Departure lounge, Phuket International Airport, Thailand.
A couple of points:
1. We don’t give monks enough respect here in China.
2. These Thai monks sure dress modern these days!
Yes, I am back in cold Shanghai. A few more Thailand posts to follow before we get back to the business of China.
I thought I’d do a list of likes and dislikes. First the things I like:
1. Cheap as chips – I’m amazed how cheap Bangkok is, considering it’s the capital city.
2. Food – Tasty and spicy, just how I like my food (and my women, but I digress).
3. Weather – In the high 80s (Fahrenheit) compared to freezing Shanghai.
4. People – Maybe it’s because I look like a visitor, but the people have been so friendly and helpful everywhere. I guess I now know what it’s like to be a westerner in China!
5. They have Boots (the British chemist) here. I was so tempted to get some Optrex eye wash and a load of other personal care items that you can’t get in Shanghai, but I packed light and have no extra luggage space.
6. The ahem, “scenery” – Bangkok has some stunningly beautiful women. Well, I think they’re women. Ok, to be fair, Shanghai has its fair share of stunners too, but in a very different way.
And now for the things I dislike about Bangkok:
…. erm …. give me a few days. I am sure I’ll think of something!
I’ve been to Thailand many times, but it’s usually on business which for obvious reasons, isn’t quite the same as coming on holiday. So I’ve been surprised by how much I’m loving Bangkok this time round, so much so that after just one day here, I’ve decided I’m not ever, ever going back to Shanghai.
The food has been amazing, yet cheap. I had an excellent chicken with rice meal that cost 40 baht. That’s 8 RMB! Everywhere I’ve been, people have been helpful and smiley. Getting around the city is easy and taxis are incredibly cheap. The temperature in Shanghai when I left was about minus 5 degrees celcius. Here it’s somewhere around 30 degrees. I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to wake up this morning in my hotel and wander in to the bathroom without shivering, without putting on 6 sweaters and some jog pants. Oh, and they have Boots drug stores all over the city.
By amazing coincidence, Swiss James happened to be in town the same night I was, so we met up for a few drinks last night before we go our separate ways and head to different islands. The bar pictured above is called The Fuel Tank, just by the famous Khao San Road in the old part of the city. It’s basically an old Shell petrol station and I guess after it closed down, someone decided to put a few tables and cheers right there by the pumps and call it a bar. Fantastic!
WoAi @ Siam, one of Bangkok’s best modern shopping districts. I loved Siam Paragon, a huge, upscale shopping mall. They even had a Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini showroom on the top floor!
Tomorrow morning I have a 5am wake up call, then I’m of to Phi Phi Island for some sun and relaxation. I’ll try taking a few photos as well if I can be bothered.
Goodbye Bangkok, it was short but sweet.
I just got back from a short trip to Beijing. I don’t fly as often as I used to, so I notice things again, more than I used to. So what I’d like to know is : why is everyone always in so much of a hurry? No, really!
As we landed in Beijing, approaching the gate, I saw this guy undo his seat belt and slowly lift his backside off his seat as if he was getting up in slow motion. Then as the plane decelerated further, he jumped right up and opened the overhead locker and got his bag. The plane was still taxiing. As soon as he did that, lots of other people, seeing him get up, seemed afraid they’d be left behind, so they all got up too. The plane was still taxiing. It was like watching the Olympic 100 meter mens final with everyone anxious to get out of the blocks before anyone else, except there was no gold medal at the end!
As I was checking in at Beijing airport to come back yesterday, there were two men behind me in the line. Except they weren’t BEHIND me. People here seem to prefer to line up side by side instead of in a line. Perhaps they think it will all move along a lot quicker that way (it doesn’t).
When it was my turn to check in, one of the guys behind me was suddenly on my left, peering over the desk trying to read my passport. I wanted to offer to take his address so I could send him a copy of my passport for him to read at his leisure.
On my right, another guy was loading his bags on to the scales while I was checking in (I didn’t have any bags to check in)!
It’s lucky I am a mild mannered easy going sort. I can imagine some uptight people getting quite irritated by all of these antics, perhaps even starting an argument. But I’m above all that. Well, most days I am, honest.
I flew to Beijing this afternoon for an overnight trip. I didn’t have time for lunch but after checking in, I still had some time before departure so I walked over to McDonalds to have one of their delicious “quarter pounder with cucumber vegetable” meals. On the way there, I spotted a girl in business attire in a coffee shop, sitting perfectly poised, laptop open. Wow, she must be catching up on some work before her flight. How very professional. But as I passed, I saw the computer screen was full of playing cards. She was playing Solitaire (or Patience as we call it in England).
I thought nothing of it, except that after I had finished my burger, I walked past the coffee shop again and she was still there, still playing.
I’m at a bit of a loss as to why this game is so popular in China. I honestly think I’d rather spend half an hour staring at my shoes!
Some of you will remember that I was in Beijing a few weeks ago to ensure that the preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics are going well and I was happy to report it’s all under control.
Yesterday, I flew home to London – also home of the 2012 Olympic Games – to see how well the preparations are coming along. I suppose this is a good opportunity to show (again) the London 2012 official logo, which controversially cost 1.2 million pounds (seriously, 1.2 million pounds!) to design. It is supposed to represent the numbers 2012 with the 5 Olympic rings embedded in the zero, but some people claim looks like cartoon character Lisa Simpson on her knees performing ….. oh never mind, I personally can’t see it myself!
Tonight I’ll be heading to Marbella in southern Spain, for a 3 day work conference, after which I’ll spend 3 nights in Barcelona followed by a week in London catching up with family and friends. So you can expect some on-the-road blogging over the next few weeks, but I expect China will still come up in many of the posts.
This is the plane I took, a British Airways Boeing 777 which they use exclusively on their Shanghai to London route, which runs 5 days per week since the service was launched in 2005.
I checked in online the night before, which relieves some of the stress and means my chosen seat is already reserved and I only need to drop off my bags at the airport and not worry that I’ll be sandwiched between two fat guys for 12 hours.
The sharp eyed among you will notice that written on the side of the plane are the words:
“Official Airline England Football Team”.
That’s all very nice, especially with the UEFA European Championships about to start next Saturday in Austria and Switzerland (it’s like the world cup, but only for European countries). Sadly though, England failed to qualify, so we won’t really be needing an official airline this summer – thanks Mr McClaren!
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