Bangkok (part one)
Trip Start
Sep 13, 2006
1
3
108
Trip End
Ongoing
Bangkok,
Thailand
Sunday, September 17, 2006
The rest of the flight was ok, mostly due to sleeping for the majority of the way - very unusual for me! The taxi ride to the hostel was something different as the driver hadn't heard of the hostel, couldn't speak English, or read the address in English. Anyway, we somehow got near enough to change from the taxi onto a Tut Tut for the rest of the way.
I didn't do too much for the first couple of days. Just chilled and had a walk around the nearby streets. The hostel itself is about 20mins north of the centre of Bangkok, so far enough away from the manic nature of down town Bangkok
Bangkok traffic
. During this time I've bought some dodgy brand-name T-shirts for about 2 UKP each and stocked up on Insect Replilant I'd left at home.Last night I went to the Thai Boxing, with one of the guys from the hostel . We got ring-side seats and watched 8 fights in total. We saw three wins by ko, one of which was a cracking forearm smash and the other two kicks to the body (cracked ribs probably - one sounded very nasty!). From watching the fights, it was noticeable that the knee to the ribs was a popular method to beat the opponent (punches to the head were rarer than we expected).
As we got to the Boxing early, e.g. it started later than we thought, we had a walk around the night markets. These are well worth seeing as the stalls appear to sell proper stuff and aren't shabby at all. In the middle is a big food and entertainment hall. We were able to grab some food, have a beer, watch a bit of Charlton v Pompey, whilst listening to some of the worse singing ever - I think throughout the night half the cat population of Bangkok had been strangled! The locals, however, seemed to love it.
This evening I'll probably go for a Thai message (a proper one before you ask) as may back is still sore from the position I slept on the plane, then had back to the hostel to watch the big four play in the Premiership
Outside my hostel in Bangkok
. Tonight is my last night at this hostel and I'll probably move to the backpacker central on Khao San Road tomorrow morning. Whilst the hostel is fine, it's a bit far out and too chilled. I need to do some sightseeing before I leave the city (probably the middle of next week). I'm not sure where I'll, it'll either be up to the north to do a bit of trekking, or down south to find an Island to sit on and catch some rays.What I didn't know before I came out here, is that it is the rainy season at the moment. This isn't too bad, as the hot weather dries everything quick enough, it just worth not caught in the rain as it doesn't rain lightly. The rain comes in proper storms, normally with lightning - a pretty spectular sight.
BTW, I now have a Thai mobile (number is 0066 5223 9688).
Anyway, better go, I think I been in the Cyber Cafe for too long and the local kids are starting to annoy me.
For now.....
David.
