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Published: March 24th 2008
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24hours without facebook...but i gave in! Anyway, on with the first proper blog!
So it seems weird to think that 24hours a go i was saying bye to people, in Lowestoft, with Snow! But now here I am in Bangkok, mental! The wait at the airport was pretty dull, but I spoke to a couple of people, and Emily rang to say hello which was very cool! Took off about half an hour late, but it's not like i was in a rush, i do have 12weeks after all! Manged to sleep quite a bit, had an empty seat next to me, bonus! And definitely a good thing as the entertainment system was working until after I woke up, at which point i watched Juno over breakfast/lunch. Not too bad I guess.
Arrived in Bangkok airport, and very impressed by the place, well except the ten mile hike to immigration, where for once, they didnt scrutinise over my photo. Got through there in about two mins, nothing like america! Then my bag came within about 15mins. Now I am very glad that I had done my research on buses, and I literally got mobbed by millions of taxi drivers,
all haggling with me to let them be my driver...no deal! I knew where the buses were, and I knew they were much cheaper. But I will tell you this, 150BHT for a leather, air conditioned express coach is a bargain and a half! More on bargains in a minute.
The ride is was cool, seeing Bangkok city from outside in, and a bit of an eye opener, starting with little houses and not much money, with some places built bwetween sections of road, and then gradually seeing things get a bit bigger, and a bit more western. Its almost a shame I will only see such a small part of Bangkok and Thailand in my 3days! Also, they seem to love their King a lot! The bus dropped me off about 10mins walk from my "guest house" where I promptly checked in having booked in advance. 4quid a night (no pound sign on Thai keyboards!), and not bad to be honest, thoguh the shower facilities (pics later in the week) are not the best. The room was very hot when I got in, so whacked the fan on.
Right, seapking of hot. So I got off the
plane in jeans and a hoodie, to be met with at least 32C heat, i reckon it was more. And although it is now 8:45pm, I am still sweating...apologies for that information but i feel it makes the point about how warm it is! And apparently Lowestoft has had 2inches of snow? crazy. So the shorts were promptly brought out, though not before finding a lock missing off my bacpack...but everything still in place so must not have been locked properly!
Shorts on, and head mopped, I hit the neighbourhood. I am right in the middle of alleys of cafes, street sellers, people cooking on the pavement, and lots of westerners being pestered to buy this, and have a ride in that. All those years of ignoring charity people in Lowestoft centre has paid off! Went for a big old walk, and found a very cool little park by the river, where there was a little temple, and lost of people just chilling out, juggling, break dancing, and it had a breeze! Bought myself a bottle of coke, think she must have charged me wrong as it was only like 25p?! Refreshed, and with a couple of pics under
my belt, I headed back to the busy areas, and had a cool time just watching people, and seeing all the different things on offer. Eventually chose somewhere to eat some tea, and again i think i was charged wrong, as chicken in black bean sauce, rice and a pepsi came to 1quid. AND, it was the best black bean sauce i had ever had!
Having allowed for the food to go down, I hit the infamous Khao San road, tourist central! And there are soo many lights! It was like a mini-vegas...in terms of lights, obviously! And again I was mobbed by people left right and centre, but to be honest, who doesnt like a bit of attention every now and then! So here I am, fairly worn out sat in an internet place, costing me 30p for half an hour, and so i thought i may as well do the first blog!
They may be a bit more frequent these first few weeks as it is very cheap here, and I am hoping Neil and Elke will allow me to use the internet! Check back soon for more!
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