One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster

We arrived in very hot Bangkok on Wednesday nighjt after a very long trip via Dubai - all a little bleary eyed from lack of sleep. Once we had made it through passport control (think JHB International on a really bad day) we collected our baggage and headed off to find a taxi. One good thing about the cabs there is that you know the price of the ride before you head off so the bill at the end isn't a massive shock.

We had booked ourself into a guesthouse just West of Ko San Rd so were just off in the sidelines of the chaos at At Home Guesthouse. Once we had made our way with heavy packs up 5 flights of stairs there was a definite need to get out and about in the cooler night air to take in the chaos of Ko San and get some dinner. After that it was a pretty quiet one as we had lots to see the next day.

Thursday was all about seeing the sights thanks to Stacey waking up 3hrs earlier than us and planning our day for us. We headed out, got confused, stopped to double check our map and hit our first patch of luck. We ran into a local who was helping us find out where we were and he wanted to know if we knew what day it was. When we said we didn't he told us that today was a special tourist day where we could take a tuk-tuk for 3hrs and only have to pay 20BHT which is insanely cheap! So we jumped on it and headed out with our driver Pho to see the Lucky Budda, Standing Budda (45m tall), Black Budda, a tailor shop, and then back to have some lunch. There was great enjoyment to be had wizzing down streets on the wrong side of the road, mainly due to the breeze! We then had to have a break from the heat of the day by having a nap - it needed to be done. After the nap we headed off to check out the night bazzar, again with an insanely cheap tuk-tuk. Had some dinner and took in the sights of everyone just passing by. Before we knew where time had gone it was pumpkin o'clock and we had to get a tuk-tuk back. Unfortunbately because it was so late at night we had to pay 200BHT but it was worth it for the insane driver we had and the wolf whistles from other drivers.

Friday was a lazy late sleeping day and then off to see the Grand Palace which was insane! It is all gold, shiny and closely built. Best part of the day was when all the Chinesse tourists kept asking to have their picture taken with us. That is correct, not by us, but with us. I think it must be lucky to have pictures taken with pasty white girls or something. With it being over 34 degrees we decided to get the water taxi back to our hostel and grab some beers on the street and watch people pass. Also there was some repacking to be done as some of us had way too much luggage (i.e. that JC girl). With an early trip to the airport at 4am we had an early dinner and got to bed at a decent time.

Next update will be all about our adventures in Hanoi, Vietnam - which is looking to have plenty to offer us.

So sing it with me:
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky then the god's a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me