5 Nights in Bangkok

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24/04/07
Jon and Caroline (Julians' brother and girlfriend) drove us to Heathrow on Tuesday 24th April 2007, getting us to the airport two hours before the flight and giving us time to catch our breath after the most hectic two weeks of our lives - where we got married and then had to prepare for this trip. We even had time to get a bite to eat and change some money before we departed London. The flight left at 10pm BST, heading for Thailand (Bangkok), and was very comforatable - the best any longhaul flight can be. We arrived in Bangkok by 3pm (local time) and jumped in a taxi from the airport to take us to the Bangkok Hilton. At this point we both felt very apprehensive about our whole trip as the reality of leaving England for nearly a year set in.

The Hilton was awesome, pure luxury, something we needed for our first night in this hectic city while we adapted to our new 'on-the-road' environment. We were upgraded on the spot to a deluxe room and we quickly decided that we would stay in the Hilton for 24 hours and start our 'real' travelling adventure when we checked out, which was not until 4pm the next day. We had showers and then ended up sleeping for a few hours - catching up on the little sleep we had got on the flight. When we woke we still felt very apprehensive about leaving our room, after experiencing a quick taste of the Thai's response to tourists (farang) at the airport, where everyone wanted your business and talked to you in broken English. We eventually bit the bullet and started our adventure by checking out the hotel first - we wanted to take it easy at this stage .

The hotel consisted of 33 floors with a 360 degree bar at the top which provided panoramic views of Bangkok. The gym and swimming facilities were of the finest quality - something we knew we couldn't get used to otherwise we would never leave. We did venture outside the hotel briefly but soon realised we were in a dirty part of Bangkok a mile or so from the nicer part so went back to the Hilton 20 mins later.

We ate in one of the Hilton's four restaurants - a buffet fit for a king including king's prices. Knowing we couldn't keep this level of extravagence up we ate as much as we could then headed for bed where we slept for nearly 16 hours, with breaks for breakfast and for the Liverpool v Chelsea Champions League match, which took place at 2am in the morning.

We finally left the Hilton at 4pm on the 25th April and headed for Khao San Road, where we checked into the D&D guest house, which became home for the next four nights. Khao San is like the Ibiza West End of Thailand. It is full of backpackers, bars, and street sellers and we used it as a base to explore Bangkok. It gave us plenty to experience - Thai food (Pad Thai, Spring Rolls and rice dishes), Thai drink (Chang beer), busseling (floating) markets, tuk tuks, Wats (temples), The Grand Palace, and overall the Thai culture.

While soaking up the Thai atmosphere we purchased suits from a Thai tailor- to be sent back to the UK - and got a taste for the local's way of life and shopping habits at the markets and MBK shopping centre. We bought fake Rolex and Breitling at the famous Pat Pong Rd markets but refrained from the Ping Pong shows (we will go when we return to Bangkok in June). We also visited the Floating Markets just outside bangkok and watched a snake show which involved crazy Thai's irritating the hell out of Cobra's and dodging their bites. These five days were hectic and it was fun to be a part of such a vibrant metropole, however, five days was enough for us. We were in desperate need for some countryside and headed to the West of Thailand and Kanchanburi

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Photos

Buddamathon outside Bangkok
10 miles outside Bangkok stands a huge black budda set in beautiful grounds

Khao San Rd
Our hotel on Khao San Rd

Budda
One of hundreds of Wats and Budda temples in Bangkok

My Python
After watching a Snake Show we were allowed to hold the Python