A house emerges

* Monday - Friday

After a relaxing weekend we were looking forward to getting back to work.  This week we have thrown ourselves into it and so be prepared for lots of talk about woodwork and building.  I think we'll probably only blog twice a week while we're here so we don't get too detailed and boring.

This week's work has been really satisfying and started with a bang, as on Monday morning it was time to raise up the structure of the house.  Four new building volunteers had arrived over the weekend who are going to be working on Project 9 while we get on with 8, but for the morning they were with us helping get the house up. 

So when we arrived that morning all that existed were large pieces of timber, which we started off by nailing together into shape and adding some hoists.

Then before we could go any further there was a short ceremony to take part in.  The ceremony asks the spirit of the land to approve the raising of the house and watch over it in the future.

Then with permission granted it was all hands on deck to raise the three large frames upright.  They were really really heavy and it did take 10 of us to do it.

But it went very smoothly and soon they were all up, all level and the task of joining the cross beams began. Doing the middle ones was relatively easy however the ones at the top involved people climbing right up to hammer them together while balancing precariously.  It was incredible watching the guys climb up there and how blase they were about being 15ft off the ground.

It was excellent when those were done though as it held the whole structure together.  So it really felt like lots of progress was made on Monday, it was amazing to suddenly have a house like shape to transform over the coming weeks.  I think the family were pretty excited too as it was starting to seem more real.

So when we returned on Tuesday we got on with the rest of the cross beams that didn't go up the day before.  Progress was slower on this as however neatly and accurately we may (or may not) have chiselled none of them seemed to fit perfectly and there was quite a lot of adjustments to be made. 

While taking a short break from this task later in the afternoon, we spotted that the kids had set up a volleyball net between this house and the one we finished last week.  Its funny, you see guys playing it everywhere (despite the heat) its really popular here.

By the time we left on tues there was only one beam to finish Wednesday morning, and we got that done pretty quickly.  Then we got going on laying the joists for the floor boards.  We did this in pairs and Rob and I each volunteered to take the task of balancing on the cross beams to hammer them in.  Rob was much better at this than me though, as although I can smack in the big nails when I've got a straight aim at them, hammering them in on a diagonal while perched was harder and after I'd bent a few I begrudginly swapped with Ray and supported them while he hammered.

I was glad when the joists were finished and it meant we could pass the floor boards up to balance on them. Even just laying them across made it look like more progress had been made, plus it meant we can walk about on that level now which is essential for putting the roof on, and having the roof on will mean some shade for us to work in.  This week it is really hot and without the roof there has been no shade to work in; it is a sweaty dusty business!

We were pretty tired after work on Wednesday, mostly from that heat, but unfortunatly there was no swimming (/cooling down) for us today as we had some jobs to do in town.  We needed to buy some things from the market and go to the bank.  It was also a good opportunity to pop into the Blue Pumpkin cafe in town for an ice coffee and a pastry.  They have a really exciting selection of cakes in there and the sugar and caffiene boost, cooling fan and comfy lounge seating reinvigorated us.  It was a highly recommended place in the Lonely Planet so we thought we'd take a look.  The lounge upstairs was very white and had a massive long sofa.  They sit you there and then put a little fold up table on you.  It was very luxorious!

On Thursday morning we were starting to feel a bit of tiredness catching up with us (also after a slightly later night the evening before as we went for a big meal).  However we were all eager to keep making progeress so threw ourselves into it.  Aaron and I got to work on nailing down the floor boards as it involves a little bit of being a perfectionist.  All the boards are uneven and to make them line up the edges have to be chiselled and planed.  Then once they line up you have to put three nails into each joist.  I like nailing so I'm happy, but it is a repetative task.  Meanwhile Roy helped Pek and Sune finish the stairs and put the structure up to support the roof and Rob went back over to project 8 to work with the family on making the final wall that we didn't quite finish in time last week.

