Down Town

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The day after the full moon part we checked out of the resort and bummed around until the 3 o'clock transfer to the ferry which left at 5:30 to take us back to the mainland. From there we caught a bus to Surathani Train station. Unfortunately we had already bought train tickets to go back to bangkok at 10pm, as had a lot of other people on the bus, and becuase we were running late there were a few people that were freaking out. Meg and I decided there was no point getting stressed and we were distracted for most of the trip by a swedish guy and norwegian guy who were travelling together. They sang us some songs (yes they were still drunk from the party) and pretty much talked crap the whole time. When we got off the bus we were told that our train was running two hours late which was good but also bad cos it meant we had two hours of sitting around in the dark in a not very nice part of Surathani. I ended up getting a banana roti, which is pretty much a Thai version of a crepe but they cut up the banana, mix it with egg and put it inside the folded up crepe when it is cooking, then they pour chocolate sauce and condensed milk over the top. Sooooo tasty, I recommend it to all. Cheap as well, only 20 baht which is less than an aus dollar!
Finally our train came at 12:30 and we got on feeling completely exhausted. Thank god their overnight trains have decent beds!
We arrived in bangkok at 12pm the next day and got a taxi to down town to the hostel we are currently staying. Meg had booked us the cheapest room which is a mixed dorm pf 5 bunk beds and we realised the next morning that we are the only girls in the room which feels a bit weird but we dont see anyone for most of the time so its not so bad.
That afternoon we went back to Chatuchak Market (the weekend market), but this time we went by the sky train, and did some serious shopping. I bought 3 dresses for under $40 aus but i still have few pressies I need to get.
Today we visited Jim Thompsons house who is an american who moved to thailand to help restore the Thai silk trade. He decided to build a traditional thai house and collected a whole lot of statues and porcelin and artefacts that he liked. Later he decided to open his house to the public to raise money for a charity and in 1969 he dissapeared while on a walk and no one knows what happened to him! We got a tour around the huse which was really beautiful and its surrounded by a gorgeous jungle-like garden.
After that we walked to the victory monument near siam square which has all the really upper class shopping centres. We walked in (through a door that was opened for us by a doorman) and everything looks absolutely perfect and after some investigation we fould that is was also extrememly priecy. It made an interesting contrast with the railway line we had walked down the day before when we got lost, which is where all the poor thai build little shacks to live in.
Our last stop was a place that made bangkok dolls (meg's idea not mine). We tried walking there instead of using a taxi and got pretty lost but eventually found it down some backstreets but i'm not sure if it was worth it. We did stumble across a street that has the small work rooms where all the fake merchandise sold at the markets are made, which was interesting to see.
Now we have 3 more full days left here in bangkok before we get the aeroplane back to melbourne, arriving on the morning of the 9th.
I will let you know what we get up to up until then but for now I am off!!!

Love Michelle xoxoxox

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