT shopping!
The yellow shirts are worn by the Thai people as an indication of their respect for their King.
Don’t tell John Howard, though I think his shirt would be a version of brown.
When I got home I had an e-mail from a Thai author of a book that Adam had bought. I made contact with him offering to help correct the ‘Thinglish’. I was invited to visit the author at his home about three hours down the Gulf of Thailand; but the family have ‘convinced’ me that I should not go as it might not be good for my health. Hmm!
Dinner was salmon steaks with a variety of dark green vegetable material, Adam got home later from the gym and opted for an omelette, I thought a better option than the green things from the dark lagoon.
We watched some more old ‘Seinfeld’ programs and I think that I am getting the dialogue off pat and quote the script just before the characters. This was followed by an episode of ‘House’ that Sheila and I were pleased to see as we had missed that particular program.
I then went to bed and finished reading a novel called ‘The Piano Tuner’ written by Daniel Mason. An enjoyable adventure story set in Burma in the 19th century.
25th July 2006
I visited the dogs on the way to Suanplu to get my Bangkok Post and the dogs were very lethargic. Not that I could blame them as it was very hot and humid. By the time I had walked home via the market my shirt and shorts were wringing wet with perspiration and I decided not to go to the gym with Rosalind and Sheila while they went for their Pilates sessions with their Finnish teacher.
I decided to have a siesta instead after starting another book. This one is a Dan Brown novel called ‘Angels and Demons’. Adam told me that he did not think it was worth reading and after just a few pages I tend to agree, but I persevered as it was soporific enough to assist my slumbers.
Dinner was home made beef burgers with ratatouille and rice, very nice but then again I am on the ‘see food’ diet.
We watched ‘air crash investigations’ on the ‘History’ channel, a fun program just prior to sleeping. Sheila had a persistent cough, which I hoped was not going to keep us both awake.
26th July 2006
After a restless night Sheila got up early and then I had some sleep before wandering out to the fridge in search of sustenance, however their was no soy milk for my breakfast so I decided to walk up to the supermarket get my paper and also a bottle of soy milk. In my haste to collect my wallet from our bedroom I hurried around the corner without noticing that Khun Noy, meanwhile had mopped the wooden floor and there was a liberal amount of water still on the floor. I skidded across the floor on my backside with two little toes jamming into the doorpost. Khun Noy came rushing to see if I was ok and I indicated that I had survived, but later I used the Thai English dictionary to describe Khun Noy as an assassin. This observation did not cause Khun Noy to be contrite in fact it produced gales of laughter, and much amusement whenever I tried to hide when Khun Noy brought her mop out. Sheila thought it would be a good idea for us to go to Chiang Mai for a few days at the weekend and with Rosalind’s help booked a hotel for us then went with Rosalind and Khun Bon Chuay to the railway station to make the travel reservations. It is a twelve hour trip we wanted to do it overnight one way and during the day on the other, so that we would get to see the scenery at least once, but travel while sleeping on the return trip.

Second lot of shopping pictures in Bangkok

I hope that they are in sequence

Second lot of pictures of a shopping day

I hope that they are more or less in sequence.

Pictures of a day shopping in Bangkok

To show some different scenes to the ones I usualy photograph.

16th Episode of Bangkok days and Nights

I had forgotten to include two pictures from yesterday; one shows a typical shrine at a corner of a soi in Suanplu and the other an apartment block nearby.


