First stop is the big Buddha, a huge gilt standing statue which towers over the surrounding wat. Our driver assures us the the 20 Baht fare (40p) is correct. At the next wat a very helpful Thai tells us that the government is running a week-long promotion to boost tourist income in the wake of the recent closure of Bangkok airport. Flights into the capital are down from 800 a day to 300 and in an attempt to encourage tourists to spend more the government is givng petrol vouchers to tut-tut drivers when they take their passengers to duty-free shops around the city. So as part of our tour we visit two jewellers, two tailors and a duty-free handicraft centre, where we try to feign a modicum of interest but leave as soon as we can! We see a surprising amount of the city during our tour, skirting around the Dusit Zoo, the Chitralada Palace and the Royal Turf Club and passing in front of the Anantasamakhom Palace which is vaguely reminicent of the White House, as well as a number of wats. The wide boulevards around the Democracy Monument are quite pleasant and the wats are beautiful examples of Lanna architecture, but in the main this is not the most attractive of cities.
Back in Khao San Road in the evening things have really livened up; bars are pumping out loud thumping bass and drums (I hesitate to call it music – that’s my age showing) and everywhere is buzzing. Several Hmong in their very distinctive box hats decorated with shells and silver studs and chains are mingle with other hawkers as they attempt to bracelets, wooden frogs (which make a noise uncannily like croaking when stroked with a small stick) and other items to the assorted crowd who sit in the bars or promenade the streets. We take a seat, order some cocktails and get talking to a couple from Bristol who are coming to the end of a two-week holiday in Thailand.