Hope everyone is having a good Christmas, enjoy your turkey dinner and all the trimmings!
After a big Christmas Eve party put on by the hotel complete with turkey (sadly no stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes or cranberry) and lots of other goodies, we spent a rather quiet day, walking the beach and enjoying the warm sun.
I can’t believe it’s been a week since two very excited travellers set off from Victoria on a dark, overcast morning. It felt strange to lock up our home for such a long time. Many hours and timezones later we land in a cold -1 degree Seoul, Korea where we find we missed our original flight and end up on another one going to Bangkok via Taipei. We arrive at the Salil Hotel after midnight, tired and ready for bed.
Our first week was spent delighting in the sights and sounds of Bangkok. I always find Bangkok an organized chaos – the traffic, the people, the smells, so many different smells. So odd to see people cooking on the sidewalks, fancy skyscrapers in the background. The delicious aroma of barbecue, lemongrass and kaffir lime fills the air.
Tuk tuk drivers calling out to take you wherever you want to go….. as long as you’re willing to visit a tailor or two.
One big highlight was visiting the Jim Thompson House. Thompson, an American, is a famous person here in Thailand as he revived the craft of hand weaving silk and contributed substantially to the Thai silk industry growth and worldwide recognition. 
He was a designer and architect and made Thailand his home after World War 2. He designed and built a traditional Thai house with some western touches and filled the halls with ancient Thai artifacts.
Another fun day was lunching in the Floating Market restaurant on top of the Baiyoke Sky Tower, the tallest building in Bangkok as seen in the Hangover part 2. We finished up that day watching the Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug….3D Imax.
Bangkok is very lit up for Christmas, not sure if anyone really knows the reason behind the holiday but they sure embrace it anyway. Bad Christmas tunes are everywhere, but the amazing lights are more than make up for it!
We leave Bangkok just as huge demonstration is starting, we heard about one million people were expected, loud speakers blaring, people on motorbikes honking and waving Thai flags. Although everyone we saw seemed in a festive mood, I just hoped it stayed
that way.
Off to Krabi for a beachy Christmas.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!
Welcome to our Saffron Journey