Today We Are All Back To Normal,

we spent yesterday in Bangkok,

 a friend in the UK asked us to buy some special fish food for his fish,

 and as we had not been to Chatuchak market for some time we decide to go there,

 a new building on Sukhumvit Road that has just been finished,

 a lady going to work in the traffic,

 we were soon through the roadworks,

 this was the sign we were looking for,

 and in no time at all in Bangkok and over the railway line,

 passing many of the iconic buildings,

 on the way,

 as we neared this construction site,

 we knew we were near,

 parked up,

 the view over the market,

 but first we had a look around the JJ Mart that we had parked in,

 seemingly endless,

 aisles of stalls, 

 selling almost everything you can think of,

 but this is where we were heading,

 KFC for breakfast,

 we then made our way through the covered market,

 tomorrow, that is Saturday,

 and Sunday,

 these aisles will be so packed with shoppers,

 we walked past one of the sellers who supplies natural wood to aquarists and flower arrangers,

 we arrived at the pet section,

 this stall selling discus,

 another with marine fish,

 this one with plants,

 next the temporary covered over area,

 where birds along with cages are sold,

 another aquatic outlet with aquarium decoration heaped up outside,

 making our way past another store,

 we noticed these three monks looking at garden pool filters, maybe for a pool in the temple grounds,

 we were now in the indoor decoration area,

 which we crossed into another section,

 which smelt really nice,

 as there were lots of perfumed candles for sale,

 if you are worried about your garden furniture being stolen, these are the garden seats for you, made from a train axle and wheels, you would need a crane to get it onto the back of your truck to get it home!

 at the weekend all of these stalls will be open, and it will be packed with shoppers,

 but for a change today we left the market and crossed the road,

 and made our way into a new covered over area,

which was huge,

 on offer were all types of fresh fruit,

 and prepared foods,

 as well as traditional gifts,

 but it was the plant section we had come to see,

 and big it was too, this was just one of the many shops,

 we made our way into the covered area, 

 and were greeted with a display of orchids, both plants,

 and cut flowers,

 there were a series of smaller stalls in this area,

 with some wonderful plants on display,

 some so different to others we had seen,

 individual pots looked so nice,

 there were plants of all descriptions like these bromeliads,

 it always amazes us when we see so many fruits on these mini bitter orange bushes, at home we only seem to have 20 or so but our bush is 4 times the size of these,

 more flowers as we continued our walk,

 passed the shrine,

 and water lilies,

 like this one,

 then another treat,

 as we came across,

 another orchid section,

 grandma and granddaughter take a break from walking,

 as we continued through the orchids,

 such a display, 

 and what a delight it must be to receive one of these displays,

 as a gift or a prize in a competition,

 the varieties,

 and colours,

 were almost endless,

 some of the flowers so small,

 and delicate,

 back into the open air,

 the outdoor section with fish pond filters piled high,

 more bird cages, 

 this time artificial plants,

 and water features,

 in these ones balls rotate or pyramids float as if by magic,

 there are also more traditional fountains on offer,

 with a selection of garden plants,

 these units house the outdoor filters and water features,

 I made my way to the end, 

 then double back along the rear of the buildings,

 if you are into garden pots, this is garden pot heaven,

 as well as primary colours there are ones that have a metallic sheen to them,

 we started our walk back to the market where the car was parked, be warned getting here and back to JJ Mart is not for the faint hearted, crossing the road is an adventure all in itself,

 we then realised why there were so many orchids here as we walked past the sign,

 we also went into the fruit section to buy some Marian plums,

 but at 650 baht a kilo we decided against them even though they taste so nice, so a last look at the orchids,

 and we were on our way home, a bit of drama on the way,

 a bush fire had broken out, it was actually a lot worse than it looked, a few miles further on 3 fire engines and a police truck rush past us going the other way, then I guess making a 'U' turn and back to fight the fire,

 no sooner had we arrived inside than we were out again,

  to the weekend night market on Thepprasit Road,

 one of the food sellers takes a bite to eat himself,

 two of the ice cream sellers compare notes,

 slight cloud looking inland,

 tonight opposite the bar a 59 baht stall,

 most if not all of the frame in place,

 with just a tad of painting to go,

 I went past the fruit stalls, 

 and there they were, Marian plums, but these at 200 baht a kilo instead of 650 in Bangkok, so Diana bought a kilo for us to snack on,

 the pet section with a few customers,

 sunset the market,

 a group of tourists being shown around as a part of their tour,

 I made my way back towards the street,

 and bar walking past the 69 baht stall,

 the clouds inland had cleared,

 we meet up with Brian for a cold one, after saying our farewells we made a move for home, 

 but the on a change of plan, we decided on a meal in the Punch and Judy, it is located between Pattaya 3rd Road and Thepprasit Soi 8, almost opposite the Eden Hotel,

 beef and stout pie for myself,

 a carbonara penne al dente for Diana, then for us home, I have only made this one post today as it is a large one and I have had a slight cold and headache over the past few days, but I am over the worst, so tomorrow I will be trawling the Internet for things that we find interesting, amusing or just plain weird! with that and a couple from Judge Judy, we were off to bed.