I'm currently in Bangkok, one of three stopovers that help break up the long journey from Denmark to Brisbane where I'm destined to arrive in two days time.
First stopover was Moscow though only for a few hours. This stopover in Bangkok is for several nights and since it is exactly 6 hours ahead of Denmark, and 6 hours behind New Zealand, it is helping me to ease into the Southern Hemisphere time and heat zones.
Next stopover is Singapore. I figure by the time I get to Brisbane, the heat will feel refreshing compared with these humid Asian cities, and then by the time I get to Wellington, I'll be welcoming the heatwave they have been experiencing this Summer.
Meanwhile Barry is reporting snow back in Horsens. He is now into his very last week, putting together the final drawings, uploading the final submissions, and preparing with his fellow group members for the final exam. This will happen on Tuesday 23rd and consists of an interview (aka 'grilling') with four tutors. The next morning he will leave the apartment and take the 3 hour train ride to the airport then board for his 36 hour journey home with brief stopovers in Dusseldorf, Abu Dhabi, and Sydney. His jetlag will not be pretty, particularly if Wellington maintains its current average of 30+ degrees each day.
Anyway, back to Bangkok, today was a particularly sweltering hot day. It's a crazy, busy, smelly, and very loud city. If I had more time (and money), I would have gone to those pretty beaches and resort areas, but I did managed to find a couple of interesting spots; the Jim Thompson house, and Lumphini Park...
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| Cityscape |
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| Pathumwan junction |
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| Road scene |
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| Shopping/hotel/mega centre |
Interesting discovery; the Jim Thompson house. He was an American businessman who helped revitalise the Thai silk industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Mysteriously, he disappeared without a trace on 26 March 1967 in the Cameron Highlands, Pahang, West Malaysia (and not long after, his sister was murdered and her case remains unsolved). Jim was a great collector of arts and was also an accomplished architect and designed his own place in Bangkok; a complex of six traditional Thai-style houses, teak structures that were purchased from several owners and brought to the present location from various parts of Thailand. After his disappearance, it became a museum.
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| Jim Thompson house |
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| Jim Thompson house |
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| Ginger plant (?) in the Jim Thompson house |
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| Typical cable arrangement seen all over the city |
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| A random 'Predator' sculpture from car and bike parts outside the Nissan centre |
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| Inside the crazy busy MBK shopping centre |
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| Cityscape |
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| Lumphini Park |
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| Pretty colours on a tree at Lumphini Park |
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| Fragipani tree in Lumphini park |
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| Hibiscus, Lumphini Park |
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| Lumphini Park |
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| Hibiscus, Lumphini Park |
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| Massive hotels everywhere |
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| Temple/shrine |
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| Back street scene |
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| Tooty cat. Not sure it its a kitten or half starved emancipated adult. It was feral anyway. |
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| Cityscape at dusk |
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| More night time cityscape |
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| Orchids in the garden at the Jim Thompson house |
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| Hydrangea? Pretty anyway. |
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| 'Snow flakes' in one of the confusing alleyways between the shopping centers. I somehow ended up three buildings away from where I started with no idea how I got there or how to get back. |
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| Lumphini Park |
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| Lumphini Park |
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| Lumphini Park |
It was a different scene in Moscow; check out the ice on the tarmac!
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| -12 degrees in Moscow! |
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