So after another satisfying day we all tuk tuked hom.  Rob and I had a shower and a little lay down and went off to meet Sadie and Bruce at the airport as they are coming to visit for five nights!  Unfortunately their plane arrived a couple of hours late but we still headed into town to show them the main centre and to get some classic Khmer food. We also met up with Ray, Sarah and Aaron and they joined us for a few beers before we all headed off to bed.  It is amazing to see them, it's such a surreal experience collecting people you know from foriegn airports. Its so lovely to have them here and we're looking forward to spend some proper time together over the weekend.

We had one more day of work to do first though.  Today we returned to the floor board task on which we are making slow but neatish progress.  We had the best food so far for lunch today, we bought noodles, pork, mushrooms and bean sprouts and were made a gorgeous lunch, the only problem was that she had it ready by 9.40 am - a new ridiculously early record.  We wondered if we'd confused things by buying noodles which they eat for breakfast.  But all the same it was delicious.  We also had some more chats with Pek and Sune today and learnt a bt more about their families which was nice.  The six of us have worked really well together this week and feel comfortable together I think.

After our early breakfast we had a long second half of the day but we plugged on happily and before we knew it the project 9 volunteers had turned up to look at the house and then we were in the tuk tuks heading off for the last time this week.  We picked up beers from the market on the way home and drank one in the tuk tuk which took the edge of a very hot day.

We met our Canadians back at the guest house at 3pm after they came back from visiting the temples and we took them with us for a cool down and catch up at the pool.  Tonight there is a dinner on at the guest house which everyone is coming to and afterwards we're going to go for a drink in town and hopefully meet up with Charlotte (Matt's sister) who is also out here volunteering.  We have a fun weekend planned which I feel we deserve as we've worked hard this week.  I'm really looking forward to spending time with Sadie and Bruce and doing some exploring with them.  Right now I am late and so better head upstairs for a shower.

Chiseling, partying, laying

* Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  After the fun of the ceremony the day before, we were very motivated about getting the other house going ASAP.  Sadly on Friday, our number was reduced to 3 as a couple of comrades had tummy bugs (a very common western person problem out here as you can imagine).  So me, Ame and Ray got to the site of Project 8 and got to chiseling and sawing.  Suko, our project manager who speaks both Khmer and English, told us that we needed to get all the main frame posts ready for Monday as this is the only day traditionally that the main frame of the house can be put up.  He also told us there would be another ceremony on the Monday to ask the spirits of the land for permission to put up the house.  After a busy, busy morning we had everything done.

Back at the Guest House, we had a 2 hour sleep in order for us to function socially in the evening for 3 of the teachers leaving do.  This was a nice meal out in town.  Afterwards us and our main crew (Aaron, Claire, Sarah) skulked off to another bar for more drinks which was good fun.

A nice end to a good day.

On Saturday, I felt a bit hungover but we got in to town for a wander around the market.  I bought a new hat for working in and we had a drink at the Red Piano.  This place is obsessed with the fact Angela Jolie had a drink here once when she was filming Tombraider, so they have signed pictures of her with the owner and even a cocktail named after her.  We had a smoothy.  T'was nice.

After a little lunch (ham sandwich and chips!) we went and lazed by the pool with the other chaps until 6pm.  It was Claire official party night as she is not a volunteer but a friend of Aaron's who has taken a job in Phnom Penh as a primary school teacher.  We went out, had nice lunch, went and saw an awesome Khmer cover band at a bar and then went to a place called X that had Limbo contest, bar football tables and pool.  We got in at 02:30.  Another good night.

Sunday we achieved the following: laying by the pool, a couple of Skype messages and an Indian curry for dinner.  We went to bed early looking forward to the next day at work.

Master of Ceremonies

* Thursday. Today was the moving in ceremony for Project 7. We have been working on this for the beginning of our time here so even in this little time we have achieved a couple of successes and have seen how excited the family are about moving. So we took our usual trip into the village: through Siem Reap, up the SH6 and first to the market to buy some food to contribute to the ceremony feast. We bought a fish which was still slightly alive. You can't get fresher than that! On the way back to the tuk-tuk, I felt a big wriggle and the fish jumped out of the bag and tried to bite me! The bag wasn't tied tight enough! Needless to say I dropped the bag and the fish flapped around on the floor. Obviously to the mass amusement of the whole market. It was worth it for all the laughing! Poor old fish.

