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   Today's photo walk - Click HERE for bigger map
Sunday 14th of June 2015 and my alarm went off at 6 o'clock. Snooze 5 minutes and then I changed the alarm to 6 thirty. I didn’t felt asleep until 4 thirty this morning so I had not had any sleep at all.  I started with my time lapses when I was back home from the Bangkok Cityscapes  yesterday and time turned quick.
I managed to get out of bed at 6 thirty, I don't want to miss this chance to explore Bangkok by foot. Another Bangkok hidden gem and who knows when these areas disappears for ever. Tea and oatmeal for breakfast and I left just before 8 and as it was light Sunday morning traffic I arrived to Prince Palace Hotel quarter past 8 o'clock 
I could see, maybe 15 people sitting on the stairs to the entrance to the Prince Palace Hotel. I didn't recognised any of them, but as they were carrying cameras I suspected that they were members of  Bangkok Photographers.
8 o'clock in the morning and it was already very hot so I went inside. 4 o'clock in the morning and the thunder and lightning started with heavy rain, so it was like a sauna when the sun came up over the horizon. Try to throw water on the hot stones next time you sit in a sauna and you will know what I mean. So it was nice to get inside. Prince Palace Hotel was full of  Chinese tourists. Busses outside the hotel picked up loads of them going to where ever.
I was shocked to see the tourists. Just walk up to anyone and starting to babble in Chinese. When whoever they spoke to (hell, they even came to speak with me) didn't understood they just started to talk louder and louder. 
The staff came up to me complaining. And I understand them, there was a lot of problem. And who is going abroad expecting people to speak their own language. They could not speak a word of English or Thai. Just firing of  harangue in Chinese expecting the whole world to understand. Maybe I should start speaking Skånska ONLY from now on. Will see how long this will take me.
Anyway, clock turned 8 thirty and it looked like most of the Bangkok Photographers had arrived and I went outside. 
 Today's group - Click HERE for bigger picture
We took the group picture and we left for a quieter place as it was a lot of noise outside the hotel. We moved down the street where it was a little less noise. Our organiser explained today's photo  walk. We will walk through an area that will undergo a makeover. They will  hopefully restore and not tear it down. Another hidden game in Bangkok and places like this is only found when exploring Bangkok by foot.
We moved down the road and when we reached silence our Organiser explained where the Photo Walk would bring us. The whole area around the Prince Palace Hotel is a huge market called Bobae Market. Early Sunday morning and the trade was in full swing even though it was Sunday. It was still noisy where we were, but we managed to have our PEP meeting and we took off after about 10 minutes.  Pep talk before taking off to discover hidden gems in Bangkok
 Pep talk before taking off to discover hidden gems in Bangkok
 Loading pineapples
  Accommodation for 6 persons in the back of the pick-up truck
 Accommodation for 6 persons in the back of the pick-up truck
    Prize winning birds - For their twitter - No tape for sale Crossing Lan Luang Road
 A beautiful wood house - One of many hidden gems
  Two street racers
 In the middle of Bangkok
  Sala Chaloem Thani theater
 Sala Chaloem Thani theater
 Sala Chaloem Thani theater
 The square in front of the Sala Chaloem Thani theater
 The square in front of the Sala Chaloem Thani theater
  The market
    Always heart-warming to see happy children -
But it scared the crap out of me thinking of them going out in the traffic like this  Always heart-warming to see happy children -
But it scared the crap out of me thinking of them going out in the traffic like this  Always heart-warming to see happy children -
But it scared the crap out of me thinking of them going out in the traffic like this  Always heart-warming to see happy children -
But it scared the crap out of me thinking of them going out in the traffic like this     In the middle of Bangkok
 Doing the laundry
       Darn! It was hot to walk around and I was happy that I only brought my small Canon PowerShot camera. We spent an hour ++ in the Nang Loeng before I left for the race track. Walking around Nang Loeng  had been fun, and the Thai people are really friendly.
I told two old ladies selling food that I was here to look for a girlfriend. Yes, they see a foreigner in the area and the interrogation starts. What am I doing here? Of course I told them that I was here to look for a girlfriend. And of course, they started to spread the word around. 
It was like coming in to a small village in the middle of Bangkok, a beautiful area. But darn! Again, what about all the garbage laying around? And this area was far better than the other areas I have been to.
Imagine this place cleaned up, living in a nice wooden house in this area. Would have been a dream come through. We were going to meet at the market at 10 thirty and then we would move to the race track and as it is Sunday there will be a horse race today. This could turn out to be interesting and I was looking forward to this.
But it was darn hot and I was very tired as I only had had one and a half to two hours of sleep during the night. And at 10 thirty there was no sign of  us moving along so I left the market and I started to walk towards The Royal Turf Club.
I knew that The Royal Turf Club should be on the other side of the Canal, but where. What do they call a race track in Thai? I have no clue. But I asked where the horses where running. Or at least I hope so, dog is the same as a horse in Thai. Well, a slight difference in the tone. And by the way, come is also the same as dog and horse, and yet again, with a slight difference in the tone. For them it is the same difference as between BLACK and WHITE. But for me it is all the same. OK, we understand the meaning in the context, but the FAR AWAY and CLOSE is also the same and  this can easily lead to misunderstanding.
Chris Spedding ran in to the very same misunderstanding a “few” years back. And if I understood it right they were both speaking English.
So now imagine speaking Thai in a disco with the music blasting on full blast. Well, OK, if the music  is good. But anyway, FAR AWAY or CLOSE? A drama you can live without! Well, anyway, I found The Royal Turf Club. I could see vendors selling binoculars and race  program outside The Royal Turf Club. I entered the area and I arrived as the horses arrived on trucks. I asked a few people when the race would start and I got three different answers.
12:15, 12:00 and 12:30. OK, at least in the ball park. It was another 90 minutes before the race would start and I was seriously doubting that I would be here by then. It was VERY hot and I was tired. A bed and air condition was high on my “priority list” now. Just a few pictures of the horses and I would be off home for air condition and a power nap.  Selling binoculars, racing program and pens
 Selling binoculars, racing program and pens
He looks happy, maybe he have a tip straight from the horse's mouth
 Horses arriving to The Royal Turf Club in Bangkok
       
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I asked if I could come in to take pictures, no problem.
when I was practicing at the Emergency Ward in one of the hospitals in Go:teborg, Sweden we had two teenage girls in bad condition coming in.
exciting. A spider in the shower or a few horses around and I shit myself.
ticket at the other end of The Royal Turf Club
there is for sure a place with air condition. I asked around and they pointed me in the right direction.
of soda water and I go to explore the track while waiting for the food.
was still an hour to go before the race would start when I was finished.
released a new record. Utrotningshotad, well, I bought 4 of the tunes and, 
hmm, maybe 2 of the tunes were OK.
Suvarnabhumi to catch Thai Airways Polar Express ⊂(・(ェ)・)⊃
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