Continuing the story…

This Sunday, April 8th, we had to dedicate to the famous Chatuchak Market, because I knew they were going to love it and it only opens on weekends.

You can find everything at this market, and I mean everything. Food, animals, clothing, furniture, right down to the things you'd never even think to look for. You can buy the same handicrafts displayed in Bangkok's grand hotels and boutiques, often for a quarter of what those places charge.

It was an exhausting morning of shopping, shopping, and more shopping. The temptation is irresistible and you always leave with that nagging feeling that you should have bought this or that. The god Helios took pity on my mountain-dwelling friends and didn't blaze quite so mercilessly that day.

Back at the hotel, I left them to get another massage, since I'd already had a second one with oil and had no desire for a third.

I waited for them at my place so I could take them to our favorite restaurant in the neighborhood. It's a Thai place, sui generis as always, where we're already well known. Juan went off to eat with friends of Marcel and Jenny's, leaving us women to ourselves.

Still with enough energy to take on the market famous for its incredible knockoffs of major luxury brands, I took them to Pat Pong. This is one of Bangkok's red-light districts, a neighborhood of prostitution and extreme things, and it's all mixed in together with that kind of shopping.

Several hours of browsing later, we were all wearing the satisfied look of the successfully shopped-out, and we ducked into a show that was, to put it mildly, grotesque, starting with the name: "Ping Pong Pussy" (which we later repurposed for jokes among ourselves and with Juan).

Women doing things with their vaginas that I never imagined were physically possible. For example, and don't be alarmed, they shoot ping pong balls, darts, and all manner of objects. Maru wasn't sure she wanted to go in, and Sofía offered to stay back with her, so I told them to wait in the bar next door while Adriana, Xochitl, and I ventured inside.

About half an hour later, the two of them showed up anyway and the five of us were together again.

After all that shopping chaos and a near-sleepless night, we got up early to head to the incredible, fascinating city of Ayutthaya, 86 kilometers from Bangkok.

We took the train, which had a wonderfully folkloric quality to it, since for this route there was only third-class available. Windows open for lack of air conditioning, old but clean.

We arrived looking thoroughly sleep-deprived and like we'd been out all night, Juan in tow.

Ayutthaya (meaning "sacred city") was the capital of the Kingdom of Siam from 1350 to 1767.

It belongs to the Sukhothai period, the so-called "Golden Age" of that kingdom. It's a historical park, and its temples and ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of these ruins belong to the same remarkable era as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which was then part of the Siamese kingdom. The architectural style is nearly identical, and a single day is only enough to give you a sense of the whole.

We toured the site in a classic tuk-tuk that fit all of us. We also rode elephants, and since Sofía had hurt her back, my wonderful husband stayed behind with her while the rest of us climbed on. We ate at a very simple, very Thai restaurant, with no other options available. Beautiful views of the Chao Phraya River.

On Tuesday the 10th, there was still unfinished shopping business for everyone. I went with Maru and Adriana to look at clothes at MBK, since Maru had come wanting to buy things for a new business venture and we already knew the place well enough to keep her from wasting too much time. Adriana took the opportunity to shop for family and friends.

Meanwhile, Juan went off with Xochitl and Sofía to buy the laptops they still needed. We all had dinner together and came back loaded down with electronics.

Wednesday the 11th, we were supposed to head north to Sukhothai, but the driver and the van we'd hired in advance simply left us standing on the street.

After nearly an hour and several phone calls to the man at the travel agency, he told us the van had broken down and that he'd send another one tomorrow.

Not wanting to risk losing another day, we scrambled to change plans, and given how booked up everything was for the holidays, there wasn't much to choose from.

Once again Marcel's advice proved useful, and after talking it over for a bit, we all agreed to go to Krabi.

Krabi is in the southwest of Thailand, on the beautiful Andaman Sea, which also washes the Malaysian beaches we've visited in the past.

It turned out to be a pleasant, touristy sort of place with a beach called Ao Nang that was as calm as a swimming pool, with some of the most beautiful water I've ever seen.

Maru immediately took charge and proposed a tour of the islands, which all of us loved.

The Photos

To be continued…..

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