November 2009 Newsletter

Saturday, 14th November, 2009

The months are flying by and Christmas is nearly here! I had three days in Bangkok this month and managed a bit of Christmas shopping.

The traffic seemed worse if you are planning a trip make sure you are near a sky rail or underground station, so much easier than sitting for ages in a taxi in grid lock traffic. The strength of the dollar meant a really good rate so we hit the shops and got some real bargains and also had a couple of great meals.

We stayed at the Rembrandt Hotel we didn’t get time to swim it the pool but it certainly looked terrific. I had attended a party with Indian food there about four years ago and the Indian food was superb so couldn’t wait to dine at their Indian restaurant Rang Mahal and it didn’t disappoint, I was talking to a friend yesterday and he dined at their Mexican restaurant and is raving about that. http://www.rembrandtbkk.com

We shopped the Emporium, don’t miss the shoes, they have some of the best in Bangkok. The Emporium is so convenient to the Rembrandt, we just got the hotels tuk tuk to drop us at the end of the Soi but we could have walked had we more time. Raced over to N.I.C in the Times Square building and had a relaxing pedicure, manicure and a shoulder massage all at the same time, it was wonderful.

Nikki our favourite limo driver in Bangkok arranged for one of her drivers to pick us up and take us to the Jim Thompson factory outlet, I have been looking for some fabric to cover an old chair, they had loads and I was able to get some samples to bring home. The driver then took us to Pantip Plaza I wanted to get some printing done that I hadn’t had time for before we left. As we were leaving the shopping centre we picked up some really good quality cotton tee shirts. Once Pantip Plaza was full of electrical goods but these days there are all sorts of other items being sold. Still a noisy place where I only want to spend an hour or two at the most. The driver dropped us off at Queen Thai Silk where my friend had a couple of blouses made so we had to get back for a fitting.

With all the travelling I was able to finish off the book my children Ben and Zoë had given me. Factory Girls is by Leslie T Chang, a Chinese/ American who was born in the USA but who worked in China for a decade as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. She writes about the new China and the farm girls who migrant to the city and work in the many factories that make the goods we are so keen to buy in the West. The author manages to intertwine her story of these migrant workers with her own family history. The publisher is Picador and I would really recommend it to anyone interested in China today.

After we left Bangkok we had a trip to Sri Lanka before we headed to Kuala Lumpa and Singapore but more about that next month.

Happy Shopping Wendy

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