Thursday 22nd July 2006 continued:
Adam was having a night out with the boys from his office, so we had a prawn stew and settled down to watch ‘Walk the Line’ starring Reese Witherspoon and Joachim Phoenix. We all enjoyed the film very much especially Sheila and I because some many of the tunes were very familiar from our teen age years. Sheila and I were particularly impressed with Reese Witherspoon and her portrayal of June Carter, before seeing her in this film we had the impression, from women’s magazines that perhaps she was just one of the Hollywood bimbos. We revised our opinion completely and believe that she thoroughly deserved the Oscar for her performance. Joachim we thought was weak by comparison, but conceded that Johnny Cash was a ‘huge’ figure to try and portray.
Friday 23rd July 2006
This was another of our typical days involving Pilates and swimming with excursions to buy the Bangkok Post and feed the dogs. Friday afternoon/evening we watched another film starring Reese Witherspoon, ‘Legally Blonde’ and had a lot of laughs and decided that we should also see ‘Legally Blond II’, hoping that it does not suffer the normal curse of the sequel. Dinner was cashew chicken with ginger and other herbs and spices, “oh the trials set by a gourmand housekeeper.
Saturday 24th July 2006
The brevity of these notes are a result of me just trying to recall the days without any notes and my memory is not what it should be, I think.
Despite her wound in her foot Rosalind and Sheila decided that they needed some retail therapy while I walked to the French pastry shop to get some Danish pastries, why they are not called Danish pastry shops is one of life’s mysteries.
Adam and I went to the gym where I pushed myself to do eighty laps while Adam had a good work out with his personal trainer. When Adam and got back to the apartment we sat down to watch another movie ‘Groundhog day’ starring Bill Murray, it seemed a bit eerie to watch again a movie about a day that keeps being repeated. But we still enjoyed it very much laughing at bits we remembered and those that we had not.
Sheila and Rosalind struggled in from shopping, Rosalind with her sore foot and Sheila with a number of blisters as she wore her new shoes, but was pleased with the fact that her knees and back were not aching, and this proved the worth of the design of her ‘Earth’ shoes. Sheila had brought me a ‘Jim Thompson’ black polo shirt that I am very pleased with, the cotton is very soft and smooth, sort of matches my personality.
Rosalind had booked dinner at 2000 at the ‘New York Steak House’ in the ‘Marriott’ hotel. Rosalind had also bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate Adam exceeding his profit budget for the financial year by 32%. We drank champagne on the balcony watching the sunset over the Bangkok sky-line, and at 2000 Rosalind telephoned the hotel and said that we were on our way and had been delayed by traffic. We left the apartment soon afterwards with Adam driving and a surprising lull in the traffic we got to the restaurant at about 2040. As we approached the restaurant we noticed two Thai dancers performing in one of the coffee rooms. Their costumes were exquisite from the gold pointed caps to their heavy gold embroidered jackets and skirts. If one can imagine the most glorious costumes from ‘The King and I’ then you will be able to picture the scene. Their movements seem to require a gentle dislocation of their shoulders and fingers yet performed with such grace it is truly awe inspiring in the beauty of the dancers and their movements.
The corridor to the New York Steak House is a floor of black marble along which stretches a reflection pool with open water lilies floating tranquilly on its surface.
The appropriate single adjective for the New York Steak House is Elegance with the capital ‘E’. Our table was in fact four tables put together each of them a metre square and covered by thick white line tablecloths. Our chairs were high wing backed chairs upholstered in black silk with very deep, but firm cushioning with a black silk bolster to cradle the curve of one’s spine. The carpet is so deep and plush that as you put your foot down it is embraced by the carpet and gently caressed as you lift your foot to take the next step. I normally expect the most elegant restaurant to be staffed by waiters who provide unobserved but most appreciated service. In this case we were attended by about six Thai ladies performing different tasks all of them in subdued black and tan outfits that were suitably conservative, but complemented their modest smiles that displayed very white teeth and large almond eyes. Although each of our tables was large we had no difficulty in carrying on our conversations as there was a gratifying absence of any background music and the décor dampened out the sound of any other diners who were nearby. Adam selected an American wine from the Nappa valley, one which they had enjoyed in the Nappa valley on a visit a couple of years ago.
I was pleased that soon after we were seated a wooden platter was placed in the centre of the tables on which was a ceramic dish containing four different small loaves of bread. The loaves had all been cooked together so it was a bit like ‘pull-apart’ bread, but they were very different and exquisite and not really what one should call small, “I do like good bread”.
For entrée Sheila had Crab cakes, Rosalind had a Caesar salad, which was prepared fresh at the side of the table by one of the young ladies looking after us. I opted for ten escargots in garlic butter; they were presented on a round plate with ten depressions in the plate so that each snail was in its own bath of warm garlic butter. In the middle was three large pieces of toasted bread to act as little alters on which to sacrifice the escargot to my palate. Adam had a crab meat salad for his entrée and American Beef Tournedos for his main course, Sheila ‘Surf and Turf’ a huge lobster tail with an eight ounce American fillet mignon. Rosalind an eight ounce fillet mignon while I settled on a ‘mixed grill’ a huge tray presented over a framework of three tea-lights. The mixed grill included a piece of fillet mignon, some lamb cutlets, a pork steak and a very large tomato au gratin surrounded by a large serving of buttered button mushrooms. When given the option I agreed that we needed another serving of the small loaves, and this was my undoing as I sadly record that I was not able to even sample the lamb cutlets and only half of the pork This is not consistent with my usual performance when I ensure that ‘my plate is licked clean’. While dissecting the bread I scattered bread crumbs across the table, and at least four times one or other of the young ladies would appear with a silver backed brush and silver dustpan to groom the table. Adam ordered another bottle of red even though I was still enjoying the first bottle. After Adam had ‘approved’ the wine it was decanted and a measure provide for each of us in another glass.
About a minute later one of the young ladies lowered her head to whisper in my ear “I am very sorry sir, I may have caused you some inconvenience, I have served the second wine in the same type of glass as the first wine and it may cause you some concern, would you like me to transfer it to a different glass?”
“No it’s not a problem just leave them as they are,” I replied impressed with her discreet and solicitous demeanour.
The walls of the New York Steak House are hung with sepia prints of scenes of New York that is again an example of the understated elegance that is an important part of the ambience.
Rosalind and I were the only two who ordered a dessert both of us opting for the American cheese cake; I had my second wind by this stage and find it hard not to try the cheesecake. I was not disappointed and we all finished with our various elections of teas and coffees.
We arrived at the apartment at about 0030 having enjoyed an exquisite dinning experience rather than ‘dinner out’. When reflecting on the evening the only small thing I would change is the name of the venue; ‘The New York Steak House’ for me is not a name that conjures up an image that the location provides. My mind wandered through various options: ‘The New York Steak Mansion’, ‘The New York Steak Palace’ each thought seemed crasser than the one before. No the problem was the word ‘steak’ it just has to go, even though it is the signature item on their menu. ‘The New Yorker Restaurant’ I believe communicates more effectively the cosmopolitan aplomb with which delivers it’s very ‘fine fare’.
Sunday 23rd July
Again I just managed to beat the buzzer and proclaim a “good morning” to the others as they completed their breakfasts and we prepared for our various sessions at the gym. I did my usual seventy-six laps I think. It poured with rain at one stage and I lost count as I moved my towels into cover in one of the sala that surround the pool area.
Rosalind and Adam prepared a pumpkin soup for dinner that provided some relief from the excesses of the previous night and was excellent.
Sheila has just finished reading the book that our neighbour Bette Paterson gave to me it is called ‘This Thing of Darkness’ written by Harry Thompson. It is not often that one is able to name a book that has been enjoyed equally by a husband and a wife; this book is one of them and a book that we both heartily recommend.

