Shopping in Bangkok

It's shopping day today.  Here in Bangkok we have to plan our shopping carefully, though.  It's a military operation, you see.  Back in the UK a trip to the local Tesco would involve nothing more complicated than hopping in the car, driving a mile and deciding how many bananas I'm really going to eat before they go all mushy.

Here, though, it's a different story.  The Bangkok streets aren't well equipped for the average foreign grocery shopper.  7-11s can be found on every corner, with a wide enough range of food to keep a man going for a few days (though you get bored of ramen noodles and prepackaged sandwiches pretty quickly).  Fruit, veg and meat markets abound, but as a non-Thai I find it a challenge to negotiate prices, weights and exactly how many bananas we're talking about here (and are those really bananas?  They look more like plantains, and I'm not sure of the Thai word).

In any case, Tesco ad Big C are the only real options for a proper grocery shop.  The closest stores, though, are an hour away by two trains and two 15 minute walks between stations, so the logistics of carrying home a heavy load can be... difficult.

What makes it worse is that my girlfriend doesn't seem to understand the idea that we'll have to carry everything she throws in the cart.  Last time we went shopping she bought a set of car seat covers for girls and a Canada Goose Freestyle vest.  It's ridiculous.

So, I'm sitting here with a double whisky planning the shopping list.  I think I may need the help of the A-Team.