Think Pink

Famous fashion diva Diana Vreeland once described the colour pink as "the navy blue of India." She could have said the same about Thailand. To start off this blushing little post, some candles at a Chiang Mai market and floating blossoms at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok.

 One of our stops was in a small village about five hours train journey north of Bangkok where I met up with a long-lost cousin. The hotel where we stayed delighted us with these very pink mosquito nets. No, we didn't add the sunflowers because we were homesick for France. Someone had beaten us to it.

 Every Sunday in Chiang Mai, they close off a main road in the old city and it becomes a "walking market". Also an eating market--I'll post separately about that. One of the desserts available was a crèpe given a swirl of chocolate syrup and then a liberal sprinkling of pink-dyed cocoanut.

Seen earlier, but they are so deliciously pink, that they deserve a second look: The invariable quartet of sweet, salty, sour and hot optional additions to add to your noodles, rice or stir-fry. Here kept under control in pink plastic containers.

I spotted these at a market in Chiang Mai. The reference to equine urine is that this was allegedly once used to create what are more commonly known as "thousand year old eggs."

 

The Thailand and Laos Report. Episode 1: In the pink in Bangkok

   It's been three weeks since we flew back to France and I really don't have any solid excuses for not posting before now. Except...there were 2,000 photos to go through, an entire 100-page notebook, and a big stack of leaflets and guidebooks. So, finally, here we go. If you live in a cool climate, put on shorts and flip-flops, pretend it's 35 degrees, humid and so noisy that you have to SHOUT AT EACH OTHER all the time. Click your ruby slippers and you're in Bangkok. 

   Except they'd more likely be pink ones. As I said in the previous post, this city has the most dee-vine taxis. When they're not bright Barbie pink, they're incandescent orange or vivid green. It definitely cheers up a streetscape that doesn't need much cheering up anyway what with the inventive sculpture, informal "markets" selling two-dollar T-shirts and food carts galore.

   Gazing, eating and shopping wasn't all we did.