Our business in Bangkok almost over, we felt able to relax, + spent a lazy morning. We had brought breakfast cereal with us from HK, + indulged ourselves in the luxury of corn flakes + fresh milk in our room. Eventually, we did drag ourselves out to visit the house of Jim Thorp, a former American silk merchant, who disappeared mysteriously in Malaysia a few years ago. The house is a masterpiece of Thai art, + is now open as a museum, + is, as a result, one of Bangkok’s tourist venues. When we arrived there, however, we discovered it was closed at weekends – ah well, sod it.
So, instead we went on to Silom Rd, mainly tourist shops, but recommended by Robert. We wanted to eat a Thai meal, + had thought of going to one of the places along here, but abandoned the ideas when we saw how touristy +, it must be said, expensive they were. I bought a Lacoste t-shirt, a mock one but nice all the same, black + very smart. We also added one more cassette to our small collection, an ELO compilation. At $1 a throw, cassettes are difficult to avoid.
I enjoyed the ride back to the hotel on the bus. For once, we were able to get seats, so I was able to relax + enjoy the scenery – the temples, the buildings, the people, the sights. I’d like to know Bangkok better. Our Thai dinner we actually decided to eat at a local place, on Kaosan Rd, but it was rather disappointing, + not at all the special occasion we had hoped for.
We spent the evening writing letters, responding to our wonderful harvest of mail recently, + listened to the results of England’s first Saturday of football for the new season. West Ham drew 0-0 with Ipswich, an indifferent result, but without Bonds, + even more important Brooking, they’ll do well to avoid relegation this season.
Trying hard – well, reasonably hard – to make the most of our final day in Bangkok, with both culture and food, both of them turning out to be a pretty dismal failure. And so we turned inwards, to writing letters, to listening to the radio.
