I'm back after a wonderful séjour in Thailand, where the warm and amazingly dry weather was a welcome relief from cold, rainy Sydney.
We spent our first couple of days in Bangkok, firstly visiting must-sees like the Grand Palace, a variety of Buddhas and some of the luxury shopping malls. On day two, we took a private tour out of Bangkok to the Damnoen Saduak floating market, a coconut plantation and the extraordinary Mae Klong train market.
The contrast from one day to the next couldn’t have been greater. Just 70 kilometres south-west of the capital, here was the living history of rural Thailand. Floating markets started as an efficient way to serve the communities that grew along the rivers and canals.
Similarly, the Mae Klong train market has a train line, rather than a river as its lifeblood. Mae Klong station is the last station on the line and runs through an impossibly narrow alley, with homes just a metre or two away. Market stalls are lined up literally to the rails, shoppers strolling along the tracks under the shade of awnings that are hastily folded up when the train comes.
When it does, one has the sense of taking part in something special. Strangers from everywhere smile and wave in childish wonder. It was an amazingly unifying experience.
The following day we flew to Phuket and enjoyed a week of blue skies, swimming and reading. I brought my laptop with me with the intention of working but instead lapsed into a dangerous state of relaxation.
The following day we flew to Phuket and enjoyed a week of blue skies, swimming and reading. I brought my laptop with me with the intention of working but instead lapsed into a dangerous state of relaxation.
After just under two weeks away I’m happy to be back home and getting back to work. All our photos from our Spring shoot have been retouched and we are anticipating our first Spring shipment in just over a week.
We are so excited to give you a little amuse bouche, taster, of what’s coming. We have opened preorder for some of these products.