Tuesday 7th May, 7:39, by Amy

I am pleased to announce that Mamie is now out of the 'Hippo room' in the pediatrics ward at Mission Hospital, Bangkok. This means, of course, that we can now get on with our trip and see all the incredible sites this country has to offer!

Whilst Mamie was recovering in hospital, I managed to do some sight seeing by myself which, I have to admit, I am rather proud of! On an everyday basis, Mamie is on-the-whole the 'super-organised, speedy, spacially aware, always in control' leader of our two-man pack and so getting us settled in Bangkok was slightly daunting! I managed to drag a delirious and sick Mamie to a cheap part of town- anyone who has been to Bangkok will probably have heard of the infamous Khao San Road... It is the most touristy street I have ever witnessed in my life. Walking down it in the evening is a matter of weaving around stalls selling Pad Thai (egg noodles, nuts, veggies, chilli and chicken), an array of clothes, trays of scorpions - yes, I have now eaten a scorpion which I have to say, I quite enjoyed - coconut ice cream and creepy men advertising ping pong shows... with sound effects. It's an assault on the senses, almost up there with India. The road next to it is a more civilised, quieter experience; it is described online as 'Khao San's well-behaved brother' which I think is an apt description. It is a horse-shoe shaped street lined with nice bars, candlelit restaurants and trees.

Of course, I managed to find the hostel situated right next to the loudest club on the street, which meant for an interesting night's sleep. However, I redeemed myself the next day by finding my way to the well-reviewed, peaceful and clean Donna Guesthouse at the end of the road which has AC rooms. It is run by a stern, but quite amusing and nice, Thai man. We found his night 'workout' particularly amusing. I also happened upon another guesthouse on my quest which is the oldest in Bangkok - a wooden Chinese style house. When we return, I would definitely like to stay a night there.

Now back to my lone sight seeing! In Kolkata, I visited the striking Howrah Bridge, an incredible network of steel, especially when against an Indian sunset. I also went to the fascinating Kalighat temple, the city's oldest pilgramage site where Hindus come to pray to Shiva's daughter, Kali. As I queued in the crowded temple, a lovely 18 year old  girl with excellent English in front of me explained that in Hinduism, the goddess Kali destroys evil. Some women even offer their saris to the goddess. When I was with Mamie, (before the illness set in), the highlight for me was definitely Nakhoda Mosque where we were able to put a face to the voice that woke us up at 5 am with the call to prayer! Once we plucked up the courage to enter the very male dominated place, with our scarves around our heads, we were shown up to the very top where minarets rise to 46 metres. The view over the city was stunning. I was in awe. All I could think was 'if only my dad was here!!'; hundreds of hawks were hovering metres from us. It was a shame when the man put pressure on us to donate as we felt this should be completely voluntary but for me this couldn't tinge the magical experience. Don't worry Dad: we both took plenty of shots but sadly not using my phone camera! So although we were unable to visit the majority of Kolkata or volunteer at the Mother Teresa House, at least we were able to see a few memorable places.

In Bangkok, I spent my afternoon in Siam, a built up commercialised part of Bangkok. It began embarrassingly; apparently the Museum of Siam (National Discovery Museum) is not in the Siam Discovery shopping complex, but in the other side of town. Despite this, I went on to enjoy reading over some tea, having a shop around the area and I had a look in the 'Guggenheim-esque' Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre. I went to an interesting exhibition where artists portray Buddhist philosophy and belief through their art. Only knowing the basic values of Buddhism, I had to think carefully about a few of the interpretations but I really liked many of them. For example, there was one which represented the uncertainty of life - the artist painted an elderly man with a contemplative expression on to layers of a silk material. The translucent layers surrounding him created a mystical aura of 'unknown'. Another that stood out to me depicted a nude old lady holding a skeleton in her arms- I took from this that we should accept death. Another was a sculpture of 8 mini Buddhas on a boat, with the back half of the boat upturned with 4 of the Buddhas clinging on and the other 4 at the front sitting in lotus position perhaps having reached enlightenment. This represents the Buddhist philosophy that every lucky part in life is followed by an unlucky part and we should take the ups with the downs. It seems I like my contempory art! I loved the gallery in Venice, Delhi and now, Bangkok.

When Mamie came out of hospital we went to see China Town. We found the most amazing seafood restaurant and I had mind-blowingly spicy lime, chilli and garlic squid. It was so insane, I cried a little and there was no curd or lassi to help me through. It was delicious, fresh and great value. I think we will have to go back to try out the renowned oysters! We loved the Grand Palace for the Emerald Buddha and the beautiful royal gowns of the Textiles Museum which taught us a little about Thai history and the Queen. Mamie, with her interest in fashion, was able to compare the gowns to great designers; I just looked excitedly at the beautiful and incredibly intricate outfits. Wat Traimit with the Golden Buddha was definitely worth the visit as well as the stop off at the revolving Grand China Princess Revolving restaurant with a great view of the city. I love the unique combination of temples dotted in and around sky-scrapers with the city's multi-coloured taxis and sky-train. Awesome! The cocktail we had, served in a pottery tuk tuk, wasn't bad either :).

The photos are not my best but show a  nice range of places. Note the cockroach from our Kolkata hotel - not a nice wake-up...