Up North

 And so to Udon Thani.

In the Isaan region of Thailand, it's a destination we've often considered, but until now, never visited. 

So, first impressions:

 Well. 

Following the giddy hedonism of Bangkok, we were a little bemused initially. 

For starters, the hotel manager pretended not to be able to find the hotel.

ON HIS OWN TOWN MAP! 🙈🙈 

Then, on leaving the hotel, we were immediately confronted by a woman out walking her PIG!!!!

I mean, it's a charming pig and no mistake, but all the same, well.....

Anyhow.........

Somewhat shaken (obviously) we headed into town.

Passing quite a few bars that seemed to cater solely for single women in skimpy black frocks, we eventually arrived at the hub of the town's action : UD Town. (Their choice of name, not mine)

Pleasant enough, and with more than a nod toward the festivities ahead, we were happy to spend a few Baht and join in the merry making. 

It probably goes without saying that we've already researched the times of trains out of here on Thursday. 

Multi-modal travel

 Day 4 in the plague hotel.....still no lemsip.....

We resolved to take our minds off our troubles with a multi-modal transport trip.

We began with a river boat crossing to Central Station.

From there, we boarded the Sky-train, bound for the much vaunted  Erawan shrine.

The shrine itself has a slightly dodgy provenance, having been built solely to counteract the inauspicious vibes caused by the massive hotel next door....

It was shiny and floral, as you might expect, and for a few extra Baht, you can pose with the ''Shrine Dancers'.

Or you can just snap a shot for nothing.....

Somewhat disappointed, but not yet completely disheartened, we took a taxi to Chinatown.

On arrival, we were completely underwhelmed by the fish-ball stalls (and there were many...) , and rightly repulsed by the sharks fin restaurants .

The day's extravaganza ended with a restorative trip to the local park.

Tomorrow: Udon Thani!!

Down but not quite out.....

 Frost-bitten, beer deficient, sleep deprived, and coming down with suspected man flu, we stumbled into Bangkok.

A city renowned for its vibrant night life.

Sadly we were in no state to partake of it, seeking only a comfy bed and possibly a lemsip......

By the next morning/late afternoon, we were able to take stock, and confirm that, yes, it's man flu (or possibly gender-fluid flu).

Given the lack of lemsips in this town (an opening there for someone surely) we were forced into a bar where they were at least selling beer.

The rest of the day was spent in a rather lovely park by the river, followed by more beer (hydration is KEY)

Night flight to Bangkok

 Resolving to put our beer catastrophe behind us, we boarded our flight.

After a thrilling couple of hours waiting on the runway for the plane to be sprayed with de-icer, we took off.

The flight was  unremarkable,  apart from the fact that we appeared to have been seated amongst a nursery outing for distressed babies........

To quote the incomparable D:Ream, Things Can Only Get Better..........

Once more unto the breach...

A very warm welcome back blogmates! (And if you're new here, you'll soon get the hang of things, just don't expect too much.....)

You join us in Munich, home of the Oktoberfest, Bayern Munich and, well, people who live in Munich.

We're changing planes here en route to Bangkok (yes, AGAIN)  and were looking forward to sampling the sausage, sauerkraut and beer facilities on offer. 

Sadly, despite arriving at the extremely acceptable time of 21.10, to our dismay (and disgust) all of the watering holes were very firmly closed.

At least the robber barons of Dubai Airport kept the beer flowing.....

(More) Foreign Pie News

 Good evening all.

It's been a busy couple if days here, with pies at every turn.

Let's get on then........

Pea pie: Mas y mas supermarket, Benidorm. 

Fresh from the triumph of the chicken curry pie, we had high hopes for this one.

Until we actually sampled it.

Pastry was passable. As for filling, I had positive sighting of only ONE pea, whilst JB claims he had 5. The remainder of the filling seemed to be compressed vegetable mush.

An almost unbearable disappointment.

Pisto pie: Mendoza supermarket, Albir. 

Pasty, although having a nice glaze was possibly a tad heavy.

It was immeasurably better than the filling however, which leaned heavily on tomato ketchup for its main ingredient.

Possibly acceptable as a pastry covered condiment, but as a pie.....

Nil points

Spinach Pie: Mendoza Supermarket, Albir.

Determined to break this run of pie disaster, I reached for the (previously ) tried and tested spinach pie.

Once again  the pastry had been prepared by an exceptionally heavy hand (or foot).

Filling wise, it was certainly green, obviously hinting at spinach.

Sadly, it was comprised mainly of FISH. And whatever fish it was had not seen the sea for quite some time.

Possibly a particularly rancid pilchard. I didn't eat enough to be sure.

Desperately awful.

Foreign Pie News

 Chicken Curry Pie : Mendoza Supermarket, Albir.

It was with no great expectations that I approached this one.

As regular readers will know, the Spanish pie is often heavily reliant on fish....

However......

Pastry, exceptionally crisp,  almost as though thought and consideration had been applied in its manufacture. 

The filling leaned heavily on the Chinese chip shop traditional curry, but was none the worse for that, containing no fish whatsoever. 

There were a few morsels of what JB positively identified as 'chickenesque'  plus the regulatory spud filler.

Overall, a decent effort.  

Extra points for lack of fish.