Bangkok

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Skipping straight to Asia, since I didn't venture out of Brisbane, except for a couple of nearby weekend trips, while in Australia...

Arrival in Bangkok was long anticipated and not at all what I expected... although I'm not sure what I actually expected! Was lucky enough to meet a lovely Irish girl, Roisin (yes, a proper Irish name too!)--in the seat next to me on the flight from Sydney!--which was especially good since we arrived at midnight. I hate arriving anywhere for the first time in the dark and alone! It's not so easy to find a taxi who will put his meter on in Bangkok; drivers want to negotiate a price upfront instead, which will invariably be two to three times higher than what you'd pay on the meter. But after some persistence we got front door service to...

the skanky hostel Sukhumvit Soi 1... oh well, it's somewhere to crash, and after traveling for about 15 hours, all I wanted to do was sleep.

Met a great Canadian girl, Sarah, who is living in Hualin, Taiwan, teaching English. We discovered that since it was a national holiday, the embassies were all closed, which meant neither of us could take care of our visa and passport issues. The three of us trekked around Bangkok together, starting with Chinatown; pretty dirty and boring. Then the famous backpackers ghetto, Khao San Road, where you can buy everything imaginable, from t-shirts, fisherman pants, bikinis, dresses, shoes, housewares and more. The bargaining is the best part, a little game, a dance you engage in with the seller. They actually invite you to do it, quoting a ridiculous price, then offering a discount. We relaxed our tired feet and did some people watching at the bars lining the promenade, then off to the Pat Pong night market with the famous Ping Pong bars... which use everything from razor blades to bananas to darts as accessories to their shows. But being girls, in the middle of a shopping area with cheap designer jeans... well, somehow trying on pair after pair of Diesels in the middle of the aisles, which we had to pull off each other, since once you actually get them on, they stick to you in the moist heat (We were prepared for this excursion; we all wore dresses) ... took precedence over going to a weird show, so that will have to wait for a future trip. Morbid curiosity beckons!

Spent the better part of my second day in Bangkok getting a new passport, since entry requirements for Cambodia and Laos stipulate six months minimum remaining on passport. Then had to trek down to the immigration office to get my visa transferred into the new passport, a much longer walk than expected! And so, I took my first Thailand motorbike taxi ride! I later learned after much observation of the locals, no one holds on! The driver kept looking down at my hands holding on to his vest... local women actually sit on the back, sidesaddle, barely holding on! And helmets are a rarety... Even still, I was hooked... got done at immigration and got another motorbike ride to meet Roisin to plan our travel to Cambodia...

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