christmas songs, smoking monks and scary haircuts!

climbing in Chaing MAi continued well, and i did a total of 40 routes there. we drove on to Bangkok in one long day. as it was the 1st December, we discovered that Rich had some christmas tunes on his ipod, so put them on in the truck and sang along to all the old classics! i cant say it felt even slightly christmassy, sitting on BiRT, watching the palm trees go past, and the sun pour in through the window! the 3 or 4 lane road with rest stops all the way made the driving pretty pleasant. Alice and i had fun watching 2 coach loads of Monks have a break at one rest stop. we were shocked to see them using an ATM, talking on their mobile, and even smoking!! monks are becoming modernised! Bangkok immediately had a feeling like london about it- 3 or 4 lane traffic, with endless traffic lights and traffic jams, with a '7 Eleven' store on every street and grand hospital and university buildings everywhere. we stopped at the main tourist street- Khao San Road, which has souvineer stalls all the way down, and hostels everywhere. we bought the local 'Pad Thai Curry' from a street stall. its tasty but not actually a curry, its not spicy, and its not rice, its more of a noodle stir fry!
we had a good night out in the city, as it was Alices,and Matts last night. i will miss Alice as she became my room mate, locker mate and climbing partner. Matt and Ed had gone ahead of hotrock for the last few weeks, and as predicted, they got into trouble- Ed got bitten on the hand by a crocodile that lived in a bar- apparently he tried to pet it between the eyes so obviously it went for him! he was lucky to get 11 stitches but has got full movement back in his hand!
yesterday a few of us went to a shopping mall across town. it was huge- 5 floors tall, with hundreds of shops and stalls and a cinema and foodcourt. i found a harddrive to copy everyones photos onto. i then found some frameless glasses for much cheaper than i could get in England. they made them with my prescription in a few hours. i also got my hair cut- which was scary! it was the quickest hair cut i have ever had, and the hairdresser brushed some of my hair, then just started cutting (or i should say hacking!). i asked for layers, and about 2 inches off. it came out a bit shorter but is actually a success!
today i decided to do all my washing (in the sink using bodywash!!) and made sure to not wash my shorts so i had something to wear. unfortunately i didnt do the same with a top, so after standing on the bed, holding up a top to the fan desperately trying to dry it out, i gave up and am currently wearing a damp top!
i have booked my flight home for 10 days before the trip actually ends, so i will be flying back from Kuala Lumpur on the 4th Jan. its exciting to have an end date for the trip. i now have one month left.

christmas songs, smoking monks and scary haircuts!

Bangkok, Thailand