Item #1 The Thailand Bag

I'm easing myself in gently with this - something which didn't come out of my own hard earned. Actually it feels a little bit mean to be selling something which was a gift but it's better than begging right?



Anyway. This bag was a pres from my folks who lived in Thailand for two years near the start of the millennium. At the time M & I had very little money so managed only to visit twice; once for our lovely honeymoon. Bangkok itself is a shopper's paradise and this bag comes from (if I'm not mistaken) one of my favourite places in the city to pick up really decent gifts, Narayana Phand. During one of my own visits I picked up a gorgeous pink Birkin-style bag for around £50, which still looks as good as new. You can't have that though...

Looking at this bag now brings back all the memories of our stay in Bangkok. The humid, stifling air, so hot that there was nothing to do but stop every few metres to catch our breath or buy a drink, the kids running around the streets in ill fitting flip flops, splashing through thick, green water which leaked ominously from between paving stones and underneath the dangerous looking twists of cables which hung at just above head height between shops and bars. The amazing sight of an elephant being led along the street as you sipped a beer from an insulated sleeve (charged with the impossible task of keeping your Chang cold in soaring temperatures). Elephants are considered sacred in Thailand, although the CDs hung from Nellie's tail reflecting the neon lights of the slightly sordid bars, the bells strung around her neck and her owner holding out a hopeful hand darkened with grime suggest otherwise. There was so much about Bangkok that made me consider leaving England (believe it or not I love this country despite our unreliable politicians, unreliable weather and unreliable transport system), the city - even when brought to a standstill by traffic, even in the most strikingly modern shopping centres - always seemed a little bit magical, its disorder charming.



So, the bag...right.

Made of a woven strips of dark wood with an arched wooden handle, this little box bag measures approx h7.5" w8" d2.5". A dark blackish-red cotton, drawstring (wooden toggles) bag has been stitched inside. As you can see in the picture the top of the cotton bag is above the wooden frame.

Although not large the bag has loads of space for a decent sized purse, phone, basic make up kit, mirror and cigarettes (all tested of course!) and it looks great with a simple jeans and tshirt as well as with your Saturday night clobber. I used to use it a lot with a wrap top which I also picked up in Bangkok, to be listed later.

Incredibly despite being my companion for several pub trips and being repeatedly thrown in the footwell of cars, the bag really is as good as new without a scratch on it.

Buy it here!