Friday, October 08, 2004

Back from Bangkok

Well I've been back for one week now. It was a great trip. I'll post pictures over the weekend. The flight out was great, Thai Airways business class is very good. The hotel was good also, very nice Japanese resaraunt on the first floor. The work was hard but I got a lot done. I had the Sunday I arrived and the Saturday before I left to see some of Bangkok.

The day I arrived, Sunday 26th, was the day of the GAA All Ireland football final with Mayo Vs Kerry. I spent Sunday night travelling around the Irish pubs of Bangkok but I couldn't find anywhere showing the match. They were all pseudo-Irish pubs. They had the Guinneass gear hanging on the walls but no reall connection to Ireland.

I ended up hooking up with about a dozen other Irish people in the exact same situation. We couldn't find the match and so had to get friends and family to text us the scores as they happened. Kerry totally dominated the game, so it is probably a good thing I didn't see it!

Travelling all over Bangkok on my very first day in Thailand was an experience! At one point I got lost and hired a "Tuc Tuc" to take me to the Irish pub. A "Tuc Tuc" is a tiny 3 wheel vehicle with a driver in the front and seating for two in a small rear carriage. I ate in a pretty dingy diner near one of the Irish bars. By the time I got back to the hotel I was exhausted.

I'll write more about Bangkok tomorrow!