Bangkok I love you Bangkok

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Well I finally made it back to Thailand and I was shocked by the heat and the smell that hits you the minute you step off the plane. Its like a hot, but sweaty oven. But as I looked around at all the colour and chaos of Bangkok I felt like I'd come home. Just walking through arrivals gate i noticed lots of Thai girls (or were they Thai boys?) dressed up for a festival. In 3 days time it is due to be Songkran, one of Thailands biggest celebrated festivals. It is Thai New Year from 13th-15th April quite a lot of the country celebrates this by having a massive waterfight. It started off traditionally as a much more subdued water ceremony with only a few drops splashed, but has degenerated into massive water fight with super soakers and people driving around with big vats of water that they throw at all passers by. I was going to be in Koh Phangan for Songkran, but Bangkok has one of the biggest celebrations on the Khao San Road, which is the backpackers area of Bangkok.

Me and Nat headed straight for Khao San Road from the airport as the Khao San Road area is our favourite place to stay. Its a brilliant place to people watch. After we checked into our very nice and surprisingly plush room (aircon, a TV and hot water - way above our usual standard when we were backpacking), we went off to explore and see what had changed since the last time we were there. There seemed to be a lot more people than usual, probably because of the upcoming festival, and there was a really vibrant atmosphere. After almost buying the most gorgeous sparkly sandals for a no doubt cheap and cheerful price (Nat convinced me that my rucksack is heavy enough already and I should do my shopping at the end of the trip), we had our first taste of Thai street food - Phad Thai. Phad Thai is a noodle dish, with peanuts, eggs and chillis, lots and lots of chillis in my case. Yum!!! I do love Thai food. After that we had a few local beers - BeerLao has to be the nicest beer in the world, then headed off to bed as we were exhausted after a 15 half hour flight.

The next day after sorting out all the legal stuff for our wedding we decided to head up to the Golden Mount, which is a man made hill with a temple on the top, offering views of some of Bangkok. It was ridiculously hot, but it was a pretty looking temple with lots of bells you ring as you go along and even a giant gong, which Nat took great pleasure ringing. Nat's brother had landed earlier that day, so once we were done there we went to go and meet him at Wat Pho. However, when we text him we found out he had fallen victim to a tuk tuk scam. This is where they offer you a very cheap place to wherever you want, however once you're in the tuk tuk they take you to lots of shops where they receive a commission and you don't really get to go where you want. As we were stood outside Wat Pho waiting the heavens opened and if you think it can rain in England you haven't seen anything like this. We were drenched through in seconds, so we decided to give up and go back to Khoa San Road and find a cafe and get dry. Just as we got out of the taxi amazingly we heard Jake (Nat's brother) and saw him and Katie (his girlfriend) get out of their tuk tuk, hey had been driving by and coincidentally saw us. Since we had finally found him we all went for some food and some drinks before they headed back to their hotel, they were both shattered as they had just flown in that day. That night for a our final night as we were flying to Koh Samui the next day, so we treated ourselves to a lovely meal by the river. It was delicous (although way more expensive than our usual street food). It was lovely and romantic by the river though, with the bridge all lit up.

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Comments

[jo enright]

Brilliant Donna!!
SO SO nice to follow your travels and your enthusiasm and happiness pours off the page! have a great time at the water throwing and enjoy the rest and fun! Looking forward to the next update. Seb and Amy left this morning to join you so I'm feeling adrift with no boys to text etc!! Love to you all. Jo xxxxxx that's one x for each of you boys and girls!

[Lucinda]

Is it really so hot ?
I love your blog entry and plan to visit Bangkok real soon. Is it really as hot during April / May as everyone says ? I feel quite unprepared because everyone has different opinions about the weather. I don't mind hot because I'm from South Africa but humid is another story. Please let me know, from your personal experience, how the weather is right now and any tips you might have for me. Thanks Lucinda

[vodka donna]

Hi, yes I'm afraid it really is very very hot and sweaty. It was 36 degrees when we landed, which in itself wasn't that bad (i've had hotter weather in Greece), its just the sweatiness when you're trying to explore really. However having said that I had a fantastic time and I wouldn't let it put me off visiting at that time of year. I would definitely get an aircon room as there is no breeze to cool you down. Taxi's have air con, so its easy enough to get about. I would visit temples etc in the mornings and make sure around lunch you find a nice bar for a fruit shake and you'll be fine. Just avoid too much walking at the middle of the day. Go for it, you'll have a fab time no matter what the weather, its a cool city! :-)