15th Episode of Bangkok Days and Nights

19th July 2006-07-20
Adam was feeling a lot better and left for at his usual time. The only thing that we had on the agenda for the day was accompanying Rosalind to hospital for out-patient surgery to have a ‘wart’ removed from the sole of her right foot. The hospital is a called Bumrungrad Hospital. It is the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia and the only hospital in Thailand accredited by the US based Joint Commission International on Accreditation. Bumrungrad is American managed and treats over 350,000 expatriate and foreign patients every year. It is perhaps an unfortunate sounding name that makes one think that they specialise in haemorrhoids, but believe me, and I know one or two things about hospitals, it would have to be one of the most impressive hospitals that I have ever seen. Not only is it very modern and exceptionally clean, all of the staff wear crisp clean starched uniforms from the cleaners to the doctors. And each uniform makes it very easy to identify who is the cleaner, who is the doctor, and who is the nurse. The aspect that amazed me the most was the large number of fully black veiled Muslim women patients. Apparently the hospital is very popular with many patients from the middle-east and given that money is no constraint it is reassuring to see that Bumrungrad is their hospital of choice.
Other aspects that were very satisfying were the speed with which we were processed from the reception area to a doctors consulting room. The doctor was a very pleasant man who spoke very good English and it took about five minutes for him to examine Rosalind’s foot , make the diagnosis and offer laser treatment of the wart on the day, immediately, now!. I was expecting the usual waiting around to see someone, eventually getting to see a grumpy doctor who would make a diagnosis, then ask you to make an appointment to get it seen to at a later date. No very impressed with the Thai medical system and I believe that all hospitals are obliged to provide the same care to Thai nationals for the cost of 20 baht, that is about eighty Australian cents. I think the longest part of the whole process was Khun Bon Chuay driving us to and from the hospital.
After delivering Rosalind back home and seeing her settled on the couch, Sheila and I were taken by Khun Boon Chuay to the ‘Emporium’ shopping centre where Sheila was to get some pain killing pills and some women’s magazine, a vital part of the recovery process. While Sheila was in the book shop I had a wander around a CD Store and bought a couple of VCDs one is ‘Walking the Line’ about Johnnie Cash and the other was ‘Finding Neverland’. However when we got back Rosalind told me that she already had a copy of ‘Finding Neverland’. Perhaps I would be able to return it and swap it for another?
Sheila also bought a large box containing bottles of chicken stock, I was a little puzzled by this purchase until I noticed the name on the box: ‘Scotch’; a parochial lot the Scots.
Sheila supervised Khun Noy in producing a pork stir fry with ginger, and we could hear a lot of laughter from the kitchen as Sheila’s attempts to harness Khun Noy’s enthusiasm were frustrated by the lack of a common language. The final result was very satisfying with Sheila’s insistence on the extra ginger adding to the piquancy. I must say that the broccoli was a little ‘aldente’, no it was a lot ‘aldente‘.
Rosalind told us that she has been trying for some time to get Khun Noy to stop cooking the stuffing out of the broccoli and guess that was the result. At best I think it was shown a pot of steaming water, but I don’t think it was immersed.
Adam had gone o the gym and had a workout getting home for dinner about 2100.
We ‘enjoyed’ another episode from an old series of Seinfeld, it was not on a DVD it was broadcast as part of one channel’s normal programming. Yes they do have ninety nine channels and one hundred of them broadcast crap most of the time and then it is mostly recycled crap that is many years old.
After dinner I amused myself on the computer by writing a little piece that was stimulated by a couple of pages from ‘Sophie’s World’, the book I had recently finished reading.
It is as follows:
COMMENCE THE TURNING

