Thailand: Bangkok

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Sorry guys, I've been having too much fun to write...

Anyway, I was getting on the train to Bangkok. The train station was busy and it had an air of expectancy about it. On board the sleeper bunks hadn't been made up - I had been alocated a baottom bunk - which was said ti be darker, warmer and most definitely the preferred option - last time I was on a top bunk I could't get down!

The train was delayed for an hour so we had some extra time to buy snacks from the dtation shop and get settled in. We played cards and chatted and soon the train was moving. It was dark when we stoppped at stations along the way - they seems remote , although in truth they probably weren't.

The stewards for or carriage were very attentive and passed through regularly offering ice cold beer and drinks from buckets. They brought a food menu and we ordered from the set meals. When it arrived it was huge!... pineapple chunks, dumpling soup, green chicken curry, rice and sweet and sour pork. I did my best and ate most of it... I was hungry!

After dinner we got our bunks made up and even though it was still early I got myself snuggled up, it was really ocozy - a bit like camping with fresh white sheets and a lovely soft pillow. With my curtain pulled across I was in a little world of my own - I blocked out the chatter with my eye mask and ipod.

Sleep didn't come straight away and the rocking of the carriage didn't allow me uninterupted sleep, but I definitely dreamed so I must have had a few hours on and off.

We were woken at 5.30am - urgh it was early. I could have probably slept properly had I been allowed just few more hours but it was not to be. I ventured to the toilet and was not unsurprised to be able to see the tracks whizzing by at the bottom of the loo. I was relieved there was no draft as I didn't want to catch cold! I didn't risk cleaning my teeth and chewed some gum instead - it would do until I got to the hotel.

All in all I enjoyed the overnight train expereince which is good, because my next tour has 4! I hope they will be of the same standard as this one, but we'll see.

The hotel was about 20 mins by taxi and is well used by transient visitors. Their no-nonsense approach to deposits on room keys was quite telling. We had some time before breakfast so I had a shower and cleaned my teeth properly.

After breakfast we met for our tour of the city - we walked to the riverside and boarded a longboat. It was really nice - we sped down the river passing its riverbank dwellers going about their daily business. The contrast between those that have and those that have not is starkly apprarent as we journeyed along. We passed wooden homes like those I'd seen in Penang and just across the river opposite would be a brand new 3 storey townhouse with huge verandahs. What struck me most was the way even the most basic homes were presented towards the river. Flags of Thailand adorned nearly every entrance and pots of flowers and ornaments reflected how houseproud the residents were. Compared to the minimalist, plain walls of the expensive properties they were beautiful.

Further along the river were large houses set back from the river with boathouses or pagodas linking them to the waterside. Longboats selling food visited the jettys and delivered meals 3 times a day - amazing.

I saw dogs laying in the shade at every turn and children swimming and splashing each other - this was Thailand for me.

Longboats pulled alongside ours and we bought bread to feed the fish. I dropped in a few slices and a feeding frenzy of huge catfish was started. There were some really big ones in there and I wondered how many kids had been nibbled to reach that size! Hopefully it was diet of lazy dog and tourist's baked goods that had filled their tums!

We left the longboats and wandered through a small market on the way to Wat Po. I spotted a painting that I really liked and went back for it later on.

Wat po was really big - I was surprised by that as I expected just one big temple but it was a lot of different temples signifying many eras of Thai Buddhism.

The reclining Buddha was the main attraction - covered in gold leaf and beautiful. Inside you could buy a pot of coins and distrubute them in the large bowls for the monks - the constant tinkle of metal on metal was like music and I joined in. I also contributed directly to the maintenance of the building by purchasing a roof tile to be used on one of the many temples - each one could be personally inscribed... I wasn't exactly sure what anyone else had written because it was all in Thai, so I ended up with "From Mandy and her family and friends" - hopefully that was ok.

After we'd walked through and seen the other temples we had a free day. Domonique and I went to visit the Grand Palace. It was even bigger than Wat Po! I saw the Emerald Buddha and many other beautiful temples and buildings. There were men restoring the ornate walls depicting the traditional techniques of Thai massage and in the museum it exhibited tools used to maintain the Palace over the ages. I was a little surprised to see that amongst the various ancient looking tools was a pair of pristine yellow rubber gloves.

After the Grand Palace we got a tuk tuk back to the hotel and after a quick shower I headed out by taxi to MBK shopping centre and got some souvenirs, gifts and a small holdall to take to Phuket.

We met in the lobby of the hotel at 7pm and headed out for our final dinner. We went to a really lovely place where I had shrimp fishcakes and beef massaman curry. Heavenly! After dinner we headed to Koh San Road. It was crazy busy and we sat at a bar at the roadside on plastic stools and drank very potent cocktails. The street were full of people selling all sorts and we all (one by one) ended up with traditional hill-tribe hats which were worn for the rest of the evening.

The next bar was rocking... live band playing everything from Led Zepplin to Ozzy Osbourne and back again - I loved it! We finally left the bar and in lieu of a ping pong show we went to a club and had a good dance. I left first, at about 2.30am - it was a great last night.

In the morning I was all packed up and left my big bag in storage at the hotel - at just 10B a day it was a bargain (just over a pound for the week). I had breakfast with Wasa and Dominique - sadly the others didn't make it up in time and at 8.30am I headed to the airport for my 'down-time' in Phuket.

This internet cafe is closing now so.... to be continued

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