20.01 Day 5 Bangkok
Day 5 - Saturday 20th Jan - Bangkok
As well as providing ice-cream, Lobsuek hostel also provides breakfast. 8am-10am might suit most backpackers, but as i’m awake by 6am and everyone else by 7am, we have some spare time so I pop to the roof to write some of this, spying as I do a water monitor lizard in the canal below. Breakfast, in the common area downstairs is, to the kids’ thorough satisfaction, beautifully plain. Toast with butter and or jam. A pair of thick fluffy pancakes with honey and sliced banana. That’s it. Kate and I do at least also each get a few cups of tea and coffee - Kate turning down the available whitener powder in an attempt to get used to black tea for the upcoming few months.
As we walk out of the hostel on our morning’s adventure we spot the water monitor lizard, probably 4 foot long, snaking up and down the canal, occasionally diving under water, his movements given away by a trail of bubbles rising to the surface.
Walking south, after a few minutes we pass the Democracy Monument - looking like 4 giant incisor teeth rising out of the ground, surrounding in a plinth in the middle, all in the centre of an oversized roundabout.
We source a small ball of string to act later as a washing line and continue on the shady side of the road, down past the Giant Swing, which is fact closer in shape to an elongated Japanese Torii. There is now swing. A local working at the nearby town hall out for a walk informs us that there used to be a swing for ceremonies but too many people kept falling off.
Onwards we get to a metro station and on for five stops east to Lumphini Park. This calm oasis in the middle of a hectic cit, though still sweltering does at least have swathes of green and several man-made lakes. In the largest of these, tourists, and locals, can hop on one of a dozen or so plastic swan or duck pedalos. Once Seb links these swans with the Sydney Swans AFL team, he’s looking at the numbers printed on the side as we approach hoping to get #11, Tom Papley, or #5 Isaac Heeney. Instead, after getting lifejackets, Seb and I are given #8. James Rowingbottom Seb states confidently. He means Rowbottom and I've no idea if he’s correct, though he often is on these matters.
These slow moving pedalos with the turning circle of a cruise ship let us potter around the lake, joined in the water and also perching on the edges by more water monitor lizards up to 5 feet in length. Some of the more curious tuck in their legs, propelling themselves forward with swishes of their tail to come and see if we have any food. Whilst Seb’s legs are too short to do any pedalling in our swan, Kate has her feet up outsourcing the pedalling to Sienna.
After this, and some more water, we trudge towards the playpark spotted from the lake with two tired children. Seb’s child instincts kick-in though on sight of the play park and he dashes about in the heat and humidity leaving us to plan where to find the next aircon and food the moment, or hopefully just before the moment he crashes.
To that end, a short walk north out of the park brings us to a small parade of exclusive shops and cafes - where one almond croissant costs more than our dinner for 4 the night before, which is to say normal Sydney prices. Down an escalator to a Thomas Dux / Waitrose supermarket where a selection of just cooked meals are available. Despite its premiumness, the selection of drinks are still very cheap, as they have been everywhere so far, 2 litres of water for 7 baht (30c). Our tasty meal is tucked into unceremoniously at the top of the escalator back to the ground floor, grasping the remnants of the aircon from down below.
We take a Grab back to Lobsuek where Sienna builds a den in the lower bunk bed using all the duvets, pillows, cushions and towels. In that den they watch some ipad tv. Kate tackles our first laundry run around the corner at a self serve laundrette, 40 baht ($2) for 9kg wash, 35 minutes, while I construct a criss-crossing drying line from top bunk to top bunk with our new string for the damp clothes.
We want to tackle the nearby Golden Mount as the sun is setting but that would mean being there from 5pm onwards we know we need food inside the kids, so we take them back to our current local around the corner for another portion of egg, pork and rice and pad see ew. As we begin our 20 minute walk south east along the canal, the kids are encouraged to join a couple of locals who are throwing crusts of bread into the canal creating a feeding frenzy amongst the large catfish below. Our water monitor lizard from this morning doesn’t join the show.
For many years this used to be the highest point in Bangkok until anonymous skyscrapers began climbing upwards. The not-dirty-but-not-clean air does its job at least of creating a warm setting sun in the distance. 
Sienna’s experience is enhanced when she is given separately both a small garland of flowers and then a purple bracelet by those looking after the temple. There is a small shop near the top selling drinks for those parched from the walk to the temple at remarkably reasonable prices considering the captive audience.
Seb charges ahead again on the way down and when Sienna and I catch up and we’re walking away in the now darkness, we pause for Sienna to cast a wish written on a foil golden leaf and hung among thousands of other wishes. As well as the brightly lit temple viewed from ground level we also admire a large collection of golden edged chinese lanterns of varying colours strung above our heads.
We opt to show Seb and Kate the fried insects along Khaosan Road, but do have to bribe Se to keep walking with the promise of an ice-cream, eaten whilst Sienna and Kate pick out a silk scarf as a souvenir from Bangkok.