Bangkok,
Thailand
Monday, February 20, 2006
(Jodie) We arrived two days before Rachel giving us time to check out the local amenities, stock up our Presidential Suite at the Royal Asia, and have an early night before picking up Rachel bright and early at 6am (admittedly bed at 2am was not as early as planned!). It was great seeing Rach again and it's particularly nice when it doesn't feel like it's been 7 months since the last time we saw each other. It felt like Xmas or my b'day when Rachel came with some pressies and letters from some of the girls, which was lovely!!!!(So thank you!) After I caught up with most of the gossip from home we had a nap, then headed out to the madness of Bangkok. After the three of us agreed not to get in a Tuk-Tuk (a 3 wheeled small metal people carrier with a 2 stroke engine cos of their 'dangerous' and 'high chance of being ripped off' reputation) we found ourselves on one, a minute after getting off the sky train. However the experience was worth every Riel. The driving and traffic in Bangkok must be experienced to be believed, but little did we know at the time, Bangkok's madness is a breeze in comparison to its neighboring countries. On to Khao San Rd - the main backpacker's center. We wandered round the aroma filled streets with its bright neon lights, busy stalls and colorful (though some scary looking) food vendors. We had our first taste of yummy Thai - red and green curries and Rach had a rice dish served in a pineapple.
Back on the tuk-tuk to our hotel we got ready to hit to town. Our 1st drink was in Bullies an English bar with a band, then we headed to 'Nana Entertainment Plaza', which from across the road looked like an innocent few bars, however once inside we discovered it was more like a brothel, with a few English lads with 10 girls on their arms and a lady boy dancing on the tables. Moving on we went to another bar only to be shockingly kicked out at the rather early closing hour of 1am. Still thirsty we found a hotel bar
that was still serving and to Gavin's delight, playing Saints V's Newcastle live. Unfortunately Saints lost 1 - 0. Back in our Presidential suite we had a few more drinks and lots more giggles, and attempts to sensibly eat Ritz crackers - a very difficult task after a few drinks. The following day we did some more exploring of Bangkok - Sian Square, Jim Thompon's House etc. before moving on...
