Onto SE Asia

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After spending one night on an overnight train and the following on an overnight plane from India, I was a little bedraggled upon my 5.30am arrival into Bangkok. Feeling the need for a good sleep, I headed straight for a comparitively expensive hotel and made the most of my air-conditioned room, warm shower, TV, room service and most of all, a king-sized bed. Oh yeh, and a buffet breakfast the next morning with one of those guys that makes custom omelettes for you. Deluxe! The next day however, I moved to a little bit more modest place, just around the corner from the infamous backpacker metropolis that is Khao San Rd. People had warned me that Khao San was pretty hectic, and sure, it was overrun with tourists, shops, 7/11s, fast food and a million disgusting old men with young Thai girls on their arms, but after being in an Indian city it was a dream. Tuk-tuk drivers actually listened when you said no, you could look at goods without being chased down the street by an overzealous shop owner, and I even got a "thanks for smiling" after politely declining a vendor's services.

I didn't do a lot with my time in Bangkok - hanging out and relaxing, shopping for a few supplies and just generally taking it easy, tryin to sort out my next movements. I did manage to fit in the obligatory sight seeing in one day, which consisted of the Royal Palace enclosure (where I had to borrow more respectable clothes), the largest reclining Buddha around, a temple, a boat ride down the river, and a ride to Siam Square on the skyrail. Nice day but nothing too exciting.

Despite my best efforts to lay low and rest up, I did manage to have one night out. After consuming copious amounts of beer chang and a few shots, I got my first introduction to the world of buckets. For the uninitiated, this institutional feature of south-east asian drinking is literally a cocktail served in a bucket - normally consisting of the local Sang Som whiskey/rum, coke and a purer form or Red Bull that's about 10 times stronger than anything served back home. These can be consumed at anything from semi-respectable bars and clubs, to bar-converted kombis or just tables and chairs on the side of the road. After doing the obligatory rounds of Khao San, I managed to get myself in bed before I seriously jeapordised my plans to move on to Cambodia the next day. Or so I thought...

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Photos

Royal Palace
The obligatory sightseeing of Bangkok.

Royal Palace 2
The obligatory sightseeing of Bangkok.

Royal Palace 3
The obligatory sightseeing of Bangkok.

Reclining Buddha
Symbolising his attainment of enlightenment, this is the largest of it's kind around.

Blissed Out
You would be too if you were enlightened.

Cocktails by the Bucket
Buckets of whiskey/rum, coke and red-bull that's about 10x stronger than the stuff you get back home, are the cheap, communal staple of any good night out in Bangkok (all over SE Asia in fact).

Kombi Bar
Drinking spots around the infamous Kaoh San Rd area range from proper establishments down to chairs on the side of the road. This mobile bar was somewhere in between. I don't know these people, but I did drink here.