So with the fish FIRMLY tied into the bag, we headed off to the village. As we approached the house site, we could hear Khmer music belting out. We walked down to the house site and loads of people were standing, sitting, laughing and preparing food.

The mother of the house was dressed smartly and there was a few other fancy looking dresses as well. The ceremony was about to begin. In the absence of Aaron, who was on a sunset morning at the Temples and running a little late, I was whisked into the precession next to a girl holding an umbrella over me. The lady of the house lead the precession in dance, around the house 2 times to a Khmer fiddle (who even had a pick-up on it so it was very loud). The walk was meant to scare away the spirits who may be living in the house. Ame and Bill lead behind me. Each of us carried food gifts that we would eventually take into the house.

Next, me and my new lady friend ascended the stairs, one at a time, stopping on each one whilst the master of ceremonies chanted a few things. At these ceremonies they mostly have a Buddhist monk to administer the religious stuff but as you can buy 2 wise men for 1 monk, 1 wise man was there because of budget.

Once we were in the house, everyone followed on up and sat on the floor for the main ceremony to begin. Luckily Aaron arrived just in the nick of time, and we fast tracked him to the front of the ceremony. He then took part in some weird part of the ceremony where a couple asked for money to buy the house from him. Everyone donated money into the hands of the couple. (The mother of the house got to keep all the money which is good).

Amy was dragged in to be Aaron's wife and they were "married"! Hope that's not too legally binding!

The house was bought for $2 and then deed was done. All very surreal but an amazing once in a lifetime experience.

Then the feast began (at around 10:00). A selection of pork, chicken, noodle, and fish dishes were brought up for the men (and Amy) to eat.

We also partook in a little rice wine. After about 4 shots of the foul stuff we were all a little merry and enjoying the atmosphere, despite the massive language barrier. You could see how excited the children of the house were.

We got a couple of photos with the family outside the house. Aaron gave one of the boys a wind-up lattern as a present which he loved. He also had a little book for the daughter from a previous volunteer who really helped shape the house.  In the photo below you can see Bill and Aaron on the left with the mother of the house, me and Ame on the right with the two local builder lads Pek and Soon, and Ray on the steps.

But as there's loads of work to be done for Project 8, we symbolically headed up the road to new site. There is still a little odds and sods to do on Project 7, but there was a little feeling of out with old in with the new. The family at Project 8 currently live the 4 of them in this:

It's cramped, too low off the ground and fragile. In the next few weeks we will have them a house. We did some plaining and chiseling today on some of the beams that will make the structure of the new house. We did a good job considering how sleepy we felt after the booze and food.

After returning to the Guest House, we again showered, had a smoothy (and also an ice cream!) and went to the pool. Not sure what we will do this evening for food, but once again, it will be an early night for the last day of our first week.

Building skills

* Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

The alarm was set for 6am but we were stirring before hand, eager to get up and get going. Over the weekend we'd got ourselves well and truly settled in, but this is what we're here for and much more real so we were feeling the anticipation. Everyone meets downstairs at 6.30am for breakfast but we were the first ones down and we even wondered if we'd set our clock wrong. But we ordered our brek and soon enough the others joined us and by 7am we were loading ourselves and the drill into the tuk tuks that take us down to the site. This week there are four of us volunteering on site, plus Gan then carpenter and both the tuk tuk drivers who work with us.

The tuk tuk ride to the village takes about an hour, first through the outskirts of the city on the main road then, just after a large village market, the route turns off onto a dirt road through villages. We stopped at the market half way to get supplies of water for the day, ice to keep it cool and some lunch ingredients. The daily routine seems to be for us to get fish or meat and veges to go with it from the market on the way in and then the lady who we are building the house for cooks it up while we work and then it feeds everyone for lunch. Its a great arrangement as it means we get food to keep us going, get to try local recipes and they get a good meal while we're there.  The market was a bit intimidating at first because it is very local but we followed behind and soon learnt that everyone is really friendly and welcoming.

