This city of 10 million people with the longest name in the Guiness Book of Records could have easily been one of my more interesting posts. Unfortunately two things happened …

1 - Allergic Contact Dermatitis

I checked into hospital twice!! Doctors say I’m the hundredth over foreigner who walked in with this for year 2007, postulating there must be some new kind of toxic insect in the Krabi and Phuket region. It took a full week before I began to look normal again.

So any of you hanging around those places, if you have a rash that is not reacting to anti-histamines, go see a doctor !!

2 - Because of my allergic reaction, I had to stay at home.

The rest of the Rat Pack still went out but in their eccentric brand of wisdom decided AGAINST visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, despite never being there before!

When I later enquired, “Do you know coming to Bangkok and missing the Grand Palace is like going to Sydney and missing the Opera House?”.

The reply was a paltry … “Hmm, never thought about it that way.”

Astute readers will note that since my photographer decided to go AWOL, I’m left without photographs of Ko Ratanakosin. Flickr to the rescue again!