Bangkok hippos, Jim Thompson's house and a Huntsman

Last week NT was in Bangkok for work so HT and I took the opportunity to join him for the weekend. 

I had searched online and booked the Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel that boasted being "a retreat with gourmet restaurants and lush 8 acre tropical gardens and beautiful swimming pool". Having visited this noisy, traffic choked capital many times NT was very sceptical that anywhere with this description could exist in central Bangkok. However he was wrong, not only did the hotel and its lovely garden exist there were birds and butterflies flying around and surprisingly there were lots of hippos!

 bathing in the ponds

 chasing each other around the garden

they were in the swimming pool 

                                               taking a dip in the waterfall

and sunbathing on the lawns

there were lots more hippos inside the hotel

The hippos were an art installation and all for sale but sadly even the smallest was too big to fit in my suitcase.

                          The next day we took a tuk tuk to Jim Thopmson's House and Museum.

 There were demonstrations of how the silk thread is carefully teased out from the silk worms cocoon 

 


and then dyed and spun with other threads to create a thick enough thread for weaving

some dancing..

and a guided tour of the beautiful teak house, which J.T. had constructed by combining 6 teak buildings, most of which were over two centuries old.

The house was elevated a full storey above ground as a precaution to avoid flooding during the rainy season

                                 

This pond contained lots of fish but also a huge turtle with a white body, which I've never seen before

Jim Thompson was an American retired military officer who loved Thailand and devoted himself to the revival of the hand weaving of Thai silk and contributed to it's worldwide recognition. 

By chance the day we visited would have been his birthday and a ceremony was being held. Sadly J T disappeared in 1967 whilst on holiday in Malaysia so wasn't able to attend, he would have been 109.

Much later on we looked for somewhere we could watch the final matches of the Six Nations Rugby and found ourselves in the namesake of our local UK bar -The Huntsman, which seemed quite fitting. Unfortunately although England won their match they did not get enough points to win the championship.

Evening walk around MacRitchie Reservoir

Last week I was 'home alone' for a few nights so one evening arranged to meet a few friends and walk around the MacRitchie reservoir. I've walked here a few times but always in the morning and towards the end of the 2-3 hour trail it is of course boiling hot. I thought that an evening walk might be even more enjoyable, with the possibility of a sunset and to finish off we could visit the Lava Bistro, which is closed during the daytime.

It was about 4.30pm and 28 degrees when we exited Caldecott MRT station. Lots of walkways from an MRT station to nearby bus stops or shops have coverered roofs to give shade from the sun and shelter from rain but the start of our route didn't have this and it still felt very hot.

I was surprised to see the following signs..

 the local area is called Toa Payoh and their Kindness movement have provided umbrellas for people to use, then leave at the shaded end for the next person-I couldn't help but think "..only in Singapore!"

 15 minutes later we reached the reservoir. It was very busy with lots of people canoeing and kayaking and also lots of monkeys looking to snatch any unattended belongings in search of food.

even the monkeys were looking for shade!

 We left the canoe clubs behind and headed off down the trail into the jungle. It's a 10 km loop around the whole reservoir, with an extra 3km if you include the wonderful Tree Top Loop but as this closes by 4.45 we sadly had to leave this out. 

  It must have been a runner's club night as to start with we were pursued and then overtaken by lots of runners, but after a while we were pretty much alone, which was lovely. Well apart from a few more monkeys on the way.

 lots of vegetation and some pretty flowers..

 ..and a very pretty bird with a vivid green back. I still haven't identified it, it was a bit like a pigeon but acted like a ground bird. Any ideas? Sorry not a great photo.

We walked quite fast and an hour later we were more than half way around, the temperature was now really pleasant and the evening light much softer than in the heat of the day.

 The last part of the walk is via a boardwalk alongside the reservoir. Because we had walked our route quite fast we completed the circuit before the sun had set and missed seeing any sunset. But our consolation prize was very enjoyable; a glass of wine and some very tasty pizza.

Art Walk@ Wessex

Last weekend there was an Art Walk, or Artists Open House on the Wessex Estate which is only a short cycle ride from where we live. The Wessex Estate is a small area of 4 or 5 roads with black and white houses, large tropical trees and a few open areas of grassland.

                      

The houses were built in the 1940s by the British administration and became the homes of non commissioned officers and soldiers until the 1970s. The area then transformed into an arts enclave with many artists living or having their studios in one of these iconic buildings. The whole area exudes peace and calm. 

I found the first sign pointing to one of the 14 art studios that had opened it's doors to visitors that weekend and then cycled around to visit most of them

                       There were etchings, paintings, sculpture, silk prints and all sorts of art work.

Wessex Estate even has it's own village square. Here there are now some classy restaurants, a chocolatier and the Wessex Tavern.

A little further on is The Colbar aka Colonial Bar. This had been the canteen and unofficial mess for the soldiers stationed locally. In 2003 the whole building was dismantled, moved to it's current site and then reassembled. 

As the sky was looking very ominous I didn't have time to visit The Colbar but will head back another day as I'm told it's well worth a visit.

I had enjoyed my art walk although I didn't find anything that I could afford and liked enough to buy and fortunately managed to cycle home as the thunder started and just before the heavens opened