Every weekend is intentionally some kind of adventure and some more grand than others. Vince was away in Melbourne buying chocolate covered liquorice...I mean, he went to a conference so I was left holding down the fort for a couple of days.
My friend, Kay and I went for a run to Sammakorn (7 km) which ended up at the market and then a nursery where she bought a whole lot of great plants. She asked when they could be delivered (everything is deliverable here) and ten minutes later, the plants, Kay and myself were all loaded into the truck and on our way home...that's great service.
Nursery
Our ride home. These also double as "chicken busses" which are the cheapest form of transportation and I had my initiation to one yesterday. They are not called chicken busses here but someone came up with that name-they are called that somewhere else I think. They have no official routes that you can figure out so you just have to be ready to jump off if it suddenly goes the wrong way. Most run up and down the main drag which we only know thanks to a couple of friends who have had to do their own jumping.
Expat ball hockey in Sammakon.
The run to Sammakon is a real eyeopener where you see every type of floatable object acting as a boat, lots of fishing, and people living their lives on the klong. This week we actually saw kids in it with a remote controlled speed boat. I have to admit that after I saw all the fishing I mentally decided not to buy cooked fish from the food vendors. I'll save that for the market. The walkways lead to houses.
I had two birthday celebrations to go to which meant a trip downtown both night. It is always good to have an excuse to explore another part of the city and what a great place to be for milestone birthdays...a 50th and a 30th. On both nights we ended up in a trendy expat part of the city called Sukhumvit but each in a slightly different area.
Rooftop bar: 32 floors up and open to the sky!
VW van bars. Tables are set up on the street....like everything else.
The 30th party. A great bunch of people who we met at the very beginning and we have remained friends. They are always keen to do anything and have become really good at "figuring things out" and exploring.
We park our bikes 5 minutes away from home and on the main road since it is much easier to catch a taxi/bus/chicken bus from there. Last night I rode home around midnight (no worries very safe and quiet neighbourhood) and for the first time ever I got chased by 2 soi dogs (street dogs). Fortunately, with my experience of riding in flooded streets I am now proficient at riding with my feet almost up at my handlebars and I was able to avoid getting my ankles nipped. Some of these dogs look wonderful since people feed them but others look like they are rotting away. I was warned not to touch them which is weird because I can never really think of a reason that I would even consider it. We have heard that trucks come from Cambodia and round the dogs up and take them back....and I'll let you imagine the rest.
Vince got home at 6 am, had a 2 hour nap and then we headed out on the Sundayday adventure which involved looking for a klong bike for me. That story another day...once I find what I am looking for. In any case, an adventure is easier with a destination and it provided us with one: a bike store 20 km away. We got to the main road, locked our bikes, checked the bus stop to see that the bus we were waiting for wasn't listed...uh oh. Not sure why we worried since the organized chaos that exists here always works even when it seems like it shouldn't. Two minutes later it approached....and then it was gone. Confused? Yes. If this is a bus stop....and that was a bus......then where else should we catch it? We didn't have time to think before the next one was barreling down the three-lane highway, the couple beside us waved at it and we watched as it expertly crosses all three lanes, and stopped a few meters in front of us. Payment is on a "where are you going basis" which is a bit of a problem when you don't really know where you are going. We seem to always pay the max but not a big difference. That lesson will have to come later since we are focussing on the "not getting lost" part. Success, we made it and actually were smart enough to get off at an overpass crossing instead of playing a lethal game of frogger across the highway.
We keep forgetting to put ourselves in pictures so this is Vince buying pineapple.
And eating it on the bus which we ran to catch. It didn't even stop....just slowed down enough so that we could get on.
This is at the end of soi 164 which is our cue to "get the heck off the bus". We we yakking away when Vince suddenly saw it so we had a close call. They will stop anywhere though so no worries.
What other way to end a tough day on the bus and shopping....with a foot massage of course. I was so zonked afterwards that I could hardly find the energy to ride home.
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