2nd day

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We went out into the city and things were really starting to pick up. A street that was totally empty before has now been transformed into an open air market. Patpong is the place and we are right across the road from it. It is the famous red light district of Bangkok. The market is great with lots of fake stuff such as Lois Vuitton handbags and other knock off things like watches and perfumes.

We sat down at an open air restaurant and had a beer and some food. The Tom Yum soup was awesome. So much more flavorsome than the stuff you buy in Adelaide. We also had some noodles. While eating we were constantly harassed by various street sellers. Watches, jewelry fake tattoos, etc etc. Its never ending. Everyone always wants something from you.

Stuff is so cheap here. You can eat and drink well for les then $10 between two people. The beer pricing is interesting. You can get a can of beer for AU$0.75. On the other hand the same beer can be 5 times more expensive in a bar. I guess this is normal. We decided to go for a walk and spent the next 2 hours just checking out all the stuff in the market. We also went for a Tuk Tuk ride. This is like a three wheeled motorbike. The driver took us up to the Red shirt barricade and showed us where all the protests were taking place. Once back we decided to go to bed. It was already 12.30 Adelaide time and we were fairly tired.

As our bodies were running still on SA time we woke fairly early and had to force ourselves to try and get back to sleep. We decided to spend the day doing very little figuring that over the next few days on the tour we would be quite busy with things to do. We finally left the room late morning and went for a massage. It took an hour and it felt very nice. Lisa decided to go for the Thai massage which is very aggressive with lots of pulling and pushing. I had a much more gentle and relaxing time of it.

By this time it was time to leave this hotel and go to the next hotel in Chinatown. This is where tonight we will meet up with our group. The ride there in the taxi was crazy as usual but we seem to have gotten used to it. We can even cross the busy roads without too much worry. As there are no stop signs and frankly the few that are operating no one pays too much attention to it is critical to learn how to cross the street with cars and motorbikes zooming past constantly. The theory is that you simply take a leap of faith and walk into the traffic which is meant to part to let you through. As you walk along you need to keep your speed constant to allow the cars to judge your position to go around you. Takes some getting used to but it does seem to work ok.

The new hotel is not as nice as the one we have been in. This one also smells but worse. We are on the 22nd floor and the view is quite something. There is a roof top bar

We went for a walk in Chinatown and this place redefines busy. It is so incredibly dense with humanity. Every footpath is actually a market with stalls selling food, clothing, electronic equipment etc.

I think some people must be really shocked by how intense this place is.

We met our tour guide and other travelers today. All over 50. Some closer to 60 at a guess. There is only 8 of us all up which is great as the smaller the group, I suspect the easier the personal dynamics work out.

Went for a walk after the meeting and all the shops were closing or closed. The streets were largely deserted due to a Buddhist holiday today and in one quiet corner of a street we saw a large group of very large rats just honing out and eating the scarps they could find. It was a really weird sight. We walked right past them and they didn’t even move. They are obviously used to people and the people must just let them be.

Dinner was very tasty again, Tom Yum, fish cakes and pad Thai. All good.

We hit the road tomorrow at 7.30 in a mini bus to cross the border into Cambodia.

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