Tour Guide: Pratunam Wholesale Market and Baiyoke Tower

Today I played tour guide to a group of Mum's from Tia's school, NIST.   We setoff from school at 9am and tackled one of the quickest but scariest modes of transport in Bangkok - the boat taxis.  Amazingly, all 17 of us managed to get on one boat so we were off to a good start.

I then showed the group around some of the vast number of alleyways that make up Pratunam Wholesale Market.  There are some great bargains to be had but the most successful stop of the day was at a shoe store that sells larger sized shoes for the Western feet (it is virtually impossible to get shoes over size 38 in Bangkok!). 

We then headed off to the Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Thailand.  The views from the 77th floor (indoor viewing area) and 84th floor (outdoor viewing with revolving deck) are quite spectacular, even on a hazy day.

We then headed down to the Sky Restaurant on the 76th floor where we indulged in a great International Buffet. 

Once everyone was full and feasted we wandered back through the market and returned to school on the boat taxis.

All in all a successful tour.

The Return of the Red Shirts in Bangkok

Next week, September 17th to be precise, marks 4 years since the 2006 Military Coup that ousted Thaksin, the Prime Minister of the time in Thailand. 

Bangkok is still under a State of Emergency so political rallies are illegal and will be broken-up.

The red shirts, however, are planning events to mark the coup so it will be interesting to see if these will be as peaceful as the red shirt cleaners are claiming.

I thinkmit will be a good idea to stay close to home around this date to make sure we are not stranded somewhere if they cancel the sky train or MRT.