We left the cold and grim London behind on thursday to start our 3 and a half months adventure, and now after being here for only a few days, we both agree that this was one wise decision! We both love this place! Then again, i must admit that it is pretty difficult not to.

The flight here was excellent, with the authentic Thai airways. Starting the trip off on the right note, everything was excellent, until the pilot showed of his landing skills, or rather his lack there of! Both of us felt as if our ears would bleed, and resulted in us being half deaf for the few days that followed. From the airport, we caught a local bus to the center of town, from where together with two aussies, jet lagged and all we had a leisurely walk to kao san road. Which is better known here as the gateway between europe and asia. Which i cannot argue on as I have never seen so many tourists and shops in one place. The strangest thing is that if you wonder just a block or two away from here, the chances of you bumping into a western tourist are slim to none! I really dont understand it.

getting to thailand was a first, as was the jetlag that came with it. Which has resulted in our days being warped completely. The first day here we didnt quite want to get straight to bed, so we hit the streets and wandered aroudn a bit. that lasted till about 15:00, when we decided to have a power nap. From this moment we slept like logs, only to be wide awake again at 04:00. This is when we decided to go and hit some tourist sites... Well, at least walk around a bit. The day was excellent and we had our first too good to be true Tuk Tuk deal. How these work is that they drive you around for a ridiculous cheap price with the condition that they take you to some shops too... (where they get their commision from), so on day one we ordered tailored suits! They are awesome though, but we were suckered into it! Conned if you will, but no harm done, Then once we got to the open market, shich was the initial idea, the only way to get back cheaply was to once again make some shopping stops... This time at the famous jewelers. No more purchases though. The rest of the day was spent meeting fellow travellers and a nighjt out on the town. partying is something that you can do here without boundries! This place is surreal, awesome!

That night we had a bit of a quarrel, and sorted out the unspoken irritations and misunderstandings we had towards each other. Which resulted in a night of serious talk without sleep. However, once we had gotten everything of our chests and and had our "peace pipe" (the cuban cigar we bought at heathrow) we decided that our night shouldnt change our plans for the day. So we bought 2 red bulls each, packed our cameras and set out to the famous floating market at Damnoen Saduak. What we didnt know was to get there we had to bus for 3 hours. But it was well worth it. It turned out to be an excellent day outing, and once back in bangkok, after having tried some local fruits boght on the water, we had a well deserved power nap. That brings us to a chilled evening and a once again chilled out day today. Today is a public holiday, so all embassies etc are closed. We had to alter our itinerary slightly to cater for the vietnamese visa. So the plan now is to do that admin tue and wed, and then head up to sukhothai on thursday. Which is when the real adventure starts.

This place is surreal, the food is awesome (We tried some crickets... they are actualy pretty good, especially with a beer. Next in line are cockroaches, locusts, maggots and well you get the pic) and the amount of lady-boy encounters is scary! Always have to keep your witts about you around here! Bangkok, transforms at nigt with people offering "Ping Pongs shows" and "boom boom" on every corner! Its everything you imagine. The best converstation I have heard so far while wandering down the raod has been between 2 british guys: "I cant believe you told that lady boy that I like her man, thats not cool!! thats not what friends do to each other man. not cool!"

Anyway, that is all for now. Some pics will follow shortly.

written by  ourindochina on December 9, 2007 from Bangkok, Thailand
from the travel blog: The Indo China Adventure (incl Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia)
tagged Bangkok
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You bought freaking tailored suits!?! Come on guys. I mean don't get me wrong, that's totally awesome. But Pd my friend, we did Africa man - you gotta get streetwise again!

Lank stoked and lank jealous you're having a good time. Keep it up.

Urang

written by  Urang on December 9, 2007

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sounds like you guys got the frikin time clocks all wrong. you sleep in the day and take photos in the night? thx for the update. and you stay away for those lady-men. they are very deceptive - but Dingle dangle and you made a huge mistake. walter

written by  walter on December 10, 2007

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I thought the food in the east was meant to be yummy but you guys are eating bugs!!!!! Oh dear...
Sounds like you are well on your way to having a big adventure. Can't wait to see some photos.

Vicki (aka victoria)

written by  vicki on December 10, 2007

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Hey, you kids need to learn how to bargain. . If you dont get your price reduced by a third then your being ripped off.
Those little people are gonna break you.

written by  Sean Wessels on December 13, 2007

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