A spectre is haunting the developed world – the spectre is R.O.I Return On Investment.

I do not claim to be the author of the piece of work that follows; it is quite frankly a piece of plagiarism and paraphrasing of a famous author. For those people who know the work it will be easily recognisable, for the uninitiated it will allow them to read it though innocent eyes and not be blinded by the propaganda that is associated with the authors name.
‘There are three levels on which are society is based.
The first level is what is referred to as ‘conditions of production’ in other words the natural resources that are available to society. These natural resources often determine the type of industry that can be sustained and thereby the nature of that society and its culture in general, for example: you can’t have a fishing trawler fleet operating in the Gobi desert or grow oranges in Nova Scotia. And the way society functions in a nomadic agrarian culture is quite different from the way it functions in Silicon valley U.S.A; or the Australian aborigine who seeks access to the land in the same way they access air or sunlight is quite different from the process worker on a production line in a Bankstown factory.
The next level is the society’s ‘means of production’ i.e. the various kinds of equipment, tools, machinery, in addition to the natural resources that are necessary raw materials to feed the ‘means of production’.
Before industrialization then globalization the means of production tended to be co-located with the natural resources and value added to the raw materials before the product was traded. But now raw materials/conditions of production are shipped to whichever location of the means of production will offer the highest return on investment when traded.
The third level is ‘those who own the means of production’ and our societies function on the interaction of these three levels of society.
In all phases of history there has been conflict between the two dominant classes of society at that time. In antiquity the conflict was between the free citizen and the slave. In the feudal society it was between the feudal lord and the serf, later on between the aristocrat and citizen. Examples of these structures are still apparent in many developing nations. In more developed countries the conflict has been between those who own the means of production and those who do not. And since the owners of the means of production do not voluntarily relinquish their power this generates friction and impetus for change.
Many people in developing nations who are part of the ‘conditions for production’(i.e. some of the natural resources used in the production process), live under inhuman conditions while they continue to produce commodities that make the owners of both the ‘conditions for production’ and the ‘means of production’ richer; some people label this exploitation.
By way of explanation ‘if a worker produces a commodity, this commodity has a certain exchange value. If we now deduct the workers wages and other production costs from the exchange value, we have a sum called profit. The profit is accrued by the owner of the means of production as their due because of their investment/ownership of the ‘means of production.’
Workers in more developed countries are part of the ‘means of production’ and they are ‘owned’ to the extent they are prepared to exchange their labour for currency, but enjoy more humane conditions while contributing to the profit for the owner.
When the owner derives profit from the business activity, logically they invest some of their profit in improving the conditions and means of production in the hope of producing the commodity even more cheaply, and thereby increasing their profit in the future.’
However this logical system is ultimately self-destructive.
When the owner of the ‘means of production’ makes a profit and then uses part of the profit to improve the conditions and means of production, invariably they also expend profit on an improved personal lifestyle and or aspects of the business that add no value to the commodity being traded.
Also buying new machinery to increase the competitive pricing of the commodity means that the costs needed to be reduced often the cost of labour is reduced by paying the same or less to fewer people.
A recent manifestation of this is when jobs are exported to countries where cheaper labour is freely available and whenever the labour costs rise above an ‘acceptable’ level. E.g. When manufacturing was moved first of all to Japan post World War II, then Korea and now to China.
To maintain the expected return on investment the ‘conditions and means of production’ are continuing to be ‘improved’. Factories are becoming bigger and bigger with economies of scale being a major driving force, at the same time ownership of the ‘conditions and means’ of production are being gradually concentrated in fewer and fewer hands through mergers and acquisitions as the power of monopolies is realised.
However fewer and fewer workers are required which means there are more and more underemployed with its inherent increasing social concerns.
Another destructive element is that as a by-product of reducing the cost of labour ultimately the out of work poor can’t afford to be consumers of the commodities that they used to be paid to produce.
When the purchasing power of the consumer is reduced the death knell of a system whereby ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few is sounding more loudly.
What then of the future?
The proposition is that when ownership of the ‘means of production’ is vested with the participants of the ‘means of production’ the cycle of conflict will diminish; but only if we can limit the corruption that can accompany the power.

