Out of India

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It was with a spring in my step that I headed towards the living hell that is Jaipur train station for the first leg of a rather long-winded journey out of India to Bangkok.

The relief was palpable when the train arrived on time and five hours later I arrived back at New Delhi to be greeted by the foul stench of Parharganj's main bazaar just in time to find myself a room for a few short hours in the Yes Sir Please guest house before heading to the airport at 5 a.m. for an early flight to Singapore, then on to Thailand. Not sure why I had to go via Singapore, as it's not even close to the right direction and it added quite a few hours on to the journey time, but I didn't care as long as they let me out of India.

Of course, the airport staff initially refused to let me into Delhi airport, due to the dates not matching up on my ticket, as I had brought my flight forward. Eventually the "authorities" relented and generously allowed me to take my place on the flight and I was out of there.

Even a five hour wait at Singapore didn't annoy me. There's so much to do there, the time flies by and soon enough I arrived in Bangkok's Banglamphu area at around midnight. Thirty hours to get from Jaipur to Bangkok...not too shabby!

I'd allowed myself the relative luxury of what the Lonely Planet describes as a mid-range hotel for this special occasion and what a pleasure it was to have sheets, aircon and a tv for a night.

My stomach was feeling much better and to celebrate, I gorged myself on the many varieties of Thai food on offer and set about relaxing after finding a more budget suitable guest house option near the Khaosan Road. Just walking around the immediate area without having half a dozen blokes aggressively hassling me to buy something was a great feeling. One simple shake of the head or a no is good enough in Bangkok, unlike India.

I took in a Muay Thai boxing match for my first night's entertainment and it was quite an interesting experience in third class, where all of the betting takes place. It wasn't too dissimilar to being in the tattersalls at a low grade horse racing meeting and the strategy seemed obvious to me...blue corner won six out of the seven fights. If I were able to communicate in Thai, I could have made myself a few quid. The information guy outside warned me that it wasn't safe in third class, but I didn't witness any untoward goings on.

The next day I decided to master Bangkok's transport system and so I took a couple of boats, the skytrain and the subway. It doesn't take too long to master it, although getting around the city does take a long time whichever method you use.

I booked a train for the next day to Hua Hin, which is on the way down south and nipped over to the Khaosan Road for a few beers at Gulliver's Travellers Tavern, where I had a few games of pool and somehow, perhaps due to the surprising strength of Chang beer, became embroiled in a incident with a veteran Aussie sex tourist and a couple of hookers.

In the best traditions of the News of the World, I made my excuses and left, but not before he had regaled me with stories too lurid to publish here about the Bangkok sex industry and how he'd been robbed of 20,000 thai baht into the process. Didn't seem to have put him off though!

Feeling decidedly rough after a few too many Chang's I took my place the next morning on a third class train to Hua Hin. The plan was to stop off there for a few days and have a game of golf and relax on the beach.

Five uncomfortable and very cramped hours later I arrived at Hua Hin's very attractive station (no, really it is) just in time for a delayed bout of Bangkok belly to kick in and it was out with the ciprofloxacin again!

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Photos

Bangkok 1
Soi Rambuttri, my home whilst in Bangkok

Bangkok 2
The view from third class of the Thai boxing

Bangkok 3
View from a river taxi

Bangkok 4
There's one (probably several)in Bangkok too Braddrers!

Bangkok 5
The skytrain tracks in Bangkok by the Royal Bangkok Sports Club

Comments

[James]

Medical Advice - Side effects of ciprofloxacin
As I have not received a response to my text, my fear is that you may be ailing severely, too weak to tap out a simple text message to those left behind .... so, just in case you manage to drag yourself to a Thai internet cafe (one that does not come with dancing girls or a reputation that invites over 50s, balding singletons from Chester-Le-Street) thought I might help you out with some basic medical advice courtesy of Doctor J. Norton (I suggest you pay particular attention to the 'yellowing of the skin and eyes'... I have observed this in you on more than one occasion before.. I also note that you may want to pass this note on to Myra as it mentions 'rupturing of tendons' as a serious side effect: Check with your doctor if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome: upset stomach (mild) diarrhea (mild) vomiting stomach pain headache restlessness Less frequent or rare: Change in sense of taste increased sensitivity of skin to sunlight Blistering of skin sensation of skin burning skin itching, rash, redness, or swelling skin rash itching hives difficulty breathing or swallowing swelling of the face or throat yellowing of the skin or eyes dark urine pale or dark stools blood in urine unusual tiredness sunburn or blistering seizures or convulsions vaginal infection vision changes pain, inflammation, or rupture of a tendon