Farewell Bangkok

We were not in the least motivated to spend our last day in the city, but made the effort and took the Chao Praya Expressboat to the Tha Chang station, where Willi had envisaged walking in the Grand Palace area. I was sceptical because my memories of that part of Bangkok were more accurate than his and we soon realised that we would be pestered by the tuktuk drivers if we did .

So we got back on the boat and visited Chinatown instead. Chinatown has hardly changed. It is a busy, fumey, noisy area which smells of dried fish and sizzling oil. The arcades are crowded. Mopeds and hand trucks weave in and out of the visitors and customers. But these days there is a lot of electric light and even electric staircases in some places. However the dark, narrow living quarters above the shops are as depressing as ever.

Back on the boat we were pleased to see that the sun had come out. So after a late check out it was quite pleasant to relax by the pool and reflect on this trip. Our conclusion being that we will be sad to leave this wonderful country, but will not necessarily return to the monster that Bangkok has turned into.Read more