the final night

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my final night in asia! i'm sat with my beer and my book ready and have just checked in online for my flight...printed out the boarding pass which cost me more than my beer! not impressed! grumpy old man on reception 'forgot' to inform me of this! gosh people can be rude!!!

however saying that, travelling is all about chance encounters and taking risks and opportunities! i have met some of the most wonderful people on my travels, i could write a book of all the email addresses and personalities!! bangkok has been no exception!!! on my first day i met three lovely canadians; we managed to navigate the local bangkok bus network and arrive cheaply in downtown bangkok. i left them to find my pre-booked guesthouse, which was nothing like the pictures! i was paying alot for mosquitos and a wonderful view over the river! the Rama VIII bridge is really spectacular out of the bedroom window!!!

my first full day was spent walking around pagodas! there was a religious festival so every pagoda was free to get into! yay! i have never walked so far and seen so many buddhas! after seeing the price for the royal palace and museum i had to pass, as i felt my budget had been blown by being a tourist in phnom penh and then going to bali!!! in the evening i met the the three canadians for dinner and we had a few drinks and then went to get amanda's hair dreaded!! it was done in with a crochet needle and only took two hours!! i remember watching martin's hair for hours and hours and lots of backcombing!!!

next day in bangkok was pretty much the same, walking around, went to a few markets and met the canadians again for dinner and then we went to chinatown (amanda practiced her chinese ordering beers and her boyfriend was desperately trying to remember how to ask about the toilet...as i have found all over asia, mime is usually the easiest way to get answers!!) and found the biggest street market i had ever seen. it streched from the outskirts of chinatown, over memorial bridge and then near the palace! it was incredible! walking around and starting to feel tired, we head back in the direction of our guesthouses!!

moved to a guesthouse further out of town and after arriving and dumping my bags i headed out for some cheap lunch! its impossible to go hungry in bangkok! the street food is amazing and it literally lines the street! fresh fruit, meats, rice, sweets, noodles, pad thai!...absolutely anything you could want! after lunch (or during lunch as i ate and walked!) i headed towards the market (stopped on the way to visit another temple and i danced with a lovely thai lady as she dragged me into see a big buddha statue!!). this market (called chantachuk - i'll correct when i get home) was huge!!! 10,000+ stalls and so many people! it was such a great atmosphere! not overly cheap clothes, but such a great place to hang out! and there was a gorgeous park with so many thai locals chilling and relaxing on a saturday afternoon! i like being away from the city centre! the air is bluer and so much cleaner!

i wish life didnt come down to money! i was walking around the market, thinking that i would love to buy so many things for everyone! but now i have reached the end of my trip i have been trying to keep a rigid budget! well that got blown by meeting the canadians because it meant i had people to have a beer with and eat at a nicer place! but then on my last full day i met the two nicest americans at breakfast and they convinced me to go with them to the floating market!!! i hate it how the whole day has been about spending. they bought the taxi, which i am so grateful for, and the we went on a ridiculously cheap 3 hour boat tour of three markets, got to feed the fish and then a lovely lady gave us stickyrice to eat and bananas! now tonight after dinner they have gone to a 'ping pong' show! i wont explain here what it is...but it involves ping pong balls and women! but at 500baht to get in and not including a taxi, i opted to stay here, pack and wait for them to get back to have a final beer. they really are wonderful people and i'm so glad that the chance encounter led to having such a wonderful day!

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