One night in Bangkok

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We were done checking in, and checking out the room, so we decided to have a quick walk around the local area before grabbing some dinner. The first thing we saw as we exited the hotel was a massage parlour called "Miss Puke". Hmm. We weren't too sure, actually, if this was a massage parlour or a "massage parlour". The next two establishments we saw were also massage parlours, and we could actually see genuine massage occurring through one of the windows, so we decided to give them all the benefit of the doubt...

We wandered down the road a bit, occasionally being accosted by people offering us taxi rides. The street is extremely noisy - blaring music from various unidentified sources intermingled with the sound from a couple of large advertising displays, all mixed up with traffic noise and the calls of street vendors. It seems a little less busy now. We don't walk too far; we have decided to play it safe and eat in the hotel tonight, and to be a bit more adventurous tomorrow. While out, we are surprised to find a Boots! Less surprised to find a starbucks - I think you'd have to go to the moon to get away from them. On the way back to the hotel, we have a quick chat with a friendly security guard who had seen us earlier with our luggage and directed us towards our hotel. He tells us that if we want to see 'busy', we will be able to the next morning...

Back at the hotel, we go to the restaurant, which is very nice. Staff are very helpful. The choice is a bit limited, but what we got was delicious (shared a Thai red and a Thai green curry). And it seems perfect time for a beer. Or two. And maybe another in the lobby. That one wasn't so nice, though... had a slightly sulphurous whiff, something which we've noticed on the streets too. Also, some music with heavy thumping bass starts penetrating the lobby in a most unpleasant fashion, so we decide it is probably time to hit the minibar... a quick game of cards, and suddenly the minibar appeared to be devoid of beers. Not sure how that happened. Strange... ah well, bed time...

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