Bored In Bangkok

We're still in Bangkok and beginning to tire of city life a little now. So much so that we have booked ourselves into a hotel with a pool so we can lie in the sun for a few days before heading to Vietnam. Maybe we should have bitten the bullet and gone for the express visa? We thought about going up to Chang Mai for a few days but the trains were fully booked with all but 3rd class standing remaining. As it's a 12 hour journey it wasn't really a viable option.So what have we been up to? Well we spent a wonderful evening with Aaron and Wayne who were proud as punch to show us around their new apartment and complex, complete with pool and gym. I hope they don't think I am condecending when I write this ....but they are 2 of nicest people I have ever met and make a lovely couple.We have been to Wat Po which is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok, and the only one I have also visited on my 2 previous visits. The sight of the huge reclining Buddha at 46 metres long never fails to impress me. We also took the river ferry to Wat Arun. The river ferries are another cheap way to get about with a ticket costing 15baht (25p) for any length journey.We feel like locals now in the city and Steve says he knows the way around Bangkok better than he does Nottingham!We took a day trip to Kanchanaburi and took a look around the JEATH musuem. (Japan, England, America, Australia & Holland) The musuem has documents, articles and photographs on how the 415km railway was built and exhibits the empty shell of the bomb that blew up the bridge over river Kwai. It is estimated that 16,000 POW's and 100,000 forced labourers from Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia died in building the bridge and railway. It was all very thought provoking, very sad indeed, and the cemetery even more so.After lunch we drove a further 60 minutes to the tiger temple. I had been really looking forward to being up close with the big cats and was distraught when the guide informed me the tigers get aggressive when they see the colour red or orange. Go on, guess what colour top I had on?Yup........red. A quick visit to a non tourist market stall soon sorted that, and I bought myself the only t-shirt that fitted me, in a lovely lime green, NOT! It was still skin tight but beggars can't be chosers. The tigers ended up being the hi-light of my week. As you can see from the photos I was in my element. The tigers are raised on a vegetation diet as to make them non aggressive, and after lunch when they are sleepy is when the monks allow photos to be taken with them. It is all strictly supervised so no-one comes to any harm.Steve has lost over 6kg in weight since starting traveling whereas I have put weight on. He says I starve him, I say it's the rubbish diet he had in the UK. Either way his clothes are hanging off of him but he looks great. That leads me on nicely to the fact he is constantly propositioned, I think the ladies and the ladyboys like his size and height.Steve here........Speaking of Ladyboys, we decided to go and see for ourselves if we could tell the difference by booking to see the Ladyboys Calipso show at the Asia Hotel, and what a top show it was. I'm still not sure now if I can tell the difference between the guys and the girls, in the 50 or so strong cast. We have posted a few pictures so you can judge for yourselves, some of the girls were stunning but all in all it was a great evenings entertainment.