Thoughts on Thailand

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I continued my time in Bangkok quietly really getting a bit fed up of the place, you just get so much hassle off the taxi/tuk tuk drivers and the worst of all, the slimy men who stand outside suit shops trying to get you to come in and purchase some substandard suit. They alway ask you where you are from so they hit back with some witty reply, ie 'Scotland' they say 'Whiskey' or England 'Lubbly Jubbly' They seem to think I'm Australian (must be the tan) so I get 'G'day Mate' rather a lot.

Still the other night I got my visas through for Laos and Vietnam which was good, and yesterday managed not to get ripped off in my taxi to Huamphalong Railway station, the big terminal out of Bangkok.

Good journey up on the night train, they convert the seats into cosy bunks, is good as long as you sleep with your wallet/passport inside your pillowcover just in case, arrived this morning in the pleasant sleepy North East town of Nong Khai, which sits on the banks of the Mekong River, just across from Laos where I intend to cross over to in the morning.

So that will be Thailand, it's been good in places though where it's touristy it's definately not in the best of shape, like James Bond Island and Kho Phi Phi Ley sadly the rush to get people to these places results in serious damage, losing much of the origional attraction, still, that' the way it goes out here. So I guess Thailand did not get under my skin as much as other places, it's easy to get around and generally people are very friendly and very polite, maybe it's because I spent a week in Bangkok waiting for my visas, it's got it's attractions, but it's a pretty irritating place to be. Ah well, i have higher hopes for the lesser developed Laos, lets just see.

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Photos

Bangkok Train Station
Believe me it's a lot nicer than the bus stations

The Train Bunks
We've got our curtains to keep us respectable.

Budda on the Roof
Nong Khai

Guest House in Nong Khai
Bit of Indochina influence