Bangkok, Saturday

To make up fo the late night, we allowed ourselves to sleep until we almost missed breakfast. The buffet, included in the price of our upgraded room, included many international favorites from pancakes and fresh fruit to fried rice and pickled vegetables. Dave ate Asian, but the girls and I filled up on watermelon and sweet breads. With high chairs for the kids and shaded tables facing the river, it made a lovely start to our day. After lunch we took the hotel's water taxi down the river. Even though it clearly serves as a garbage-filled city thoroughfare, a ride along the river was pleasant and the smell of our freshly applied bug spray covered any scent of the garbage floating by. The boat dropped us at the Skytrain - childfriendly except for the sporadic escalators. We took it all the way to the end, to the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

The market is stall upon stall selling anything you can think of. Apparently this market runs to over 35 acres and is the largest outdoor market in the world. In the midst of it, its hard to tell that its outdoors, although in the middle of the hot season I'm sure that the crowds seething through the small aisles and into the matchbox shops, one on top of another, would feel the hottest place in town and one would no doubt remember they're outside.

We spent longer than intended in the pet section, watching piles of puppies, mice, kitties and a woman with nearly immobile chipmunks placed along her arms and legs. Her sign read NO PHOTOS, or I certainly would show you. We saw candlesticks, clothes, kitchen tools and more in the hours we spent wandering up and down, and yet we barely scratched the surface. Food stands abound, selling loads of freshly cooked morsels, if you can get past the lack of refrigeration before your chicken hits the grill. Noisy, busy and brightly colored, the market kept our girls interested for hours, and was certainly the most fun Dave has ever had while shopping.

We tried skipping naps entirely, and ended up with a cranky bunch by 4:00 so we spent the evening exploring the hotel. With multiple restaurants, a beautiful pool with kiddy corner, a children's club and a spa, the girls and I could keep ourselves happily amused here while Dave spends his week in meetings. We certainly whiled away an easy evening.