Some Kok For You Sir !!!
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
262
451
Trip End
Ongoing
Bangkok,
Thailand
Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Aboard the plane, I was expecting a demonstration on saftey and evacuation. As this is Biman Air, it does not have one, so I slept away my fears.
Arriving in Bangkok, there had been loads of changes. New buildings everywhere. Also, prices were higher as the Thai Baht had risen against all currencies. We found Buddha Views dive shop on Kho Sahn Rd and dumped our bags with Dave, the guy who runs the place, and then found a hotel. ack at the store, my old dive instructor, Morton, was in town, so after dumping our bags, we had a quick beer with him before moving on. It's amazing the people you meet up with in Bangkok. A cab ride later, and we were at the Cabbages and Condoms Thai restaurant. Paul one of my friends from BT and his girlfriend Julie were in town, so we met for dinner. It was great to see him again after nearly a year.Both of them couldn't believe how thin I was and Julie said that Paul needed to go onto the same diet as me !!! After a great meal, condoms are passed around instead of lollies/sweets, and then we moved onto a bar. Because of the old Hep E, I could only have a few, but they did taste good. We bid farewell to them, and arranged to meet up again after they have come back from Laos.
Lucy is sick, so all I did was hang out at the Buddha View shop with Dave and Morton. Lucy came out for dinner, but before we went, she to, hung out at Buddha View. Exciting or what !!!
Feeling better, the following day, we went to the Buddha View shop. Realising we were doing nothing, we went to visit Wat Pho. We had been here in 99 and wanted to go back. There is a huge gold reclining Buddha here. It's quite impressive but nowhere near as big as Mawlamyaing. The accompanying Wats surrounding this are very impressive. There are some great Buddha images to look at. Finishing up, we went back to Dave's shop and hung out !!!
Embassy day today, and off we went to the Aussie one. Much harder work than the Islamabad, Kathmandu ot Dhaka one to get into, once through the gate and into the offices,m we were told my passport photo was not good enough because I had showed my teeth !!! Fuck the Aussie Government are pedantic. Don't they realise I a miserable fucker who never smiles !!! Instead of going to get another photo, we went to the Cambodian Embassy and handed in our passport. So straight forward. The 2nd world country could learn from the 3rd world country !!! We went to the place recommended by the Aus Embassy, and just like the Aus rules, they couldn't get the photo right. All I could think of was fuck, brothel, brewery, piss up. In fact, another Aussie was in there experiencing the same fucking problem. After many problems, I walked out with some photos. Trying to get in, I was denied because my passport is still valid for three months !!! As this is not India, and a quick fuck off or I will bash you does not work here, so I smiled, (how unusual), explained, (without any fucks), and then I was in. They accepted the photo, I handed over the cash, and then we were out of there, straight to where we only know where to go. Dave's office, the Buddha View one of course. Thankfully, he had a remedy for us both. Dinner with him, his wife, some friends and Morton. Strangely, we ate Indian. Not as nice as what we had had recently in India, but it is always hard to bea the food of a country in it's own, but it still did the trick. Or maybe it was the beers. Still, we were both feeling better, but tomorrow, we make a move out of the Kok and onto placed that Lucy has not been before.
But before I depart, I have noticed one big difference. Just like the UK will be one big Starbucks in the next seven years, the Kok will soon be a Capital of Seven-Elevens. Back when we were first here years ago, there were none. One appeared, and just like rabbits fuck, these things breed, and now they are everywhere.