Commence the turning compiled by John Lunn 19th July 2006.

I asked Sheila to review it for me, and I made one change to one sentence, but I think Sheila is still not happy that my amendment has made the sentence anymore understandable. Ce la vie.
20th July 2006
Sheila did not sleep well last night so we were both very tardy at rising, Adam left for work as I had my breakfast and Sheila had still not surfaced. Rosalind went for her haircut today hobbling in a very stylish way. When Rosalind had first got up she made a pad from a sock and taped it to the heel of her foot to give her support to walk around without putting pressure on her sole. Effective but not the most elegant and I was not surprised that it had been ‘lost’ before she left for the hairdresser.
I decided to go for my walk to get my paper, have a hair cut and buy a few bananas from my usual supplier at ‘best’ price.
I went into my usual barber’s shop, but the lady who usually cuts my hair was busy shaving another chap, so I settled down in an armchair to wait. I had not waited long when another young lady entered the shop from behind some sliding glass screens at the back of the shop and gestured for me to take a seat in one of the vacant barber’s chairs.
As she put the apron around my neck and ‘asked’ me what haircut I wanted, I noticed a Thai man walk from behind the glass screens and out of the shop with a broad smile on his face. I thought no more about this until just after I had communicated the fact that I wanted my hair cut with a No1 cut. The young lady leant forwards and whispered into my ear. “you want massage”. I think I understood why the other chap had left the shop with a large smile on his face. I declined the offer and settled back to having the rest of my haircut. As I did so I heard another Thai lady who was sweeping up the hair make a comment that sounded like “farang key-knock”. I asked her if she had just said “farang key-knock”, she look very flustered. Rosalind had told us that the Thai often call foreigners ‘farang key-knock’ that roughly translated means ‘foreign little shit’.
Another Thai chap who was having his hair cut burst out laughing and said “he is only pretending that he does not understand Thai and you have been caught out.” I joined in the laughter much to the relief of the cleaning lady who was looking very worried.
I then asked the chap in the chair next to me to take a photograph of me while I was having my haircut; he happily agreed while telling me “she is very very good!” I did think she had done a good haircut. The young lady started to cut the ‘few’ hairs that sometimes grow in my ears but I indicated that I thought it better to pluck them out with tweezers. This she did, but from her squeals and facial expressions found it more painful than I did. I suggested that she also pluck a few from my nose, but this she found too painful to contemplate and I indicated that she should not worry and I would do it myself later. She finished off by giving my head and neck a great massage, all of it for 60 baht about 2$ Australian. I bought my paper and wandered back through the market taking a few pictures as I went and buying a large hand of bananas for 30 baht.

My barber

My paper shop

An alfresco restaurant opposite the paper shop

A fish monger


The chicken shop, I must admit I did not want to think too much about the bits at the bottom.
My ‘banana’ lady who give me the best price, my bunch were from the empty pink loop.

A soi in Suanplu market area, with grandma looking after the kid.


The seamstress wanted to pose at a better angle to show herself off to advantage.

