Anantara Baan Rajprasong Serviced Suites Bangkok

... so the conveniently placed McDonalds was our home for the next 1/2 hour.

Outside again Bec spotted a roadsign which looked over 50% like one mentioned in the book and we decided to head down it, the walls were getting higher, the alley skinner and the scooters becoming harder to dodge in the early morning light, but in the distance it was like an Oasis, the glowing neon of Th Khao San up ahead, the ghetto of backpackers all over Se Asia ...

... ridiculous. Once loaded we had just settled into our seats when they let us know that in fact we needed to be in a van not the bus. So we unloaded all our bags and hustled over to the van, reloading and arranging ourselves. Before long we had struck up a conversation with a Dutch couple, Dave and Katharina, how funny that we keep meeting the Dutch! In any case they were on a 10-month Around the World Trip with a very similar itinerary, although rather ...

... just about to board the boat I caught up with them. Breathless I said hello, handed over the DVD, and they gave me my money. They'd been at the pier for ages, and were wondering where on earth I was. All this fuss could have been avoided had the clueless retards I asked about the pier directed me to the correct location of the Surat Thani-bound boats' pier. We all said our goodbyes, then I legged it back to my pier, as the boat was due to leave ...

... look like they arrived in the 60s and never found their way home.
I ended up befriending a Dutch guy at one of the bars and shared a long few hours of drinking. He was 22 and had just finished 12 months of travelling through Asia and New Zealand. He had a lot of advice. The main bit was not to spend the whole of my time on the ****. It's easy to get carried away drinking to the early hours with fellow backpackers, but missing out on the reason you actually went travelling ...

Bangkok Crazy that's what all the TukTuk drivers are in Bk don’t get me wrong I like a séance of danger as much as the next man but careering between a bus and a truck flat out at night does give you a moment’s pause, it you are outside a major sightseeing spot like the grand palace their will be ...

... trotoirs riches en couleurs et en odeurs, pas rapide sur le marbre brulant des entrees des temples ou il faut entrer pieds nus, promenade de nuit dans les rues follement animees des multiples vendeurs de bouffe et de tout-ce-qu<on-peut-imaginer !

Bref, je passe du bon temps ! Je dois avouer que mon introduction seule en Asie me faisait un peu peur au depart. Mais apres une journee, je me sens deja bien ici et j<ai l<impression etrange d<y ...

... takes place in Kho Pha-Ngan on the 6th of the month. This party happens every month when the moon is full so I may make another trip back to the islands sometime before heading home. I've got loads of time!

On the 4th of August the plan is to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. There are really good rates at the moment flying with Air Asia. So I've booked my flight leaving at 14:50 from the Bangkok Airport.

... and they seem to be normal price, but these were the lower end of the scale, and not that good. 60 quid. not as good as the one you had before it went in the drink.

Just want to get back to Kratie.

A slightly run down and bored Rory. Isn't it strange how we jump from feeling massively creative and inspired to bored and lethargic? Life is all peaks and troughs. Like a pig farm on a mountain.



30th June 14:11

from You to Mandarin ...

we arrived in bangkok with only minor difficulties with the transfer in mumbai (a horrible airport with no toilets!) to our nice hotel in the touristy bit of bangkok. arrived about 830 so we had a nap then lunch then went out to wat po (reclining budda, absolutely massive). i'd been before but still amazed by its size. alice enjoyed it. alex met us there which was lovely to see him again. walked back to the hotel and had a drink. met up with the group. there ...

... their kids; farmers treading oxen in square muddy ponds; elements of quiet gentleness emanate everywhere. I'll miss it. Something you wouldn't find here. And the children thing. Adults are having less and less access to children that are not their own unless they've had a criminal record check; even parents who are doing their best bringing up their own. It's interesting to note that despite being highly unlikely to abuse ...