Bangkok: August 2006

From the hub of South East Asia, our entertainment correspondent, Ivor Hangover, reports on Ray and Nikki's Bangkok re-union, their birthday celebrations which were five days apart, and their departure from Thailand for the Kingdom of Cambodia.

In our last issue (Secrets & Skypes Part 2), we discovered what happened when Ray and Nikki spent six weeks taking a break from travelling, with Ray in the UK and Nikki on the island of Ko Samui in southern Thailand.

With both needing to fly into Bangkok, the International arrivals hall at Don Muang airport made a very convenient meeting place and both Ray and Nikki were able to purchase flights that arrived within an hour of each other. I was there to witness their big moment as Ray came through the exit in the arrivals hall, to be greeted by a very healthy looking Nikki who had flown in just ahead of him.

"Even though it had taken me nearly 24 hours on the clock to get to Nikki, the closer I got to landing, the more excited I was" said a very happy Ray. "Seeing her standing there, looking absolutely amazing, was wonderful and I rushed to give her a great big hug" he told me. "For the first 10 minutes we were together, I could not stop thinking about the surprises I had in store for her birthday, even though I realised I was going to have to wait about 10 days before I could let Nikki in on the secret" said Ray.

Nikki was equally delighted to see Ray after six weeks without him. "Even though my flight was scheduled to arrive an hour before Ray's, I had to wait longer as his flight was delayed" said Nikki. "It was over two hours by the time he came through the exit at arrivals, but I soon forgot about that as I caught my first glimpse of him walking towards me - it was a classic movie style airport re-union!" added a loved up Nikki.

Above: Ray and Nikki are very happy to be re-united in Bangkok after six weeks apart

Eagerly wanting to catch up with each other, they chose to spend their first evening together in a more upmarket hotel than their normal backpacker budget allows them, opting for a small suite at the very chic, yet somehow kitsch Shanghai Inn, in the Chinatown district of the city (Shanghai Inn).

"I loved the hotel that Nikki chose for us, and was even more delighted with the surprise gift she gave me for our re-union - a wonderful Batik painting of Shiva and Shakti, the Divine Lovers" said Ray. "I thought I had been the only one creating surprises during our time apart, and it was really lovely to discover that Nikki had gone to such trouble on my behalf" said a very touched Ray.

Above: The very unusual and somewhat kitsch Shanghai Inn (left) and the Batik painting (right) which Nikki had made for Ray, as featured in our last issue

Nikki explained what had made her choose the hotel for their rendezvous. "I liked the idea of staying in Chinatown, because culturally, it is so far removed from London and I thought it would be great for Ray to have a contrast on his return and be gently re-acquainted with life in Bangkok" she told me. "Ironically, when we ventured out of our hotel for our first walk around the city, we were unexpectedly greeted with a very familiar sight - an old double-decker bus, saved from the scrapheap by an enterprising Thai, after the abolition of Routemaster's in London - it's such a small world!" she mused.

Above: "Does this bus stop at Tooting Broadway?" wonders Nikki

"Seeing the bus was a bit of a double take for me" added Ray. "I felt a bit disorientated on my first day in Bangkok, but was not too concerned as I knew we were staying for a couple of weeks until both our brithdays were over, giving me plenty of time to adjust, or so I thought!" he explained.

At this point, Nikki decided it was a good moment to break the news to Ray that she had been offerred a job teaching yoga, and would be required to move immediately to a town three hours south-east of Bangkok, called Rayong. "Nidhi, who was my teacher in Ko Samui, had just joined a new organisation called Bliss Yoga, and was looking to recruit teachers for a new studio due to open in September" explained Nikki. "To my surprise and delight, she invited me to join the team, which meant me taking a relatively quick decision to fit within their timescales" she added.

Above: Nikki practising with her yoga teacher, Nidhi

For Ray, the news of Nikki's opportunity came as a bit of a shock. "I know just how much Nikki loves her yoga and was really delighted for her that such a good opportunity was available, so gave her my full support and decided to go to Rayong with her to really scrutinise the opportunity" he said. "Although I wanted to see what Rayong was like as a place to live, I thought as long as there are some basic facilities in place, we could make it work for a few months" he added.

The job on offer to Nikki involved teaching 'hot' yoga - a new concept which has taken Thailand by storm and is very popular. "Although I have experience of yoga through my own practice, I would be required to undergo four weeks of training in order to be ready to start work for Bliss, my new employer, and be able to deliver their hot yoga programme" Nikki told me. "Hot yoga is a series of asana's (postures) which flow continuously without breaks for one and a half hours, and the practice takes place in a specially heated room at a temperature of about forty degrees" she added. "It's like doing yoga in a sauna, which brings you the added benefit of sweating out more toxins as you move" explained Nikki.