14th episode of Bangkok Days and Nights

Dinner was chicken breasts with herbs and mozzarella cheese on porcini mushrooms accompanied by broccoli and asparagus spears.
Before I forget I must recount our recent equivalent of the ‘Caine Mutiny’ the film starring Henry Fonda and James Cagney. The issue in the film was the ‘strawberries’, in our case it was the ‘Listerine’. Sheila had bought a bottle of ‘Listerine’, to use as a mouth wash. I noticed it in a drawer one day while I was shaving and thought “what a good idea, I have some of that”. Next day when I went to the drawer it was missing, but a quick search revealed that it was on a shelf in the cupboard under the sink. “No worries” I thought, “so it has been moved, no big deal, I was still able to find it”. I gave no thought to why it may have been moved.
Next day it had been moved again, it was on a different shelf, towards the back of the cupboard. Still I did not have to be Sherlock Homes to find it. The following day it had been moved again, this time behind a stack of towels. I found this little game of hide and seek an amusing diversion each morning, but did not begin to fathom its purpose. I should add that I was always careful to replace the bottle exactly as I found it ensuring that not only the location was precise, but also that the label was facing the same way as when I found it.
Then the fatal error, over breakfast I casually asked Sheila, “do you know why the Listerine bottle keeps being moved?”
A deathly hush descended on the kitchen, one of those ‘horror movie moments’ when all actions and conversation stop as the full extent of the terror is absorbed.
The lull before the storm broke: “you’ve not been using my ‘Listerine’ have you?”
The Sheila inquisition commenced with moral and inquisitorial support from Rosalind.
“Yes, why not” I replied in as confident a manner as I could as I felt the rack was about to be cranked up a bit.
“Backwash, backwash”, the sisters of the revolution shrilled as they threw me on the tumbril.
“What do mean backwash, I pour some in the cap and throw it into my mouth” my defence lay before the court.
“No no, backwash backwash” was the mantra; “I will get another bottle today and you can have the rest of the bottle to yourself.”
“But if it is an antiseptic, what would it matter even if there were backwash,” I tried to introduce some logic into the conversation.
“Oh yuk, backwash, backwash;” there was no way that logic was going to compete with female mumbo jumbo. I am now using my own bottle of ‘Listerine’, and sadly no-one is playing hide and seek with it.
Tuesday 18th July
Adam stayed home form work and is spent the day in bed trying to get over his ‘bug’.
I went for my usual walk, feeding the dogs on the way. Well only feeding Fang, as he is the only one that will eat the chicken flavoured dog biscuits that I bought. I think that he does not like them either, but has taken pity on me and eats them to make me feel ok.
I also took a burnt out light with me, one of the ‘Phillips’ long-life globes that have a small fluorescent tubes instead of an incandescent globe. I was not confident that I would be able to buy a replacement without having a sample with me. The first shop I went into was the same one from which I had bought some tubing for my kite.
They had a selection of lights, but not the same as the one I wanted. I asked/mimed if there would be any other shops that might have the lights and was directed to a shop nearly opposite that looked like it had similar stock. I offered my sample and the young lady nodded, disappearing to the back of the shop for a minute, then reappearing with my sample and another boxed light. I put my glasses on and extracted the new light from its box and started to compare the numbers on the lights even though they looked the same fitting. The numbers were different and as I started to point this out the young lady put the new light back in its box and thrust it into my hand, “same same” she declared forcefully.
“Ok how much?” I conceded, perhaps the different numbers did not mean much and maybe it was just they were from different batches. The light was about eight Australian dollars so not all that cheap.
I bought my paper and went into the video store to see if I could hire the “Da Vinci Code”, but the “no can do” reply surprised and disappointed me. My walk back through the market made me think that I should have taken my camera again to take some more photographs of the various people and their stalls.
When I got back I put the new light into the socket, yes the numbers did have some significance, and the new light gave out a white light while all of the others gave out a yellow light. I used a Thai English phrase book to try and explain my annoyance to Khun Noy. First of all Khun Noy’s response was “mai pen rai” (no worries), but the she used the phrase book to explain that the yellow light meant that they were antiques, ‘mai pen rai’ was the most appropriate conclusion.
The other thing I did yesterday was to construct a cardboard cube from a biscuit box. It was in recognition of our ‘philosophical’ debate over dinner a few nights before.
I have named it ‘The Philosophers cube’, which also caused me to think about things mathematical: “two squared equals four and a square has four sides; so how many sides does a cube have?” Its ok I think that the heat has got to me and I have gone a little ‘troppo’.
Back to the Philosophers cube on each of the six sides is a different statement and based on the statements all you have to do is decide which statements are ‘true’ and which are ‘false’, the statements are as follows:
Rosalind’s cube
Sheila’s cube
The statement on the ‘other’ side is true
There is not a God
The statement on the ‘other’ side is false
There is a God
I have included pictures of The Philosophers cube, because I was pleased with my efforts in making one out of a biscuit box, and so that you may make your own using it as a pattern.
If this seems nonsense don’t think about it and don’t worry normal service will resume as soon as sanity prevails.
Adam got up for a short time to make himself some lunch, while Sheila went to Pilates, Rosalind followed Sheila, I think they had back-to-back private classes and then came home together.

13th Episode of Bangkok Days and Nights

I will try and a least put the photos in an order that will corrspond with the text that follows.



