Bangkok

Bangkok is dirty, noisy, smelly and hot. That said, it has some beautiful temples and interesting markets. The main purpose of our long weekend was to go to our friend Glen's marriage to Pat. The wedding was massive and was in a very smart hotel in central Bangkok. The speeches were touching and Pat looked gorgeous.

The happy couples...

The wedding photographer!!

We stayed in a charming boutique hotel called the Wendy house, it's in central Bangkok and very reasonably priced. The breakfast was great and set us up for the day. The only downside was the four storey climb to our room. This, accompanied by the fact that to get anywhere by public transport in Bangkok means scaling about fifty steps, meant that we got a good workout this weekend.

The reclining Buddha, Wat Po; The Grand Palace

Our highlights were the temples (Grand Palace, Wat Po and Wat Arun), the canal tour and the enormous, sprawling Jatujak market (with 15,000 stalls selling just about everything you can imagine). By Sunday afternoon we were exhausted and treated ourselves to half an hour's reflexology - just what we needed.

One noticeable thing about Bangkok is the number of monks in their bright saffron-coloured robes, you see them everywhere. There are even signs on the trains asking you to give up your seat should a monk need one. The picture here was the best monk shot I had.

This flower is one I see all the time in Singapore and I also saw it in Bangkok, I've no idea what it's called - answers on a postcard please...it feels kind of like marshmallow and smells lovely.

I also love this one, I think it's a pink sonata, but I'm not sure - again, answers on a postcard please.

Weekend breaks are great...until you get home on Sunday night and realise you have work the next day. We are currently undergoing refurbishment at the school, and it's really unpleasant. This morning I arrived to a strong smell of paint, glue and cement dust. All the furniture had been removed and the floors were grey cement in readiness for the flooring. Not pleasant. Teaching, however was fun - we have a great set of students at the moment, it makes life so much easier.