Above: Nikki's world is about to be turned upside down - or is it ...... ?

Whilst Nikki got to grips with the details of the job, including the style of yoga teaching, Ray had a good look around Rayong to get an idea of what life might be like for him. " Although I did not like having to rain on Nikki's parade, Rayong did not seem like the kind of place I would be comfortable staying in for any lenghth of time" he confessed. "It is basically an industrial town with about two thousand factories and little else - not even a cinema - and nothing like other parts of Thailand which Nikki and I had experienced" he added.

Above: Whilst Ray went off to explore Rayong, Nikki was guided through the twenty six asana's that make up the hot yoga sequence

Having become familiar with the sequence, and gained a better understanding of the job on offer, Nikki was clarifying her thoughts and after much discussion with Ray, decided that it was not the right location or timing for her to take the opportunity any further. "Whilst I loved the idea of working with Nidhi and the team, I could not accept living in Rayong, especially as I heard that Bliss plan to open a studio in Chiang Mai in the near future, which I am far more attracted to, so I decided to decline the opportunity for now" explained Nikki.

Above: Nikki asks for divine guidance to make her decision (left) and lo and behold, she sees the light (right), and decides to continue travelling for now

With the decision made to stay on the road, our duo made their way back to Bangkok to celebrate Ray's birthday. "Nikki asked me what I would like to do during the day and gave me some great options" said Ray. "She really went to extraordinary lengths to make the day special for me. For example, I awoke to the sound of Nikki secretly blowing up balloons in the bathroom (a couple burst!) so that our very boring room could be transformed for a few hours into something a bit more special" he told me. "Those little touches, which she is brilliant at, made such a difference!" said a very happy Ray.

Above: Ray wakes up 'with a bang' on his birthday!

After setting the room up and giving Ray a few small gifts, Nikki took him for breakfast to his favourite cafe nearby. "I chose to have breakfast at Rickys, which is very popular with travellers, as they serve English breakfast tea and beans on toast!" said Ray. "Shortly afterwards, I was whisked away for another of my favourite treats - a facial - which I have only really discovered since I started travelling. This has to be one of womens best kept secret's" he said. "Ray really loves this particular experience and as I got to do it with him, I had absolutely no objections" said a very contented Nikki.

Above: The pollution in Bangkok really caused Nikki some serious skin problems!

Next on the birthday schedule was a spot of Karaoke and some ten pin bowling. "Nikki and I have both discovered our mutual love of singing along to our favourite anthems and we returned to a great studio we had visited when we were last in Bangkok" said Ray. "He is definitely a bit of a dark horse when it comes to singing and he is very good" Nikki informed me. "I love it when he sings Boyzone songs as he actually manages to make them sound less tacky!" she added.

Above: Is it Ray, or Ronan Keating? Luckily, the private studio was completely soundproofed, saving onlookers from being able to hear!

The Karaoke lounge was conveniently located alongside one of Bangkok's ultra modern, hi-tech ten pin bowling alleys, so Ray and Nikki decided to play a couple of games before heading off to dinner. "I don't go bowling very often so it was a really great treat to get the chance" Ray told me. "And the venue was very funky too" he added.

Above: STRIKE! Ray enjoys ten pin bowling at one of Bangkok's funky, hi-tech alleys

The final event of the day for our birthday boy was dinner at a restaurant of Ray's choice. "My invitation to Ray was to select a place he was excited about and he chose the Hard Rock Cafe, which worked out very well as the staff really helped me to make it a special occasion for him" said Nikki. "I had not been to a Hard Rock for a very long time and I remembered that they usually serve really good food in a great fun, lively atmosphere" said Ray. "The Bangkok cafe was no exception" he added.

"Nikki did a lot behind the scenes to make sure I had a really lovely day, including getting the staff to sing Happy Birthday to me. By the end of the day we were pretty exhausted" Ray told me. "I remember thinking that her birthday was only five days away and it would not be long before I could spill the beans about the day I had planned for her" he said.

Above: The Hard Rock Cafe, Bangkok (left) and the wonderful souvenier photo they gave to Ray and Nikki (right)

The five day wait was soon over, and as Ray and Nikki left their backpacker lodgings in a taxi for a 'secret' location somewhere in Bangkok, Nikki was very curious. "I knew that Ray was treating me to a very nice hotel, but I did not know which one" said Nikki. "Bangkok is well known for it's wide selection of five star hotels, so I was pretty certain I would be delighted, wherever we ended up" as she recalled the mystery journey in the taxi. "However, when we eventually pulled into the entrance of The Four Seasons Hotel (Four Seasons Bangkok) I was absolutely ecstatic, and needed a moment to compose myself, having burst into tears in the cab!" said an overjoyed Nikki.

