In Bangkok, at twelve o'clock, they foam at the mouth and run,

But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

Tuesday 1^st March

Up again for our flight to Bangkok, and taxi to the Shanghai Mansion, where we upgraded to a larger room,   The Mu dam (Peony)

http://www.shanghaimansion.com/bangkok-hotel/Bangkok-Accommodation/Bangkok-Mudan-Classic.html. It was very large, with entrance hall, sitting area, huge (2 m) bed, large separate shower, and beautiful freestanding bathtub.  Outside there is a grand atrium with water garden/fish pond. And we were relieved to find that the bag we had left with them while we travelled in Myanmar was safe and sound.

We immediately took advantage of shower and bed, and thought about what to do that evening.  Friends had recommended the Blue Elephant restaurant, not far from our hotel, http://www.blueelephant.com/bangkok/index.html and we decided to try it.  Since we hadn’t really done anything in the afternoon, we were ready to go quite early.  Just as well, as the Bangkok traffic was so heavy that it took close to an hour.

It’s a stunning restaurant, in a lovely old building, with great service.  We were welcomed with cool towels and fruit drinks once again, and decided to have one of their set menus – we were only two, who don’t know a lot about Thai food (we live in a French village) and wanted to taste as much as possible.  The food was wonderful, and we enjoyed the whole experience, with one little blip – having travelled a lot in the past few months, with different currencies everywhere, we hadn’t quite got accustomed to the Thai Baht.  So, looking at the wine list, we confused the price per glass and the price per bottle, and so ended up with a much more expensive bottle of wine than we had intended.  But we really enjoyed the meal, especially as we hadn’t had great food in Myanmar, and it was a real pleasure to be spoiled. 

The restaurant called a taxi for us, and we discovered just how close we were to the hotel –about 5 minutes drive this time, with no traffic.  We had a walk around the neighbourhood, where tables were set up all over the sidewalks and side streets, with everyone eating and enjoying themselves.