Day 11: Tues 26th Oct 2010 - Bangkok

As yesterdays trip on the boat went so well we decided that today we would take a long cruise along the river and properly take in all of the sights along its banks. We set off along the streets of Bangkok to catch the boat from the same place we had got off the day before. A few minutes down the road from the hostel we had to keep changing our route due to flooded streets. Once we had navigated our way to in sight of the river it became obvious why some roads were flooded. The river was higher than street level and was being held back by walls and sand bags lining the banks. It wasn't too much of a surprise the river was like this after all the rain and thunder we had listened to during the night. Rather than wading through the water to get to the boat pier to see if it was even running we decided to change the plan for the day.

We headed to Siam which is one of the main shopping districts of Bangkok. The area has several shopping malls all within spitting distance of each other but all very different inside. They ranged from top designer shops to what seemed like make shift cubicals all packed together selling tat. It was quite nice to walk around the shops as it felt a bit more like home was a relief from the bustling streets.

Consulting the guide book for what else was in the area we found we weren't too far from Jim Thompsons house. Jim Thompson it turns out is famous for more than just having a chain of restaurants named after him. The American was sent to Thailand while serving in the army and fell in love with the country so made a permanent move. He started exporting Thai silk and became very wealthy off the back of it. With his wealth he bought several traditional Asian houses and fashioned them together into one to create the house that still stands there today. For a couple of quid we were given a guided tour of the house and gardens with here really beautiful yet also fairly humble for a man of great wealth. The place had a really tranquil vibe about it and was an excellent escape from the city.

In the evening we searched for some western food to give our stomachs a little bit of a rest from all the spices. Our attempts failed and more Thai food was eaten.