[lettie]

Some of my photographs are not yet ready but some are, so I'll make a start. We had a brilliant time and I was so excited on the day we were going away that I couldn't keep off the loo. We arrived at Manchester and checked in for our flight to Bangkok via Heathrow. We were having a civilised drink at the bar in the airport when Sparky let me have a look at his passport photo. I have never laughed so much in my life. Good grief!!!!! I thought my photo was bad but this really gets the coconut. Taken in a photo booth he has a look of shocked surprise on his face like a little furry animal caught in your headlights. It's almost as if someone has mooned at him through the curtain as the piccy was being taken. I managed to compose myself in time for the long flight ahead.

Our first stopover was Bangkok and the beautiful Montien Hotel which is slap bang in the middle of the notorious Patpong area. We were upgraded to an executive room on our arrival and the little touches that make you feel special are common throughout hotels in this city(I'll explain those later).We had a meal before hitting Patpong market and off we went into the heat of the night. It was boiling hot and Patpong was heaving. The 2 streets which make up Patpong are a bustling market at night, as you make your way through the market you are approached by touts from the bars which line the streets of Patpong. "Ping-pong bar sir?" "You wan' ping-pong madam?" and various menus are then shown to you..

For the uninitiated, these are no ordinary menus. I wasn't exactly expecting bar food but I left Patpong laughing my head off. There are all types of 'live shows' on these menus, I'm telling you my eyes were nearly popping out of my head. We then accidentally wandered into a small cul-de-sac unofficially known as Patpong 3. This is a street containing the hippest bars and beautiful people, loud music blared from every bar and hoards of people were laughing, drinking and dancing. This is the unofficial gay area of Bangkok but it was obvious that everyone was welcome no matter their colour, creed or orientation. It looked like a fun place to be.

On returning to our hotel hot and giddy from a bottle of wine we had consumed earlier, we found that the hotel staff had turned down our bed and left little orchids on the pillows. The staff bow at you when you greet them, and I'm never really sure whether to bow back. I was up and down like a bride's nighty. The following morning, breakfasted and refreshed we had a liitle stroll around the traffic laden bustling streets of Bangkok. This city has modern tall buildings interspersed with tiny run down shacks. It can be dirty with heavy pollution from traffic fumes and it can be smelly due to the heat. Behind all of that though is a fascinating fun city with respectful people and plenty of sights to see. Where grand temples and small shrines mix with skyscrapers and spice markets.

We didn't get many photos here as we were here for less than 24 hours and our flight to New Zealand was beckoning. Here are some pics of our morning walk. A city photo showing the sky train (the quickest way to get around) our little shrine at the hotel and a shop sign that made me smile...