I’m back in Bangkok for the weekend, recharging my batteries after a long week in Manila and before a long week as I begin my cross-India journey.

The timing for my trip to Bangkok is pretty unfortunate. I’m missing the big celebration of Loy Krathong next weekend, which is supposed to be really beautiful. People light candles and send them down the Chaya Praya river, each one send with a wish and a prayer for the future. All the river boats are decorated in lights, and thousands of floating lanterns are launched across the countryside.

I’ve seen the floating lanterns before (in small numbers) and they’re really extraordinary to watch. I would love to have been here for the festival, but alas, it was not to be.

Still, I enjoy Bangkok. We went out for dinner last night at Ruen Mallika, my favourite Thai restaurant anywhere in the world (and in my mind, the best Thai food in Bangkok). They specialize in royal Thai cuisine – traditionally reserved for royalty because of the complexity of the preparation and the cost of the ingredients. Today, it’s available to schmucks like me as well — at a price, of course.

Otherwise, yesterday was a lazy day. We’re next door to a shopping mall, so I spent time browsing the English-language bookshop and bought myself a few books. I spent the afternoon lazing around the pool and trying to get a little sun.

Today, I’m off for 18 holes of virtual golf – they’ve got a virtual golf centre downtown where you can play all of the most famous courses in the world, in air conditioned comfort, without any of the hassle of walking between holes or searching in the woods for your ball. I think I’ll try to play the St Andrews Old Course, if only to say I have. Tiger Woods, eat your heart out.

After a round of golf, I’ve got a massage booked for the afternoon. I’ve spent the morning curled up in bed with the Sunday paper and a good cup of coffee. So a nice, relaxing Sunday.

Anthony Bourdain was right. The Filipinos certainly know a thing or two
about how to cook a pig. We went out for a traditional Filipino meal last
night, and ate just about every part of the pig – ears, trotters, loin,
belly – all of it delicious. I’m not sure that it’s terribly healthy (and
judging from the size of most of the Filipinos I’ve come across, not
particularly low-calorie, either), but it certainly is tasty.

We’ve managed to avoid the flood waters – in fact, there isn’t any
evidence of flooding at all where we are. No, the big excitement here is
what happened in the shopping mall across the street.

We’re staying in Makati, which is the upscale business district in Manila.
Across the street is the Greenbelt mall, a collection of all the big
designer brands and jewelers. Sure enough, on Sunday night there was an
armed robbery of the Rolex shop. The thieves got away with 6m pesos worth
of watches, there was a shoot-out with the police, and one of the robbers
was killed. Needless to say, security here is pretty tight right now.

Our workshops are going well, and we’ve been given a warm welcome by the
team on the ground here. One thing that always surprises me is the pride
that people have in their country – no matter whether they come from
Manila, Bangkok, Calcutta, or Paris, there is a real desire to show off
their city and everything it has to offer. It’s no different here, with
our hosts proudly taking us to see the best of what Manila has to offer,
telling us stories of Filipino culture and traditions, and of course, lots
of food.

My super-hero status continues in the Philippines as it did in Bangkok –
like in Thailand, everyone here is convinced that I look like Tobey
McGuire (who played Spiderman in the movie). There are worse people to be
mistaken for.

We finish up here on Friday, then I’m flying to Bangkok for the weekend
for a few days off before heading to Calcutta on Monday night.