The journey in through the villages is a great way to start to feel settled. Plus you cannot arrive not feeling cheerful because you spend the whole time waving to the children who run out as you go past shouting greetings and waving and grinning frantically. On the way Robin the project manager met us to show us the previous projects around the village. It was great to see living embodiments of the work and how they look a year on with the families settled in.

Then we moved onto the project in progress; number 7 where the others were hard at work. It is very nearly ready and the deadline everyone is working towards is to get everything done by the end of Wednesday so that on Thursday the family can have their moving in ceremony and start living there. In Cambodia it is bad luck to move in before the ceremony and so at the moment the family is sleeping beneath the house, that's why the pressure is on the get it finished.

Rob got stuck in straight away; he was up in the house sawing of the overhanging edge of the floor boards, then up on the ladder nailing the wall onto the side of the house.

Then was given the task of stripping the soft fleshy part of large banana tree logs off with a machete to make flat boards to build with. Compared to the rest of the tasks this was less of his specialty as at one point the mum of the house had to point out to Rob that he had the machete upside down, but that was a good jolly bonding experience I think as they could laugh together about it.

In the meantime I did a bit of a clear up job around the place so it started to look like somewhere they were going to live. Then I helped Pekhary (one of the guys who drove us over in the tuk tuk) make a side roof panel and so this was a good introduction to the technique they use to make all the walls.  First a wooden structure is made to measure and then strips of dried banana leaves that have been woven together are pinned along in overlapping rows.

Half way through the morning we had stopped to eat the fish we'd bought this morning. It was yummy! We even sampled a little local rice wine to help it down. Then it was back to work and before we knew it we checked the time to find we'd worked for an extra hour, it was 2pm! We'd all been so into it we hadn't noticed. But on finding that out we all felt very ready to go and so we packed ourselves up and headed off back to the guesthouse feeling very satisfied.

That afternoon we got ourselves cleaned off and then headed to the pool for a well deserved sleep and a swim. We found Claire, Aaron and Sarah there and so after our snooze discussions moved onto dinner. The plan was made to try a nearby Thai restaurant tonight and so hungry thoughts of this eventually roused us to go back and get ready to head out for an earlyish dinner. Seven of us had a very good, if slightly chaotic dinner, and then Rob and I made our excuses and had an early night.

It was a good idea as it meant we felt relatively rested when the alarm went off for our second day of work. Yesterdays routine repeated as it will another 28 times, the only difference being that Aaron was unwell and not able to come to work. This meant that Rob and I were in charge of the lunch shopping in the market and we bought a kilo of pork and veges for curry which the guys were very excited about.  It was an extremely good "lunch" (at 10:30)!

Today I focussed on more wall making and after our yummy pork curry Pekhary handed the drill over to me and one of the sons of the family whose house it will be helped me make the wall. This was great as he took real pride in it and was such a perfectionist about it. We made a good team and had it finished and hung before the end of the day. Rob mainly made window frames and "shutters" that are joined to the top of them and propped open during the day, the wall I made was also designed to do this. These openable pieces make the place look very homely.

Back at the guest house that day I was wiped and fell asleep for an hour or so while Rob did some internet jobs. Then we headed downstairs to join the others for a pre-dinner drink. Tuesday night is BBQ night at one of the hotels and in true Aussie style Aaron and Claire are big fans so we went along with them to check it out (although Aaron had to miss out as he was still ill). It certainly was a meat fest, but that's ok as we've mostly just eaten fish since we got here and it was another sociable evening with eight of us out. Poor old Rob, who hadn't had a nap, was nearly asleep at the table by the end so I took him off home for another early night (which I partook in too).

So Wednesday D-day arrived. Still no Aaron but Bill joined us today. We worked really hard and despite a few set backs we got the windows, floor and one wall all finished and so the moving in ceremony can go ahead tomorrow.

