It's been a while since I told you about my favourite washing place over near Big C. It's still the best place to get your washing done at only 20 baht a load unless of course you're lucky enough to have access to your own washing machine and provided you have somewhere to hang it at home.
Anyway, the rainy season seems to have properly started this past week and it got me thinking about the washing machines near Robinson yes, I know, I need to get out more. If you've never experienced a true rainy season you cannot imagine the state this leaves your washing in.
Seriously, it can be wetter by the end of the day than it was when you took it out of the washing machine no joke. I'm not a fan of the machines there - actually that's not true, I'm just not a fan of the 40 baht they charge for an 11 kg machine. However, they have half a dozen tumble dryers. It's basically 10 baht for 10 minutes with a minimum of 30 minutes. And there's no law that says you can only use the dryer if you've used the washing machines to be fair it might be written there in Thai but I can't read Thai.
It could work out expensive if you do this regularly and I've been lucky enough to only need it once when I had no chance of getting our towels dry. In the main, I tend to stick the clothes rack near the fan that seems to be on permanently in our lounge room.
So if you need washing done and dried, fancy a bit of window shopping / lunch / coffee then you could do worse that to head to this place. Just head to Robinson and look out for the pink building the other side of the open car park by the river. Enjoy!
It's impossible to see everything in London really unless you live there so attempting to see everything didn't even enter our minds. Mr John has been avoiding London for some time deciding it's too crowded and just a big city. I'm pretty sure he's changed his mind after my personal tour guide services a bit ironic really, an Aussie showing a Brit the delights of their capital.
Even though we'd chosen to stay in Twickenham and more on that in another post we'd planned ahead with our Oyster cards which were an absolute godsend and much cheaper than buying your tickets on the day. Getting in and out of town was pretty painless except on the Sunday when there was a bus replacement to another station. We circumvented this on the way back by going to Richmond and then getting the bus, which stopped outside our front door.
Anyway, I'd carved up our viewings to do some museums on the Friday as they're open until 10pm and some shops on the Sunday. Of course we then found out the London Marathon was being held on the Sunday so we switched our days around phew!.
We started at Liberty which Mr John had never even heard about honestly. I didn't want to buy anything there but I really thought he'd enjoy the architecture of the place and I wasn't wrong. Although looking much older, the building actually went up in 1924 though the store itself had been trading since 1875.
A short walk on from there and we were at Hamleys. This shop opened in 1881 and the five floors of toys is something else. Mr John was grateful to have a baggage allowance that kept him on the straight and narrow. He reflected that it was probably a good idea he hadn't been here whilst we were still living up north. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the ladies toilet on the fifth floor. It was like being in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The staff here are amazing and there's entertainment on every floor they must really earn their money.
A bit more walking I wish we'd had a pedometer that day brought us to the Burlington Arcade which opened in 1891. You can still see the attendants in their top hats walking the floor. And virtually opposite this arcade is Fortnum & Mason which was founded in 1707 though this store has only been around since 1840. Mr John really wanted to grab one of their trolleys and go crazy until I suggested the complications of getting everything into the two backpacks we had and whether it would survive a Thai "summer". I'm also not sure a teachers wage cuts it at the Queens supermarket. Don't forget to check out the toilets when you're in a place like this.
Of course no trip to London is complete without seeing some famous landmarks and some of the hidden gems that hide in the back lanes. Please don't dismiss this city as too big to handle. There is gorgeous architecture at every turn and living history with every step. Mr John is yet another convert to what this great city has to offer - just don't try and do it all in one weekend.
Wow, what an amazing summer Mr John and I have had. Our five week break in the UK was terrific. We ate too much, drank too much and laughed too much but isn't that what life is all about? We had an incredible time and even got some sight seeing done in London. I promise I will share our exploits with you over the coming weeks.
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| Loch Tummel, Scotland |
In the meantime, I hope you followed our travels on Instagram. Remember, you don't even need an account with them to check out our photos. Speaking of which, I was thrilled last week when British Airways included one of our past holiday photos in their #FlyBA flipagram.
Anyway, I thought it would be good to get back into the swing of things by welcoming all the new and returning teachers to Chanthaburi. So Welcome!
We're having a very unusual heat-wave at the moment honestly, I've never known it this hot in our three years here. At least you have a lovely air-conditioned office to spend your day in. Make the most of it and only venture out when absolutely necessary by this I mean to get coffee, naturally. Of course, it really is just a fabulous excuse to eat some home-made ice-cream
To save all you lovely people from trawling this blog, here are some quick links to get you going
Immigration You will become painstakingly familiar with this place during your stay. Your first encounter will be 90 days from the date you entered the country if you had the right visa. Have a good look at your passport because when they stamped it you will notice that it tells you to report every 90 days but won't have recorded a date. Get that calendar out and start counting people.
Top Tips There's a variety of topics covered here including using talc, where to swim after work and the cheapest way to get your clothes washed unless you're fortunate to have access to your own washing machine
Food Stuff Just about everything here tastes sweet even bread and butter. We've tried a lot of things to get a taste we can live with so hopefully these suggestions and others here will come in handy
And finally, to all the girls out there, DON'T put your handbag on the ground when your purse is still in it. If you put it down, take the purse out and put it on your table. Your money is in your purse, money has pictures printed on it go on, have a good look at any denomination and that means it should ever be near the ground. Most places expect you to use a stool for your handbag, so don't be shy.
Please feel free to search any of the topics you see and get in touch if you need any other information. Remember, this is only my take on things here in town according to my taste buds.
Thanks for stopping by and GOOD LUCK for the coming year everyone
