We had a bit of a slow start today which might have something to do with all the Mekhong Whiskey and Tequila the night before but surprisingly we are not too hungover.

My plan was to have a leisurely sort of day maybe even just read my book but oh no, Robbie can’t sit still, consequently that plan was soon modified.  We headed off to do some  shopping  but I wasn’t really up to get hassled to buy, buy, buy in the markets so we  went to Jungceylon shopping centre for a look around, it’s air conditioned and out of the reach of the street hawkers. You can actually shop at your leisure here, items are more expensive about the same as in Australia and it’s largely a Thai style Myers with high end speciality stores, set prices no bartering, the bartering wears me out and I am hopeless at it.  We were both looking to buy some clothes but didn’t really find anything we liked except Robbie got a new pair of crocs/thongs which incidentally ended up giving him blisters so I guess he will never wear them again!

There was not a lot taking our eye in this shopping centre, too top end for us we aren’t the designer Gucci Pucci types.  We headed back out into the street and noticed a food market across the road; well I am sure Robbie knew exactly that it was there as he had mentioned it a couple of times as a place he wanted to visit.

As always the roads were very congested and crossing the road is never easy ( well not for me)  you have to have balls of steel and just walk out into the traffic the cars and tuk tuks go around you but I am just too timid.  There are limited pedestrian crossings and even if you do find one no one stops for them anyway so Robbie my guide and my savior helps this little old lady across the road as he always needs to when we are overseas. I hold on to his hand for dear life as he navigates through the traffic. Obviously he does have ‘balls of steel’ 🙂

Once across the road it was time to explore what was going on in the food market.  This was a pretty modern concern very clean, air conditioned and the food so fresh some of it was even still alive. We basically got left alone here no one tried to sell us a thing as it wasn’t a tourist place but where the locals come to buy their fresh produce & we stood out like sore thumbs, definitely no blending in especially when I am going ‘WTF?’ at some of the things considered to be food!

We wandered around with our cameras at the ready and found some strange delights to photograph. There were vegetables, fish, eels and water snakes still swimming in their trays.

Large trays of frogs took pride of place, they looked very plump but by no means appetizing. I am sure they would be a culinary delight to some though.

Another stall specialized in Pigs Heads, seriously unnerving having Miss Piggy’s eyes looking at us, people where considering very closely which head to buy and bartering for the best price.Walking past another stall I thought someone was throwing water at me and then I heard the stall owner giggle, it was the fish in his trays swimming and splashing, now that’s fresh he gestured and smiled that maybe I should stand back to save myself getting a bath.

I think we were the only westerners in there but I would have bought food there if I was planning to cook. It didn’t look like a salmonella breading ground as some of the other markets we have seen in our travels. It was very hygienic but having said that I am sure I wouldn’t have got myself a couple of fat frogs for dinner. I am thinking more some nice fresh veggies!After looking at this food we decided it was time for lunch and we went to a traditional little Thai restaurant and had some Pad Thai and Fried rice. It was very hot in this restaurant we were sitting under the fan but it did very little to ease the heat, and I was feeling very clammy then I got the hugest rumble in my belly. Oh oh, not good, I wasn’t game to ask if I could use the toilet in the restaurant as by the look of the place it would have had a squat toilet for sure. The way my tummy felt a ‘real’ toilet is what was going to be required.  Robbie got me over the main road and then I bolted back to our hotel at warp speed which was about two blocks away, as I ran I told Robbie I would meet him at Pums cooking school after my urgent call of nature was addressed. He said he would come with me but I said NO this was something I needed to address on my own. 🙂 How I made it back I will never know but I did. You don’t want to hear the rest of that story LOL.

Mercy dash over and feeling good I set of to find Robbie. I set of in the direction of Pums but he hadn’t made it to the cooking school yet as he got distracted along the way taking photos. I know that it may amaze you that Robbie got distracted!  When we arrived at Pums there was a cooking class in progress and there were 8 people cooking up a storm we had a chat to a few on the Aussie on the course and they said it was great and recommended it so we signed Robbie up there and then to attend in a few  days time. I didn’t sign up, I am the feedee, his job is to feed me!

I was starting to run out of steam I think the night before had caught up with me, ever ready Robbie Godden was still raring to go but he could see I was shattered so we started to head back towards our hotel. We saw a food hawker and stopped to get a coke from him. This fella spoke very good English and his special treat was dried squid he was telling us it was dried in the sun and that it makes a great snack.  I didn’t try it. He was a very friendly man and said he had a really good friend that was an Aussie and that he often come to stay with him. He insisted that we took pictures with him and his squid and loved seeing the images in the camera. We bid him farewell and continued back to the hotel. I stayed and rested in the hotel and Robbie went to have a massage. He was gone about an hour and half so I had a good rest and was ready to go again.We both had a shower and headed over the beach to try and get some photos of the sunset. It was lovely and cool. We decide not to have too big a night as we had an early start the next day as we were heading off early sight seeing again on an organised tour.

We went down our favorite little street and I had some Indian food and Robbie had Thai.  We dined alfresco so we could watch all the goings on in the street, there is always something to watch and laugh about in the streets.

One of the things I wanted to do while we were in Thailand was to go to a Cabaret Lady boy show and Robbie had read in Lonely Planet that if you went up near the Paradise resort that there were a couple of places that had drag show on each night for free which was every bit as good as Simon Cabaret.  I thought it was worth a look and dragged Robbie along to check it out. On the surface it didn’t look anymore out there than Bangla Road so we settled down in some nice comfy seats on the street for a drink. We had a charming little waiter that kept our drinks coming.  I did think it was odd to be served by a boy as we had been served by girls in every other bar. Our waiter  said that the show started at 11pm and was very good, it was 10pm when we arrived. Robbie kept asking me are you sure you want to sit here and as usual I was oblivious to what was going on around us. We were actually in the Gay district and all the bars had mainly men in them with the other men friends. There was a scattering of hetro’s like us but on closer inspection we were in the minority.

Everyone was so welcoming so I just went with the flow.  Well just before 11 we headed inside to get a good seat for the cabaret. Oh dear, that was a shock to little old me, there was all these young men in tight white jeans and no shirt up on stage grooving to the music. They all had a number on them, again I was oblivious, I thought it must have been a competition or something, then it hit me, oh no this was a gay pick up place! The bar and couches were lined with single men who were picking someone to drink with and be a ‘friend’ for the night by the number on their jeans.  Ewwwww wasn’t happy with that at all, these poor young men being exploited by dirty old men. Finally I agreed to leave. I had to admire Robbie’s patience after the penny finally dropped with me to what he was trying to say when he kept asking if I’m sure I wanted to stay. Sometimes I amaze myself how naive I am to the ways of the world 🙂

We wandered around back up Bangla Road for a while but it wasn’t long before we were soon tucked up in bed. I must say it didn’t take long for either of us to go to sleep.