First Stop Bangkok!

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Hello everyone!

Our holiday started off without a hitch, well apart from Kim (who is well known for losing things) nearly losing our suitcase keys not 15 minutes after arriving at Sydney airport (after the suitcases were locked of course haha).

The flight to Bangkok on Thai Airways was pretty decent, apart from the wood-like seats and possibly getting the worst seats in the house (you would think first in best dressed haha). Even though the flight was delayed by 20 minutes, we arrived spot on time to a MASSIVE Bangkok airport and got our bags and went through customs extremely quickly.

Well what a surprise package this place has turned out to be! Our trip to Bangkok was only ever meant as a cheap stopover, however despite pre-conceived thoughts based on recent bombings and stories told by others we have found Bangkok to be a bit of a diamond in the rough. The culture shock for us has been minimal, helped a lot by meeting Tom (Steve's uncle) at the airport and having him provide many a tip before heading out into the big city!

As we predicted, we arrived at Bangkok to a big thunderstorm.

Wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't have had to hit the road for our bus transfer to our hotel! The big thunderstorm together with the crazy Bangkok driving made for a very unnerving experience! We are assuming that our experience in nearly crashing four times in the space of five minutes was probably a pretty good result... in fact we were told that Sundays were the "sane" days on the road! Yes there are lines on the road that the drivers use as a VERY rough guide, and apart from the countdown traffic lights, there really is no order on the roads - it's survival of the fittest, and this includes for the pedestrains trying to make their way across the busy roads.

Our hotel, Pathumwan Princess, has been great - attentive service, very helpful, good area, and (much to Kim's liking) is attached to MBK shopping centre - a modern seven storey mega-mall.... what more can we say, would definitely recommend it!!

We have seen many sights in our three days here, probably the highlight was spending the day with our personal tour guide Tom who took us out to the King's Palace (which is beautiful), followed by an hour long boat trip along the canals of Bangkok. Kim kept her lips firmly pursed for the whole journey in fear of a rogue wave splashing up into the boat - lets just say the water is a delicate shade of brown with lots of floatys 😊 It was fascinating to see the way people live along the river - a high level of poverty with houses nearing collapse right next door to modern houses highlighting the distinct contrasts that are obvious all over Bangkok.

Tuesday was spent as a more relaxing day, we were able to fit in two massages, one full body Traditional Thai Massage in the morning ($9 AUD each for an hour!) and an hour long foot massage in the afternoon after a long day on our feet ($11 AUD).... as you do!!

The weather has been kind to us, it has been hot & humid however the rain has been holding off until the evening allowing us full days to explore. You definitely notice the smog & heat when walking around on the streets, many people who work the streets wear masks to filter out the garbage. Everywhere indoors in Bangkok is super-airconditioned which is a great relief from the heat outside!

The people in Bangkok are very friendly (although watch out as some will try and lead you up the garden path - damn those Tuk Tuk drivers :P). The food is good, and the shopping is just awesome! We have enjoyed our three day stay and wouldn't rule out coming back again in the future.

Tonight we leave for Egypt, 12:45AM flight (dreading it!), flying EgyptAir (this should be an interesting, if not scary experience 😊 )

We hope all is well with life in Australia, missing you all, until next post....

Love Steve & Kim

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Photos

hotel1
Bangkok by Day (from our Hotel window)

hotel2
Bangkok at a Glance

mbk
MBK Shopping Centre

palaceentrance
King's Palace Entrance

palace2
King's Palace Courtyard

goldpalace
More of the King's Palace

kimsteve
Steve & Kim at the King's Palace

palaceguards
Palace Guards March On!

boatbridge
More from our Boat Ride

rowboat
Boat Trip

boatbridge2
More from our Boat Ride

boat2
More from our Boat Ride

night1
Bangkok by Night

night2
Bangkok Streetscape

Comments

[dave & sue]

great to hear all's well
Looking foprward to the next instalment. PS nearly all moved in the house about 80% there

[Mumsie]

Great overview
Hello my darlings, It was great to read your travelblog on Bangkok, and we can imagine to have Steve's uncle, Tom, as a guide, must have helped you greatly. It sounds as if you are really enjoying yourselves and those massages certainly sound inviting. The pictures are great. I imagine that when you get to read this you will have arrived in Egypt, and a different culture change. The weather here has been great since you left, and the girls are missing you already. Kerryn seems to be going along quite well, and Isaac grows daily. Miss you already, but am glad that things have gone smoothly thus far. Love you heaps, Mum and Charlie. xoxoxox

[Hewie]

Looks awesome!
Hey Guys, Looks like the holiday is going well. The water definitely looks very dodgy so I can understand the lip pursing :) Work is... going. Very jealous of your 3 months off! Can't wait to see your next post. Ben.

[Lindy]

Hi
Hey guys, sounds like you're having fun over there which is good to hear, especially after all the stress of preparing to go overseas (at least in Kim's case)! Ha, i can imagine Kimmy being freaked out by the poo brown water, she can't even press a pedestrian button lol. Hope you guys have a safe trip to Egypt, looking forward to the next bolg. As for back home, winter decided to hit last night, it was freezing! Helped Simon move up to Sydney on the weekend and his new job is going well. Until next time, safe travelling, love Linda