Bangkok - and i have two nights to cope with..........

- One Night in Bangkok lyrics

Singapore

Flights were fine.

Leaving UK at 10pm, flying 11 hours to Kulua Lumpa and then one hour to Singapore, arriving 8pm, does lead to some interesting decisions on when to eat.
Airline assumes you want to eat an hour or so into flight - which is either 11pm at night or 7am in morning depending on what time zone you want to adopt mid flight.

I have one night only in Singapore which was thrown in "free" as part of train trip.

Now,  i soon worked out:

when i saw plasma (ok a small one) above the bath, in the bathroom that is about as big as my house, that there is no such thing as a free night;

when butler rang door asking if there was anything she could do, that there is no such thing as a free night;

when i got lost in the dressing room, that there is no such thing........

Ok maybe not free, but nothing extra to pay.

So join train Tuesday lunchtime. I did read instructions beforehand and notice that i needed a tie for dinner. So i said to myself that the last thing i wanted to do when packing was to forget a tie, and sure enough when i got to Heathrow i noticed that the last thing i forgot to pack was indeed a tie (i can never remember who came up with that joke, i think it was Rowan Atkinson when he made a career out of actually telling jokes rather than just making strange faces). So the first three shops had ties reduced, tax free, to just over fifty quid, so you can not believe my joy when i saw Tie Rack (i never thought i would actually ever say that phrase)

Train Singapore to Bangkok

After being picked up from hotel, checked in for train at another hotel and then boarded at station around 20mins outside the city centre - Woodlands, just on border with Malaysia.

This train is a bit more up market than the trip i took from Perth to Adelaide, but actualy atmosphere was quite relaxed and journey very interesting. You spend two nights in a cabin that is functional but not large, although shower was actually very good.

The train winds its way up through Malaysia for the first day and a half and then crosses into Thailand.

There is one stop on the second day at Penang, and another on following day at River Kwai. Penang was quite interesting, includer a rickshaw ride, but lacked a bit of focus. The local guide was well intentioned but lost his audience toward the end as his jokes lost a bit in translation - ask me when i am back and i will tell you his viagra joke!

River Kwai was more interesting, actually it would have been worth a longer stop at musuem and memorial.

Meals were excellant, breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner - i have not been on a cruise but it seems like the same endless supply of food, other than no midnight buffet.

So all goes according to plan until lunch on last day, heading from River Kwai to Bangkok. Sudden braking sends water glass, some of the soup, thankfuly clear, into my lap and chair. A truck had apparently decided to play chicken with the train at a level crossing and train driver hit the brakes. A few broken glasses (well actually according to Claims Are Us "no win no fee" i should say there was utter carnage and i wont be able to sleep, or eat noodle soup, for years) but nobody injured other than the locomtive which packed up. So replacement sent and original arrival at Bangkok of 2-30pm, which changed to 4-30pm due to general delays, is now 8-30pm.

Train passengers

You meet a range of different people on train trips, and this has been no exception:

Peter +Antonia - American, Father and daughter, well travelled, whole range of business ventures, she is studying international relations at Edinburgh University, he is based n San Francisco

Vicky - Canadian, but seems to have spent last twenty or so years teaching in various parts of Asia

Lynne - a retired Australian croupier/surveillance manager, who spent 12 years in South Africa after going there for 6 months

Daniel - a 50ish New York language teacher who had just finished teaching in a monastery in Tibet

Toni and Pam cousins from New York and Washington state,  both well travelled and both understand and have watched rugby matches in US (neither typical American traits)

Dave, personal trainer and ex Olympic weightlifter and accountant wife Rosalind
And of course they had a 43 year old banker to talk to!

Off again

This time to far east for a couple of weeks over xmas and new year.

Fly to Singapore via Kuala Lumpa
Train to Bangkok
Few days in Bangkok
Trip to Chang Mai and Chang Rai
Beach in Hua Hin

Swapping the curent severe weather warnings for the heat overseas.

Not sure how much i will blog, or what photos i may be able to post.

plus ca change........

you arrive at car hire desk.....

plus ca change - You spent half hour filling out details required when you booked it on internet but at desk they know nothing but your name

plus ca change - They dont have the car you ordered (for me thats quite good, i order the most basic car and this instance get upgraded to bmw one series automatic)

plus ca change - You get the hard sell on optional insurance

plus ca change - There is something in the car you dont understand. this time the sat nav. within two minutes i have changed to english, entered destination and off i go. first major junction its suggests a different route to the one i normally take. but this has been designed by the finesr german brains, i have to go with its suggestion. well, an extra half hour on the drive, having seen parts of marseilles that i have never seen before, i eventually work it out. the previous skinflint had set it to avoid toll roads

back for a while

its about 12 months since i took 3 months off, so in south of france for a week i thought i might add a few entries - well at least one. they will be short, gramatically incorrect in most instances and probably make little sense as i am entering on tablet which is new experience.

i am in six four les plages in apartment i bought a couple of years under leaseback scheme. these are popular in france and encouraged by french govt. i get to spend two weeks here and get rent from the operator - lagrange- for the rest of the time. lease is for 10 years after that i can renew, sell or let myself. of course after 10 years of hefty bonuses.......now i did say some of this might not make sense