Friday 14th July
Adam arrived home early morning from Jakarta, after getting up at 0430, it would take me days to recover from that sort of trip, but Adam seemed very perky and was pleased with the results of his trip.
Rosalind had been shopping and then packaged up a couple of small kites that she wanted to post to her nephews in Perth, Western Australia. Sheila prepared a couple of cards and packages that she wanted me to post to some of her friends in Bathurst.
Rosalind asked if I wanted a lift in the car to the post office, but I declined saying that I needed the walk and Adam said he would walk with me.
As Rosalind left I quipped, “if you are still I the queue when we get there I will give you a hand.” When ever I had been to the post office I did not get in the queue for a number and then queue again to be served. I just went to a little desk where the lady sold souvenir stamps etc and she always helped me with everything I wanted without having to wait.
Rosalind scoffed and skipped out of the door.
Adam and I walked to the post office about a fifteen minute walk and found Rosalind at a desk near the front door still addressing her parcel and taping it up. I went to my usual lady and after she disposed of another young girl, sending a parcel, she found the correct post packs for me and waited while I addressed them and she sealed and stamped them and put them in the post while Rosalind while still working on her one parcel. Smug I think would be a suitable description, to which Rosalind muttered something like, “typical Thailand, they will do anything for blokes, flaming tarts”.
I urged Rosalind to take her parcel to ‘my lady’, which she did; but Rosalind was then told that the tape that Rosalind had gone to a shop nearby to get, to fasten her parcel, was no good, and the post office lady used her tape dispenser to do a better job.
Rosalind offered us a lift back, but Adam and I were happy to walk especially since I wanted to buy my paper on the way back.
As we walked home through the market it stared to pour with rain and we had to shelter under the awning of a shop for about fifteen minutes. I thought that Rosalind would be figuring at this point that he had the last laugh. When the rain eased off we waked home and on the way back saw a metal fabrication place, that Adam was keen to see as he has been looking for a place to make a new stainless steel mount for his large bell. Adam may take his plans back to them to see if they could do what he wants.
Later in the afternoon Adam challenged me to a game of chess while Sheila was getting ready to go to gym. Rosalind was already at the gym and was planning to cook dinner while the rest of us were at gym. I was getting massacred at chess but the game ended as a stalemate, much to Adam’s chagrin and my pleasure. Because of chess we were late leaving for gym forgetting that a Friday night can be even more chaotic. Adam drove as he had sent Khun Boon Chauy home early after he had brought the car back from delivering Rosalind to the gym. The traffic was bad or should I say about usual, and Sheila was getting concerned that she would be late for her class. In her frustration Sheila got out of car walked about twenty metres, and then got back in car as we caught up with her, and completed that last twenty-five metres together. We met Rosalind giving her 100 baht for taxi as she had not brought her purse when she had the car and Khun Boon Chuay. I did my 76 laps of the pool, Sheila did a Pilates class followed by a stretching class.
Dinner was another great ‘bouillabaisse’ that made us all feel very satisfied and full of ‘bonhomie’. We finished about 2230 and bed at 2300.
Below is a picture of their dinning room that Rosalind had decorated with candles to provide an appropriate ambiance for the meal.


Saturday 15th July
I had not slept well as I had strained my right knee a little from last nights 1500 metre, but I did not whinge as elite athletes like me have to put up with that sort of injury. After I struggled though to the kitchen, I found that Rosalind had prepared large Buckwheat pancakes, which she ate with ice cream, maple syrup, and melon; while Sheila made do with just maple syrup on her pancakes. I ate my usual breakfast, but then had to help Sheila finish hers as I don’t like any food to go to waste.
After breakfast Adam drove us to M.R. Kukrit’s house, on his way to gym, Rosalind was still drying her hair when we left telling us that she would get a taxi and catch up with Adam at the gym.
M.R. Kukrit’s house is in a marvellous oasis in a little soi just twenty minutes walk from Adam and Rosalind’s apartment. It only cost us 50 baht entrance fee and also we were provided with an English speaking guide at no extra cost.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves, and say that afterwards we took a taxi to the local supermarket, and then walked home with the shopping. I had another buckwheat pancake for lunch and then updated this journal while Sheila watched a video called ‘Captain Corelli’s mandolin’


The formal occasions room









Sheila and our guide









Some children having music lessons on the Thai xylophone


An interesting tree on the banks of a ‘klong’ canal on the property.


A fisherman’s hut on the ‘klong’.


The klong choked with water hyacinth and lotus.