One wall still needs to go up but its one for the extended kitchen area and so not as urgent, we'll get that up ASAP after, it'll just be good to get them in there. I think there was a lot of excitement in the air today as both sons and her little girl were joining in even more than usual today (and skillfully showing us up). We definitely consolidated the skills we learned on Monday and Tuesday today and so are looking forward to making our new found skills over to project 8 next week and seeing a new house start to take shape.

We finished a bit late today and then once back needed to do a few jobs but we still found time for a quick swim and sit at the pool. We've just had our Wednesday night 6pm volunteers meeting and in a minute we are going for a leaving dinner for one of the teachers. Then no doubt we'll be early to bed so that we're well rested for the moving in ceremony tomorrow, they've got a wise man booked for it and everything!!!

'Angkoring for a Temple

* Sunday

We slept in a little this morning but were still ready and breakfasted and heading out to the Temples of Angkor by 11am. Moy at the guesthouse arranged for a friend of hers who drives a tuk tuk to take Rob and I and Sarah round the temples for the day. What people do is arrange a price for the day and they take you from temple to temple and wait while you look around. This is Rob in Mr Wuthy's tuk tuk outside our Guesthouse just before we set off.

There is a large number of temples and buildings in the area to visit and there was no way we'd see it all in one day, or that we'd take things in if we visited too many. So we agreed we'd do the big hitters today and then come back to explore some more another time. Although people normally finish with it we decided to go first to Angkor Wat as we were eager to see it. The first sight of it is amazing; grand and impressive but delicate, with an imposing walkway up to the entrance. It was a shame that there is scaffolding up but then its good that they are looking after it.

We took plenty of time walking around the whole temple. It was really peaceful with long arched walkways, intricate carvings and jungle views outside. It is hard to believe it was built in the 11th century. The carving was infinite depicting battles and ceremonies, some being about 500m. The Temple felt like something from another world and historians still theorise how it was built. It was incredible.

As we were walking out of the main gate, Ame was approached by a group of Buddhist Monks and we were at first a bit perplexed about what they wanted. Then it came clear that one of them wanted his picture taken with Amy!!! It was so funny. I got a picture too. He must have thought she looked Little Miss Western or something.

So after a peaceful hour walk around Angkor Wat, we jumped back into tuk-tuk to our next stop. Here is Mr Wuthy in action on the tuk-tuk. He was such a nice guy. We're gonna try and use him again.

Our second stop was Bayon where over 200 carved faces welcomed us. We climbed up and sat amongst them. The detail again was exquisite. You felt like they were staring down at you, watching for centuries.

Next stop we had lunch at a make-shift cafe and had a bloooming good chat to Sarah and really got to know her. It's great as she is volunteering on the Orphanage Project for 1 month so she'll be around most of the time we are. So after that we took a walk around the central area of Angkor Thom. We were beginning to see the real overgrown temples that felt a little spooky and alive.

Onwards we went to a few more Temples that I can't even remember the names of! I can't believe how many Temples they had in one small place. I need to know a bit more about the history because I know pretty much bugger all. One of the next few Temples was a favourite. We by chance bumped into Claire and Aaron who were cycling the whole way round. Nutters. It was 36 degrees. We all scaled the side of this symetrical temple. The steps were uneven and steep. We got really high up. No-one cares if you climb on them. If they were in the UK, they'd be sectioned off for just looking at I'd imagine.

Then around 16:00 we arrived at Ta Prohm. This Temple was used heavily in the filming of "Tombraider" and you could see why. It was awesome. It felt like a giant rabid monkey could jump out of a door at any second! We loved this place. As a slight aside, they was a American girl who had dressed up as Lara Croft and was posing around the place which was a bit bizarre.

So with that we drove back to the Guest House. Me and Ame needed a real easy night before our first day so we went just the two of us for a brilliant dinner round the corner at the Silk Lounge. It was so chilled out, I almost few asleep there. Soon it was off to bed and wondering what would happen when we awoke at 06:00 in the morning.

