On Wednesday evening I was invited to dinner at a very posh restaurant called Vertigo. Situated in Sathorn Road in downtown Bangkok it's the second highest restaurant in the country. After the lift whisked us up to the 59th floor we found there were another 3 floors to get to the top - this time by walking up a series of steps that got smaller and smaller as we ascended. We were in the open air and here is the view looking over the railings.
And when I nearly dropped my camera this was the result!
Rupert Scott, a friend of Maurice's was our host for the evening. Together with Maurice's niece Fon and Simon, her husband, we battled through about an hour of Bangkok's traffic to reach our destination. What a lovely evening we all had. The food was absolutely delicious and the ambience as you can see was quite spectacular.
This photograph would have been beyond my powers were it not for Fon as, seeing I was struggling to get the right exposure for both the foreground and background took my camera away and adjusted all the settings in an instant. It was then that I discovered that Fon is a professional photographer having gained a BA from Brooks Instiitute of Photography in Santa Barbara. California. No mosquitos at that height, and the air was fragrant with the scent of my favourite flower, the frangipani. A brilliant evening - great company, great food, and certainly one to remember.
Another day and it's off to the Bangkok Sports Club with Maurice for a game of pool. We stopped on the way for a cup of coffee with Derek Pott. This was the view from the window which overlooks the RBSC golf course.
The flat topped trees you can see in the mid ground remind me of the plains in Africa. As I was still suffering from jet-lag, Maurice beat me by the merest whisker - ten frames to one!
I didn't understand the way that phone companies charge such exorbitant prices when you take your mobile phone abroad. That is until Vodaphone texted me to tell me how much I'd spent in just the first day of my holiday! But my young friend came to my rescue by texting me instructions on what settings I should disable on the phone. It's WiFi from now on in.
Just returned from an evening at a friend's pub. Barry, who just this year retired from the United Nations here in Bangkok runs The Ship Inn just off Soi Cowboy. Maurice and I caught the (very crowded) Skytrain and wandered for half an hour down this brightly lit soi (street) before going in to the pub.
At the pub we were joined by Rupert, Simon and Barry, and after a really good dinner of sausage and mash (I know, I know I should be eating Thai food while in Thailand) we decided on a game of darts - Southern counties versus Shropshire. We won. By the way I may look quite short in this picture but Simon is 6ft. 4 after all!
Recently, because of the smoking ban in restaurants Barry's wife cleverly moved a wall inwards to make an outside smokers seating area.
Ten seconds after leaving the peace and quiet of the Ship Inn...
... we were on the main Sukhumvit road amid the noise, colour and vibrancy of Bangkok's traffic as we made our way back to the Skytrain and home.
