Kohjum Joy Bungalow Bangkok

... code.

Ego's deflated, we decided we'd go check out the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. We knew they'd welcome us there! The market was full of shops, restaurants, and places offering Thai massage. After dinner, we treated ourselves to a half-hour long foot massage before heading back to the hotel for the night. Totally worth the $5.

So, lessons learned on the first day:

1) Don't talk to strangers.

2) If you do talk to strangers ...

... other plans.

Four of us went out on the town. It was already somewhat late, but this was Ally's last night, so this was her one night in Bangkok. Our first stop was an Irish pub, which was rather interesting to see when it has a Thai twist. The best aspect of the pub was that the Thai Beatles were playing, and not only that, they were really good.

From there, we walked down the street to the Red Light District, first ...

... erected on the premises, usually decorated with marigolds and well maintained with small food offerings. 97% of Thais are Buddhist, but there is an element of Hinduism and Animism woven in that is represented by these spirit houses. Here is one we saw in the market, I loved that Faygo bottles were used to hold the incense.

Of course we just wandered aimlessly, picking a row and heading down it. We kept our eyes out for gifts or things for ourselves, but mostly it was ...

... the rain subsided, and me, Brian and Susan headed a few minutes down the street and found a lovely little restaurant. Our food was good; we had a few beers, then decided to head to the district of Patpong to witness its notorious debauchery. We caught a taxi.

On arrival, we decided to have a look round the market, a place where stall-owners peddle all manner of items, including a large percentage of pirated and fake merchandise. As we did so, we were pestered more or ...

Back in Bangkok for the last time we decided to treat ourselves and get a cab from our posh hotel in Hua Hin to Bangkok. It was about a 3 hour journey half the time of a train journey and cost 1500bht about 30 pounds but it was worth it. We met up with our new group who are all much younger than us but made us feel very welcome and we went out with them for a meal and drinks ...

... mingil ajal mungad jaavad muidu 3 kuuks templisse ja valjas ei kai)...
Jargneval paeval soitsime natuke Bangkokkist valja "Floating marketile" mis asus keset mitte midagi...aga market oli suur ja palju kaubitsejaid kes myysid turistidele lugematul arvul suveniire...soitsime siis paadiga ringi ja vaatsime kaupa ja kustutasime ...

... drops straight down on to the tracks. EVERYTHINGGGGG!! I did take a picture of the cruddy loo, but for your sake, I deleted it. I just couldn't do it lol.

Another cool thing is that you can buy beer ANYWHERE over here! Big shops, little shops, stalls on the side of the road, ANYWHERE its so weird ...

... br>
I arrived in Bangkok around 5pm, local time, and caught the bus downtown to my hotel. This is actually the first time that I've ever been back to a foreign country for a second go-round and it's nice that I don't have to find everything for the first time. I already knew which bus to catch, where I could grab dinner, and what I wanted to do the next day.

The first thing on the ...

Today Merlion # 1 is very worried about her trip. Actually, she has been worried since we realized that we were going to Singapore. We checked everything we need today, ticket, hotel reservation and some other plans. We've just found out what we have to do from our host in Singapore, Once we get there we will have a meeting for couple hours ...

... came a woman came and told me the pier was not a public one, and I should go down to the next one.

When I did reach the next one, the differences were obvious, but since it had been my first time I hadn't known at the first pier I went to. I got on a boat, and let me say, it was one of my favorite experiences in Bangkok. You get a cool breeze and a nice view of everything on the river, from buildings and temples on the banks to all the boats going back and ...