Landed with a splash

* Friday, Saturday

So on Friday we awoke in Bangkok, got some brek in us and headed off to the airport. We were a little nervous about what was about to happen but somehow managed to find ourselves reading and relaxing until our plane went. The flight was a mere 1 hour so within an instant, we were in Siem Reap. The airport was beautiful and looked like a temple itself. It was super relaxed considering the FOUR bits of paper work you need to fill in order to get a visa and prove you ain't got pig flu!

We breezed out of customs to a warm arrival from our tuk-tuk driver Thom and Sally the local project coordinator. We were immediately on the road and heading towards the guest house that will be our home for the next 6 weeks. The Victory Guest House is great and really accomodating. It is run by Moy and her family and she's a star. The only downside to our arrival is that we were given a temporary room for the first evening because there was a school trip from France! Slightly unexpected. But the room was lovely and we knew we would unpack the next day.

We had an induction with Sally about what goes on and met some really nice people. That afternoon, Aaron and Claire invited us to come to the pool of this hotel they belong to. We thought what the hell and went down with them. Within hours of getting here, we were chilling out by a posh(ish) hotel pool. Strange.

That evening, we all went out to a Mexican restaurant for Bronwyn's leaving do, she had been on the build project and so gave us an insight into what it will be like. We walked into town and what's great is you don't get a lot of hassle. The tuk-tuk drivers want your business but they aren't pushy. We were really glad to get to see the town on the first night. We stayed out socialising until 1am and I have to admit what with the initial nerves and quite a bit of booze I felt a little worse for wear the next day. What a friendly excellent introduction to our placement! We couldn't of hoped for better.

The next day, we woke up a little hungover and just lounged around the Guest House restaurant for brek then lunch. In the afternoon, me and ame went for a daytime explore in Siem Reap. It really is a cool place. Foreign but familiar. Ame likes that although it is a tourist destination, due to the number of travelers who come to see the Ankor temples, that doesn't take any charm away.

There are street stalls and a beautiful old market and people living their lives and going about their business. Then amoungst it are cafes and restaurants but they are tasteful and all different and all tempting.

We had a good walk about, bought a colour photocopied Cambodia Lonely Planet (for $3 and we're compared it to someone's real one and it's exactly the same!) and wandered around the markets. 

We had a smoothy, and then joined the hotel's pool for a month at $25 each! There is a local currency called the riel but they pretty much use US Dollars for everything. There are no coins so riel is used as cent. There is 4000r to the dollar and this never moves despite what the economy is doing.

So after a little swim we headed back, got changed and went out back into town with Aaron, Claire and Sarah for a Khmer meal. It was fantastic and served on leaves.  We had the meal in the main (and I suppose most heavily touristy) street (called Pub Street!) and it is really bustling. There is so many places to try out.

The meals with drinks costs about $7-8 dollars. Beer is $0.50. So you can't go far wrong ;-) We even went for a few games of pool at Funky Monkey. Then it was back to the Guest House for more beers and cards until 2am. It's been a fantastic start. The hard work starts on Monday.

Emerald means Jade

* Thursday.  Today we got up nice and early again (06:30 as we are still a little jet-lagged).  We got out and about and had a nice breakfast of Cornflakes and Ame had toast!  We like a little familiarity in all this change ;-).

Then it was straight off to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  It was a short walk so we decided it would be good to stretch the old legs.  

On route we were approached by old ladies with bird food and we were well prepared for this scam after picking up a scam leaflet in the tourist office.  Basically they try and stuff bird food in your pocket or on top of your bag and try and make you pay for it.  We (and other tourists) were not having that and breezed through.  I suppose it's no different than the heather ladies in Covent Garden.