M.R. Kukrit won a prize for this Tamarind bonsai

Dinner was huge pieces of salmon accompanied by ‘mushy’ peas, the salt herb crust was superb, for dessert Adam had made a ‘Key-Lime’ pie which basically is a lemon meringue pie with limes instead of lemons. Basic is not a word that should be associated with it as it was excellent. We finished dinner about 2300 and I wandered off to bed about 0030 with the others getting to bed about 0300.
Sunday 16th July 2006
I managed to get up just in time to be able to wish the others “good morning”, but he mood was subdued as everyone was nursing a head ache associated with their sleep deprivation.
After breakfast I took a chicken flavoured biscuit to the dogs, two of them had a sniff of the biscuit and walked away, another took a piece and rolled it around his mouth then spat it out. It was only Fang who was able to be persuaded to eat it, and only when it had all been crumbled.
Sheila had an appointment for a Pilates class at 1500 and I went and had a swim doing my usual 76 laps though I strained my knee again so will nit be race fit for a couple of days.
Later in the afternoon I sat down with Adam to watch a DVD called the ‘Usual Suspects’ staring Kevin Spacey, it is a crime thriller that I enjoyed very much. Adam was feeling a bit ‘crook’ with a sore throat, and headache I suspect that he picked up a ‘bug’ on the plane during his trip to Jakarta.
For dinner we had a Chinese banquet followed by some large servings of lemon meringue pie. I went to bed about 2230 to continue reading a book that I am enjoying very much. It is called ‘Sophie’s World written by Jostein Gaarder. ‘The Times’ book review says ‘Sophie’s World is set to become a unique popular classic: a wonderful engaging mystery story that also forms a completely accessible and lucid introduction to philosophy and philosophers’; a review that I believe is correct with it’s explanations of the ancient, renaissance, Romantic and contemporary philosophy making them easy to comprehend.
The others were late to bed, with Rosalind and Adam watching a CSI marathon and Sheila playing ‘Spider Solitaire’ on the computer and then having ‘dancing legs’ when she went to bed.
Monday 17 July
A late rise for Sheila and I and I am now subscribing to Sheila’s new theory that we are working on Italian time so that we are ‘in sync’ when we go to Italy at the end of August. Adam and Rosalind got up much earlier with Adam going to work even though he was feeling worse.
Sheila had spotted an advertisement in the paper for some ‘health’ shoes and Sheila was keen to visit the shop and try the shoes to see if they would be a suitable replacement for her ‘Naots’ which are reportedly becoming compacted, and not providing the support that Sheila needs.
After consulting Rosalind and her maps of Bangkok, Rosalind thought that our intention to get the sky-train and then a taxi was a trifle optimistic and suggested that Khun Boon Chauy take us in their car after Rosalind had done some grocery shopping. It was a offer that we ‘reluctantly’ accepted, and despite our shared concerns about Bangkok traffic we arrived at the shop in about twenty minutes. The shop is located in a very pleasant soi and a picture of the shop is on the next page.

The brand of shoes is ‘earth’, they are an American shoe made in China, the contact details in Thailand are: 537/20 Sukhumvit 71, soi 23 Bangkok Tel: 02 7133228
web site: http://www.earth.us/
The shoes incorporate what they call a ‘Negative Heel’ technology where one’s heel is lower than one’s toes with the claim that this causes a better posture, breathing etc.
I am normally retail resistant but both Sheila and I walked away having bought a pair of shoes each and vowed that we would return and also believed that Adam and Rosalind would be very interested.
The owner/manager of the shop whose name is Victoria Quiletorio has we think spent many years in America as her English is excellent and her salesmanship very clever.
I asked if I could have a brochure and a card to take back to Adam and Rosalind, and while Sheila was trying on and test walking numerous pairs of shoes I had a look at the brochure and found a major error that I pointed out to Victoria. When I first mentioned the error Victoria said “an error I don’t think so”, but when I persisted and insisted that she look at it she agreed and said that she would telephone straight away to tell them about the mistake. Victoria disappeared into her office and returned a short while later thanking me again for pointing out the mistake. Though I think I detected that her smile was a little forced.
The ‘offending’ page is below and I will leave it to you to spot the mistake.

On the way home I took some photographs from the car to just record some of the ambiance of that particular expedition.


A double story house on the edge of ‘Klong Toey’ area where the Bangkok mafia hangout and is not recommended for tourists.

A factory outlet for cowboy boots advertising the specials for the day (I think)

I think that this sign was about “you will not be a happy pussy-cat if you don’t wear sunglasses”, but it may be another of those things that get lost in translation.


A typical display outside of many buildings that I think are illustrative of Thai national pride.


An ‘Interflora’ delivery

A typical road sign for some major roads.


Khun Boon Chuay, Adam and Rosalind’s excellent driver who has been a great help to us despite us not speaking Thai and him not speaking English. but who shared much laughter with us because of it.