Grace Hotel Bangkok

... behind.
After I was really surprised of the friendlyness of the thai people my picture changed completely, here one of the stories why:
The morning I wanted to leave Bangkok I was planning on taking the local bus (for experience and money reasons) and asked for the directions. I was told to go to Kaosan road and at the end there is the stop. I did so and did not find any stop... After asking a couple more people I finally found ...

... br>
We got off the boat and found the Sky Train which was recommended. By that time we were tired, hot and hungry. Again the Sky Train was packed so we only went to the next stop, jumped off and got a Taxi back to koh San Rd. We were exhausted and stressed so had an hours rest then went out for food and drinks. The noodles obviously weren't filling enough so we decided to get a Subway too! Although even ...

... able to book two VIP ringside tickets to the evening’s Muay Thai (kickboxing) event. The hotel recommended a nice Thai restaurant within walking distance. On the walk, we got our first glimpse of the city, including the congested traffic, portable food and clothing stalls and the plethora of massage parlors. At the restaurant, we were the first customers of the evening, arriving at their door at just before 6 PM. We ...

... building is set up like town houses and each one is a different color that in Thailand represents a day of the week. I am in the pink one so therefore my house is Tuesday. There are four town houses in total but they are building more right next door to finish the week and I think one extra color. There are four levels in each of the townhouses, my room in on the 4th. I have my own room with its own balcony that is gorgeous, but I do share a bathroom with another ...

... We headed out early to the Royal Palace (which is the residence of the royal family and many of the important "touristy sites" such as the Emerald Buddha). It was beautiful, amazing, stunning... but I couldn't help feeling like it was the result of a thousand Thai resteraunts throwing up all their exessive goudiness. Not that importance of the culture or the architecture was lost on me or anything, it was just one of the most ...

... direction, it becomes a very tight squeeze. We attempted one of these paths, but Jac ended up walking her bike so we decided to turn back.

We headed over to the park instead. Jac and our friend Saumil rented a kayak and boated around in the large pond while we explored the park by bike. It was a cool park. Not all manicured and fake but more like a nature preserve.

Anyway, I think we all ...

... to sort out the tickets. Turned out to be easy if I was prepared to pay the 100 Baht fee. Cab to the Hard Rock cafe where we had a hamburger and the largest salad ever seen for lunch. Cost 850 Baht which was about $25. Quite reasonable until you work out that last night's tea only cost 100 Baht at a local restaurant. Then spent the afternoon wandering the seven floors of the MBK centre. Bought T-shirts and a couple of discs.


Hurried ...

... my gate.

The flight to Osaka was easy but we were running late and out connection was going to be tight. They were expecting us in Japan and had a security area setup to expedite our transit to the next flight. I'm singled out for a more detailed search of my bag and am asked many questions. When I finish I walk to the gate and 5 minutes later we board. They again pull me aside, search my bad and use the metal detector wand on me. Whatever ...

... cardboard boxes and flapping pieces of tatty plastic. This kind of poverty doesn't exist in Laos - yet - although Thailand, according to economists is a rich country and Laos is the poor neighbour.

We spent five days in Bangkok making the necessary onward organisations which included buying a visa to enable us to visit Cambodia. We also bought a return air ticket to the USA from Bangkok. We didn't really want to buy a return but we found out that we wouldn't be allowed ...