Bangkok Week 459 April 9, 2017 Our guests have a whirlwind intro to Bangkok, before we set off on our Songkran escapades. View fullsize Celebrating Friday night, and the start of the Songkran break, with welcome dinner (number two) at Cantina. View fullsize The next morning, it's a nautical excursion across the river to Koh Kred. View fullsize First stop: the leaning Chedi of Wat Poramaiyikawas. View fullsize View from the edge of the Wat, upstream. The river now flows two ways around the (artificial) island. View fullsize Not clear when the Chedi started to lean. The Wat itself dates back to the ~1720s. View fullsize Who's that hiding in the bushes? View fullsize Checking out the views from one of the many piers. View fullsize Longtail boats used to shuttle people (express) to and from the island. View fullsize Deep-fried flowers: one of the local specialties. View fullsize One of the Buddha images in Wat Poramaiyikawas - the facial features are distinct. View fullsize And this Buddha image has very unique hair. View fullsize Posing with the reclining Buddha. View fullsize Unlike at Wat Po, the head piece fits comfortably inside this room. View fullsize Bling bling. View fullsize Nice lighting. But the sky looks a bit ominous. View fullsize A final Buddha image - Mon style? View fullsize A brilliant pink tree in front of a slightly overgrown school. View fullsize Very cool rig to pour water on the Chedi for Songkran! View fullsize Use pulleys to hoist the water to the top! View fullsize Creative way to sell pomelo! View fullsize Really brightly colored desserts! View fullsize Which ones shall we try? View fullsize One of each! View fullsize We think this sign was encouraging purchases... not just photos. View fullsize Looking hot yet? View fullsize A great view of the giant Buddha at Wat Bangchak across the river. View fullsize Lots of fish surrounding the dock, though!! View fullsize Did I mention LOTS of fish!?! View fullsize Trying the local tempura! View fullsize Small sois. View fullsize The island is also famous for its pottery. This is the last kiln on the island. View fullsize Applying a coating of some kind to these bowls. View fullsize A pot of pots. Just like that. View fullsize How ornate! View fullsize How very, very ornate! Too precious to buy! View fullsize Beautifully plated Pad Thai for lunch. View fullsize Group shot on the river side. View fullsize Fast-forward to afternoon tea - where we're trying our sweet purchases from earlier in the afternoon. View fullsize A meringue mushroom! View fullsize Uh oh! He's about to eat a chili! View fullsize Cheers! View fullsize To Mum's 6Xth birthday! View fullsize Group shot! View fullsize Her annual birthday special! View fullsize Shall we go have drinks at PP Beer Bar? Or just get a PP Massage? View fullsize Matching adventure costumes the next morning. View fullsize Aww. All squished together nicely on the train. View fullsize Heading to the top floor of Central Embassy to check out... View fullsize ... the brand new "Open House" space! View fullsize The space is intended to be "fit-for-all" -- eating, bookshop, "co-thinking", art, design, "playground"... and more. View fullsize Giant book! Bigger than our coffee table! View fullsize Nice dining area, with tasteful furniture. View fullsize View from above; great selection of photography books. View fullsize Great place from which to play "i spy". View fullsize The tower in the middle is the "art tower" - a gallery space. Which we failed to visit. View fullsize Nice view of Wireless Road! View fullsize And great view of the Okura Prestige. View fullsize Resting up, before our long trek to Nana... View fullsize ... where we had a dynamic lunch with Jasmine Chay and her family. View fullsize Interesting marketing campaign at Siam Discovery to promote DJI (the leading drone brand). View fullsize It's DQ! The trip to Thailand has officially begun! View fullsize Sporting the souvenir that Jasmine Chay kindly brought.