So we got into the Grand Palace and we were smuggly prepared for the strict clothing policy:  no bare legs or shoulders.  Lots of people were having to borrow clothing at the entrance but we did not suffer this indignity!  Once into the Temple grounds we signed up to the free English tour of the Temple and then the Palace.  The Temple was beautiful and of course massively over the top with decoration.  In a nutshell, the Grand Palace was built by King Rama I when he moved the capital to Bangkok around late 1700.  He also built the Temple as a private area of reflection and placed in it a spoil of war, the Emerald Buddha.  This is about 70cm high and made confusingly out of Jade.  The monk who discovered in hidden in a Temple many moons before mistakenly thought it was Emerald and it stuck.  There seems to be a common theme of mistaken labels sticking thorough out travel! 

The tour was operated by a young guide who looked like she was being assessed by a more senior guide.  I have to admit, I couldn't really understand any of her English so I only got a few words now and again.  But I admired her effort and she was extremely happy and proud of what she was doing.  Let's face it, her English was better than my Thai! 

We wandered around the tourist packed compound and were amazed by the sights.  This guard is a demon and apparently you can tell that because he is wearing pointy shoes!

I managed to confirm that the colour in the builds in stained glass, not jewels, but the gold is gold-leaf.  I'd like to know how much gold is there!  It must be worth a fortune! 

We were taken past excellent hand-painted walls with extreme detail depicting legends.  I particularly liked this one!

Then we entered the Temple itself.  No pictures were aloud inside so hence no pictures of the Buddha.  What was interesting is he has three different costumes depending on the season (the little diva!):  One for winter, one for the wet season and one for the summer.  Believe it or not this is the winter season so the Buddha had a little expensive cloak on (despite it being 30degrees c outside).  I have to admit I wasn't moved by the sight.  It is apparently one of the holiest sights in Thailand for Buddaism.  Inside, the locals were in silently prayer.  There was of course a lot of "rent a religion" westerns inside pretending they were spiritual.  You wouldn't find me pretending to pray in a English Church, so you won't find me pretending to pray in a Buddist temple.  Just because it's more popular to the west doesn't mean it isn't a little hypercritical in my book.  But still, I enjoyed the atmosphere.

Next it was onto the Palace.  This was the Palace built by Rama I which all the preceding King Rama's live in until Rama VII (the current Monarch) who moved his residence to a bigger compound further out to help him administer his projects for the people more easily.  He is a very popular King and the people love him.  Again there were beautiful thrones,  ceremonial rooms and gorgeous gardens. 

After the tour we felt quite knackered after all the walking, jumped in a taxi to Khaosan Road, had lovely lunch and fell asleep by the pool for about an hour.

Next task was to go and see what was happening with our camera and then try and go to this posh bar at the State Tower.  We got a taxi across town to our Panasonic Service Centre and handed in our service slip.  He returned with our camera.  FIXED!  No cost, on warrenty and fixed.  We couldn't believe it.  Go Team Amy and Rob!  So jumped in another taxi towards the state tower.  It's great hoping in public taxis because they aren't corrupt like some of the tuk-tuk drivers and you get to feel your exploring parts of the city you just couldn't cover otherwise.  It's great for people watching.  Eventually after 1 hour in traffic, we arrived at the State Tower and read the annoying words on the door:  No shorts.  Oh for God sake.  Really?!  I'm not used to dress codes but it is their country with their rules and customs in posh places.  We went up the 64 floors, got up to the bar, the hostess politely informed us that I needed to go and put trousers on, she showed us the view and then we got back in the lift.  Oh well.  Maybe another time.

So back to Khaosan for us.  We  went to this great, poshish bar around the corner.  It had loads of trees with lights and water features.  It was great for chilling out in.  It was also great to have our camera back in all it's glory although Dad's camera has served us really well.  We just love our wide-angle lens!

We watched the sun go down in this bar and the twinkling of the lights in the water.  It was great.  We then snuck off down another corner of Khaosan into a cool, hippy restaurant and had dinner.  

By 20:00, we were so tired again and went back to the hotel.  To be honest, we'd spent most of the money we wanted to spend and had a great time.  We are due to fly the next day so an early night was well called for.  It's been great here in Bangkok and a real lovely introduction to South East Asia.  Tomorrow night we will go to bed in our room in Siem Reap, Cambodia which we will live in for 6 weeks.  Crazy times.