"I had always said to Nikki that whilst I am determined to travel on a modest budget, there would always be the odd occasion where a special treat would be appropriate, and her birthday was definitely one of them" said Ray.

Above: Ray and Nikki were warmly welcomed into the lobby at The Four Seasons on arrival, and enjoyed staying somewhere special for Nikki's birthday

I discovered that Ray and Nikki actually checked in to the hotel the day before Nikki's birthday. "I wanted to get there early for two reasons" Ray explained. "Firstly, I wanted Nikki to wake up on her birthday in a fantastic place and have the whole day on site. And secondly, it meant we could experience the rarest of treats for us, which we had missed the entire time we had been travelling - room service!" he added. Secretly, Ray confessed that staying in the hotel meant he would also be able to enjoy a very comfortable sleep. "People often ask me what I miss about my life in London. I now know that at the top of that list is sleeping in a really confortable bed with a great mattress and soft fluffy pillows!" he told me.

Above: Ray sinks into 'Bed Heaven' whilst waiting for Room Service to arrive!

The following morning, Nikki awoke to a small stack of cards and gifts from friends and family who had all asked Ray to take them to her whilst he was in England. "It was such a fantastic surprise to open cards and presents from my loved ones who were thousands of miles away" said Nikki. "I realised that Ray had gone to a lot of trouble to bring them over, carry them around and keep them hidden from me for nearly two weeks. It was the perfect start to my day" she added.

Above: Almost as good as being at home - Nikki wakes up a stack of cards and gifts from her loved ones

Following a fabulous breakfast in one of the hotels four restaurants, Nikki and Ray indulged in some high quality pampering in the spa, before paying a visit to some of Bangkok's finest shopping malls in the Siam district, so that Nikki could do some birthday shopping. "I had a couple of major surprises planned for Nikki at the hotel that evening, but I wanted to fool her into thinking that her present from me was something we would find and choose together in the shopping mall" said a rather devious Ray.

Above: Nikki, in Siam, is delighted after she finally selects a fabulous outfit as her birthday gift from Ray

To complete her special day, or so she thought, Ray had arranged for the two of them to dine at Biscotti's - a fine Italian restaurant at the hotel. "The meal was delicious and the perfect end to a perfect day" said a very contented Nikki.

Above: Biscotti's restaurant (left) and Nikki with Ray, dining in her new outfit

It was after they had returned to their room that Nikki realised that the day was not quite over and the best was yet to come. "I got back to the room and changed into my bathrobe, thinking I could relax after a long day, when Ray took out a DVD and sat me down in front of the huge flat screen TV that was hanging on the wall" said Nikki. "I made this for you while I was in England" said Ray, as he pressed the 'Play' button.

What followed was a 15 minute movie of clips from their first seven months of travelling together, set to music. "I was blown away by the film, and insisted on watching it three times" said Nikki. "I completely forgave Ray for (quite obviously) lying to me, as I had asked him several times if he had edited any of our video footage whilst he had been in England and he always said no! By making this film, he has given me a multimedia souvenier of our journey together and I will cherish it for a long time" she added.

Above: Nikki is blown away after watching her movie three times!

But the scheming for Nikki's birthday had not ended there. Whilst he had been in England, Ray had undertaken another project in collaboration with many of Nikki's friends and family members, resulting in the compilation of a very special leather bound book of birthday messages and photographs, which he presented to her after the screening of the film. "A number of people who helped me make this possible are Daily Lama readers, and I am so very grateful to them all" said Ray.

Nikki was really thrilled to receive the book. "There are many people in the world who I really miss, and when I read all of the messages in my book, it felt as if they were all in the room with me" said Nikki. "This was such a special gift from Ray, something that I could never ask for myself. It's really great for me to know that I am loved by so many people" she added.

Above: Nikki reads her special book of messages

With both Ray and Nikki's birthday celebrations complete, our 'slightly older' couple focused their attention on their travel plans once more. "We had said at our re-union that we would leave Thailand after our birthday's and we were quite keen to cross the border into Cambodia" said Nikki. "We left The Four Seasons to return to our modest backpacker lodgings and the more down to earth realities of budget travelling" she added, "but the memory of the special time we had in those few blissful days in Bangkok will remain with us both for a long time to come".

Above: Nikki and Ray return to the down to earth realities of budget travel - here Nikki waits for a bus to take them to the Cambodian border

Editors Note: Great story Ivor! Daily Lama readers may like to know that Ray and Nikki departed from Thailand on 9th August, for Cambodia. In our next issue, due for publication in 2-3 weeks, we will update you on what they have been getting up to since their arrival in the Kingdom.                               

MOZZIE BYTE

Above: In our next issue of The Daily Lama, find out whay Ray and Nikki have been up to since they crossed the border into Cambodia

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