Week 16 Bangkok!!!!!!!!

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Dear Blog,

Well after a fairly sad fairwell to sydney, I found myself at Bangkok airport at one o'clock the next morning. Had managed to get a bit of kip on the plane, so was feeling fairly good and really excited to be there.
Got a taxi into town and checked into a lovely little hotel with a massive bed, cotton sheets, en suite, tv, fridge, bags of crisps etc and had the best nights sleep I have had for about 16 weeks!

Woke up the next day full of beans, and afetr a breakfast of scramled eggs on toast, set off to find some less luxurious accomodation. After I had found a new guest house to stay at, I then had to lug my rucksacks from the hotel and was more than regretting having so much stuff because it is extremely hot and humid here. In fact I left my sleeping bag in the hostel, as I have a feeling I wont be needing it for the duration of my trip, and sent another batch of clothes home.

All that done I headed out into the chaos that is Bangkok. I can honestly say I have never been anywhere quite like it. In some ways its fairly similar to any capital city, millions of people, loud, polluted, street vendors etc, but there are so many things about it that are so unfamilair that it feels like you've stepped onto another planet. The people look different, it sounds different (lots of honking horns and tuktuks), it smells different owing to the fact that you cant walk 10 yards without another little food stall, and the clothes are different.

Anyway, after a good few hours of shopping on the Khao San Road, bought a new bag and some shoes and thought I had done a good job of getting a good price, I sat down for a well earned rest and food at a little cafe on the street. I ended up getting chatting to an engish girl called Charlie who has been in Asia for quite a few months and so at the end of it all I feel that I was well and truly initiated into Bangkok backpacker life. Ended up drinking buckets of whisky with "special" red bull and coke out of straws and about 12 hours later finally made it back to my guest house on the back of a tuk tuk which was excellent fun although I think if I hadn't been quite so drunk I would have been more than a little terrified. Also found out that I had in fact been ripped off with regards to aforementioned bag and shoes so also had a crash course on how to get the best out of my baht, and got a faux silver bracelet for next to nowt.

Woke up this morning feeling a little weak, but after a couple of slices (well four to be precise) of white toast and a cup of foul coffee I was revved up for the day.

More later x

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Photos

The reclining Bhudda
Very impressive but don't think my camera adequately shows the scale of the thing.