Rob’s Thai Roving Report

Readers of this blog know how much I enjoy Thailand’s Bun Bang Fai celebrations. Well, it was that time of year again. Auntie Lamyong usually informs my wife Taew if anything is going on, and sure enough, one Thursday night, I was told of a Bun Bang Fai parade the following afternoon, followed by rockets being launched on the Saturday.  As it turned out, I couldn’t make the first day, but I was certainly up for day two.

It was getting close to our monthly outing, with our friend Dale arriving in Thailand to head to his wife in Khon Kaen, meaning we wanted to look for options for where to go. Inevitably, we wanted the meeting to include football, especially as the men who met last time in Sisaket had formed a WhatsApp group. With Roi Et roughly equidistant for everyone, it seemed the obvious choice. We already enjoyed visiting the city, and there was also a football match taking place on Wednesday, 6th May, in the Thai Semi-Pro League.

I’m not sure what it is, but I have always been attracted to famous landmarks ever since I was a little boy. Towers, particularly, seem to excite me. Whether it was seeing Blackpool Tower as a child, my first sight of the Eiffel Tower, or going up Berlin's Fernsehturm and the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, I've remained fascinated by them. It was time to add Samut Prakan Tower to the list.

One of Bangkok’s many beauties is that there is no reason for anyone to be bored with so many activities catering for all tastes. And because of the quantity on offer, it is possible to arrange a day out within range of the capital that covers several places, as my day in and around Pak Nam proved. Best of all, they're close enough together to visit comfortably in a single day using Bangkok's excellent public transport system.