Text Box: Tour Guide Hi again. This month I’ve been sent to do some shopping at the two most famous and popular shopping destination in Thailand, if I was hoping for some spending money though I was very much mistaken. I took the BTS as this is by far the most convenient way to travel around central Bangkok. You can change your notes to the required coins at the counter, then just take a look at the map on the wall, spot the station your going to, the map will tell you how much to put in (between 10 and 40 Baht for 1 trip) and the machine gives you your ticket. You then put your ticket into the gates and collect it as you walk through. Very easy once you’ve done it the first time, and the trains are roomy and air conditioned, though they do get packed in the morning and evenings. You could also get a day pass for 100Baht which allows you unlimited trips within a single day. First stop was Siam Paragon. The automated announcer kindly told me when we had arrived at Siam Station and I followed the signs to the shopping center, which is connected directly to the station. The first floor is all restaurants and coffee shops, a lot of them were familiar Starbucks and the like, so I headed up to look around. On the first couple of floors the shops are mostly designer clothes outlets which I always like to look around, or through the window anyway. The department store is great, again with lots of designer goods and the whole complex looks very plush. The highlights for me were the Ferrari and Lamborghini show rooms, on the fourth floor I think. Apparently they’d had a Ferrari Enzo on display the week before, so I was disappointed to have missed it, but I loved seeing those beautiful cars anyway. After some lunch on the first floor I got back on the BTS to Mo Chit Station. I was going to Chatuchak Market and was just following the directions I had been given so I was a little worried about finding the place. I needn’t have worried it was signposted from the station and everybody was going in that direction anyway. Wow what a great place. It was packed full of people, tourists and Thai’s, and was absolutely huge. I spent about four hours looking around and I was lost for most of that time, but it didn’t matter. There was so much interesting stuff to look at and so much to buy! I hadn’t really set out with the intention of getting anything but I came back with bags full. I got about 10 t-shirts for 350Baht, some beautiful Thai silk, 4 pairs of fake Diesel jeans, a new wallet, some assorted Thai craft stuff and some pot plants for my balcony. I enjoyed looking at all the pets for sale as well, the puppies and kittens were very cute, and the lady with 10 little squirrels tied to her hand was pretty funny. There’s loads to see here, and it’s all very cheap. I had a great time haggling with the stall holders but I think next time I’ll take a Thai friend with me to help out. Having said that though it wasn’t hard; where ever there was a language problem they just tapped the price into a calculator and then I tapped my counter offer in. Chatuchak’s great fun, I can’t recommend it enough, and Siam Paragon is very swanky and an extremely pleasant afternoon out. So my advice is take the BTS not a taxi, spend some time strolling around Siam Paragon and definitely to visit Chatuchak at the weekend. See you next issue Edward