In the Ghetto

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Hi all,

We’ve safely arrived in Bangkok and are loving every minute thus far. It’s true what they say about the city being an assault on the senses. The moment you walk off the plane you’re hit from every direction. First thing is the wall of heat. Thick and sticky. Then before you get used to that there’s the smell. Petrol, noodles and age. There’s constant noise. The city never seems to sleep so why should we? It’s beautiful.

Haven’t done too much since arriving. Thanks to Crister’s advice we got from the airport to Khao San Road then, after a slight miscalculation and a little backtracking, found a little guesthouse behind a Wat (Buddhist temple) It’s away from the madness and general mayhem of Khao San in an area called Banglamphu. It’s costing about $12 per night. We know how to find it by listening for the roosters with a bad sense of time. Instead of cock-a-doodling at first light they're at it 24 hours a day. Charlotte calls them the plonker cockrels. The room is tiny and we trip over each other to get to the bathroom. But at least it’s private and we’re not spending too much time there anyway. The only annoyance is the constant slamming of doors as revelers arrive home at all hours. Quiet time and thus the best time to sleep is between 6 and 10am.

Khao San and Banglamphu is a big travelers ghetto with lots of folks coming and going, sitting around in sidewalk cafes watching movies on big TV's. Smoking, drinking and just chilling. Not sure if it's the right place for us at the moment but think we'll make do. It's been so hectic since leaving Vancouver that it's nice to hangout together and just watch the world go by. And this is the place to do it. There's someone from every corner here.

After we dusted off last night, we headed out for a wee wander. Eventually we found a little restaurant with an outside table. It was fun to sit and watch people as they strolled by. No one was in a big hurry. There were three random dogs who had our corner cased. They ran around all night looking for food and keeping an eye on things. If they got tired they just lay down in the middle of the road. People and tuk-tuks either went around or over them. We had a couple of curries and a few giant Tiger beers. A meal that would have easily been $50 in Vancouver came to about $10 dollars. Though I think we got a few free beers in the process. Likely due to my dazzling style and firm grasp of the Thai language. Charlotte shakes her head in vehement disagreement upon reading this part. I’m sure of it though.

Having not slept for the better part of 36 hours we headed off to bed around midnight and spent a restless but pleasant night. Score one for Mike lugging those damn clean sheets halfway around the world. But at those prices it was worth it. We've since seen all kinds of sleeping sheets in the market stalls so will be able to replace ours if they get too minging.

Got up this morning and decided to stick to the Banglamphu area until Thursday. We’re headed for Koh Samui and Koh Phangan on Friday morning. The flight’s at 6am so will likely stay near the airport Thursday night.

This afternoon we’re planning to take a boat ride down the Chao Phraya river to Chinatown. There we’ll get a look at the Golden Buddha and check out the markets. Tonight we’re going to the redlight district in Patpong for an assault of the senses of a different kind.

Hoping to find a new mobile phone and service over the next couple of days. Will pass those details along when we have them.

Hope all are well. We’ll be in touch soon.

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Photos

Ready to go
Getting ready to leave at Alan's flat in Brighton. Last day for the jumpers. Hopefully not for the kisses.

Touchdown
Getting ready to face the heat. After customs at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok

Gotta Shop!
Looking for bargains on Khao San Road. Not too many of those but loads of cool stuff.

Khao San Road
This is what we've been looking for. Loving Bangkok

Mmmmm .... beer
View from the table. Watching the world go by in Banglamphu.