Arrival in Bangkok, Thailand

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Arrived in Bangkok

So this is technically my second day in Thailand. After sitting in the plane for over an hour, we finally lifted off and I touched down in Bangkok at 4:35pm. It was hot and humid and I had so many bags that it took me forever to organised all the stuff I'd bought at Heathrow (nearly an hour in fact) and then I actually went through customs.

Next step was to contact my mum and nan to let them know I'd arrived safely. Having bought some water, I was armed with pennies for the telephones, only to find to my frustration that I couldn't use them. So there I was standing there having a blonde moment. I asked a few staff at the airport how to work them, but that didn't help either. In the end I gave up and called from my English sim! Once I'd done that, I called my mate in Thailand and she told me where to meet.

I jumped into a taxi and the driver was very sweet. Despite not knowing much English, he chatted away to me (mostly about needing money for the tolls on the motorway!). I asked him for a few English phrases but I couldn't hear much and was later told by my Thai mate that what I was saying was utter bollocks. Nice. It also seems I don't have a good memory for Thai vocab. Let's put it this way, it may take me a while before I can have a conversation in Thai. Ha.

Upon reaching my destination, the driver helped me with my luggage, I paid my fair and called my mate. She told me where to wait and upon getting there my mobile rung and I saw her running towards me. It was a good feeling to see someone familiar!

I dumped my stuff in her boyfriend's car (a plush Volvo in case you were wondering) and we went to the restaurant where she was meant to meet him. The food was amazing. Bascially, there was a dish in the middle of the table with boiling water and you ordered meets/ fish, whichever took your fancy. It arrived raw and you just put it into the dish and it boiled away. Just in case you didn't know, in Thailand when you go to a restaurant, everyone orders several dishes, be it pork, king prawns, beef, etc, etc, and then everyone just digs in. It's all very social. So I tucked in, and after some hard work finally managed to eat with my chopsticks. With my right hand. You have to eat with your right hand 'cos your left hand is used for other purposes. I won't gross you out, but let's just say you use it after you've been to the loo. Anyway, I felt very proud of myself when on finishing the food, I eatein with my chopsticks and didn't need to resort to the knife and fork I was given! And may I add that I am left-handed. Extra gold star for me!

Then we just walked around the shopping mall. It's absolutely huge! Bigger than the Bull Ring in Birmingham and anywhere else I'd been. It's 7 stories! Crazy stuff. I have no idea how to get around! My mate, Ming, asked where I wanted to go, and I said Kao San Road. That's a street with market stall upon market stall and you can get cheap clothes, have your hair beaded and have food every 2 seconds as there's so many food stalls. It was buzzing with Thais and tourists. I spotted several English people. And I'm sure there were loads of ozzies - they get around. It wasn't crazy mad, but more of a relaxed atmosphere with many people.

And that is my first impression of Thailand, or Bangkok at least. It's such a chilled place. The people are chilled out and whilst there's lots of traffic - both electric and human - it's just so relaxing. I'm hoping that will rub off onto me. Let's be brutally honest, I'm not exactly the most chilled out person in the world. So bring on the new relaxed me!

I think I'll bring my message/waffle/mini-essay to a close. You may have already fallen asleep and I need to do touristy stuff.

I'll keep updating on here instead of emailing everyone each and every time I have news. Much more efficient. So all that is left to write is thank you for reading my first blog entry, and I hope I kept you entertained my lovelies.

I thought I should write my mobile in Thailand, too:
0066-8060-48-056.


Big kiss!
The adventurous Karrie
xx

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[Lea]

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