Arrival To Bangkok!

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Last night I endured the 9 hour journey from Sydney to Bangkok. Although everyone around me was complaining, I can honestly say I LOVE flying. I didn't get a wink of sleep (which I'm definitely feeling today) but I was able to watch a lot of movies, play tetris + trivia games, and listen to Jack Johnson. I think it's a great way to relax and just stay put. Although the lady next to me was quite...large, and when she twisted around in her sleep her legs ended up taking up 100% of my leg space.
My flight into Bangkok arrived at 1:25AM...it was a step in my journey that I was definitely not looking forward to. However, I was pleasantly surprised - the quiet Bangkok Airport was extremely inviting, I had no hassle with the taxi's, and I even made some friends. Well, 'friends' might be too positive, I met a british girl who was waiting for a friend. The experience took me back to Jamie's generalisation of English people as the 'whinging poms'...because during our entire conversation she did not have ONE positive thing to say...'it's SO HOT' ' my friend should BE here' ...on and on and on.
On my way from the airport to Koh San Road I was excited about seeing all the different areas in Bangkok. The city seems enormous, we drove for almost 45 minutes, and all I saw were big roads, big buildings,...and surprisingly...just about as many 'seven-elevens' as in Australia. or the States. or Sweden. But along the way we also saw some temples (which were beautiful in the dark - glittering gold), and lots of palaces (my taxi driver told me all about the different 'Kings'....which I assume are the 'next in lines' for the throne). His favorites by far were #5 and #9. They're 'same, same'.
During the taxi journey I had to with-hold my excitement, cause I decided the safest bet was to pretend I had been here many times before. So I told Mr.Taxi that YES....I'd been to Thailand, and YES...Koh San Road is nice, and YES...the beaches are beautiful. Better that way so that you don't get scammed too much. It worked, though, because I ended up paying just under 200 baht for my taxi from the airport, although I've heard of big-time scam stories from friends (highest being 1,400Baht...which makes a VERY happy taxi driver).
I wish I had found another backpacker to travel into town with me, excitement just isn't the same when it's all bottled up!
I decided to take up Jo's recommendation and head to the 'D&D Inn'. It turned out to be one of the most expensive hotels on Koh San Road, but for the price of a VERY cheap dorm bed in Australia ($18), I have a room to myself, with a TV and hot water. I'm sure I'll appreciate the easy transition into Asia living once I head away from Bangkok!
The plan is to move on tomorrow. I think although Bangkok seems interesting, it's not the best place for a lone traveller. Everyone seems to be in pairs or in groups, with no intension of bonding with strangers. It's probably for the best, I'm dead tired from the lack of sleep, so now might not be the right time to talk, anyway. I should really just go back to sleep! Before I do that, though, I'll look into buses heading north for tomorrow. The plan is to wake up early and head to Chang Mai - where I can go on some hikes, and hopefully meet some other adventurous people! The bus journey takes 10hrs, though....so might have to leave pretty early to get there at a decent time.
So what are my first impressions of Bangkok....all I've done today is go on a short walk down the street. Koh San Road is FULL of little shops - selling clothes and CDs. Very cheap. I should look around a bit, and get some clothing that is a bit more appropriate than the jumpers and long trousers I have from Australia.
From the very beginning, it reminded me of Pahargang in New Delhi. Very similar atmosphere. Dark alleys, a lot of 'hey...HEY...You want a taxi' type hassle,...and ofcourse, you feel like no matter WHAT you pay in the stores, you know you're being scammed. Let's see how badly I'll be scammed with this bus up north....to be continued...

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Comments

[Anu-sis]

Lots of pictures of Thailand, please!! I've always wanted to go there. By the way, awesome skydive pics. :)