Tessa's Happy Home: Thailand: Part 2

So the thing about Bangkok is, I actually really loved it! Most people don't. They think it's too 'hectic', but words I can think of to describe it are colourful, vibrant (busy yes, but in a good way), shopping paradise, rich with culture. The people we encountered were all lovely and genuine (although I suspect not all Thais in Bangkok are that way). The food was the best I had in Thailand, the way I really expected Thai food to be. I didn't take too many photos, which I regret on one hand, but on the other hand (as Naas always says), I'm glad I just forgot the camera and immersed myself in the experience!

My favourite I think was the floating market. It was interesting taking the little gondola-type boat there, and haggling with the old ladies for souvenirs. This is the perfect place to bargain for stuff....we were told by our guide to try for 50% discount, but I managed to get some stuff down from 900 baht to 300 baht! Everything here can also be found in the markets in Bangkok for much cheaper, but the experience was fun and we also had the most delicious noodles and coconut ice-cream here :)

Stinky showing off her 2 front teeth (before the other 2 came)

Stella looked mighty cute in all the hats. If she actually kept the hat on for 5 minutes, I would have bought it for her!

Everyone commented on Stell's shirt (made by Janine) and asked where I had bought it! So Janine, if you're thinking of going international...I'll be your business partner ;)

This huge, scarey snake was lying randomly in front of a stall selling dresses....not sure if it was supposed to attract customers or not?

We rode some elephants...this was really rather expensive, sad and disappointing. If you go north to Chiang Mai you can bath with elephants in the forest...all we did was ride these poor, abused-looking ellies through some stinky swamps (right on the highway) for 20 minutes. And the 'driver' had the cheek to try and sell us some jewelry he claimed to be made from ivory!

We stopped off at a little souvenir village. Stella was trying on hats again and charming everyone in sight. All the old European ladies were snapping away! That was our 5 minutes of fame ;)

This graffiti was on a wall in the street where our hotel was. I took this picture because it reminded me of my favourite graffiti artist, Banksy.

Dr Fish is all over Korea, and I've always wanted to try it. So finally I did, in Thailand! Well, I tell you, I was squirming even before I stepped into the water, and when I finally did I giggled like a mad thing for the first 5 minutes straight - imagine ticklish x 10000! After that it became quite bearable, but I must say, I was happy to step out 15 minutes later. My feet looked and felt great though, so I'll have to give it another go here in SoKo!

We visited the King's Palace on our last day in Bangkok. Sadly, I didn't pick up much of the history behind the place. It was teeming with tourists and I think Stella's top teeth were coming out right about now, so she cried most of the time we were there :( It's a magnificent sight to see though. The buildings are all decorated in bold colours and plated in gold, so it was great eye-candy if nothing else.