Bangkok with a Bang!
Thursday, October 5, 2000
Bangkok, Thailand
Greetings from Bangkok. I finally got here, and oh man, is it ever different than London, let me tell you.
First, let’s start at the beginning. I left London on the morning of Monday the second of October. I flew to Bahrain, about 7 hours. Spent two hours in Bahrain, got on another plane to Abu Dhabi (one hour), got off that plane, got on a third plane to Bangkok (7 hours) and arrived on Tuesday the third of October after about 18 hours travelling. Was it worth it? Well, the ticket only cost me about US$500, so in the end, hell, I’ll go anywhere for that price as long as I get there in the end. That US$500 includes my flight from Singapore to Sydney at the end of December.
Needless to say I’ve been suffering some severe get lag, but it’s to be expected I suppose. I sleep about half the night and take a nap in the afternoons, but slowly it’s starting to right itself. On the recommendation of Mary, my old flatmate, I’ve bunked up in a guesthouse called the Sawatdee, that is NOT in the backpackers ghetto of Khao San Road, but a bit down the road on a smaller side street. Not bad. A dorm room is putting me back about 85 pence per day (that’s less than CAN$2). I could get my own room for about £2.50 a night but I’m too cheap. It’s all relative, eh? By the way, Khao San Road is an interesting place. You can get anything you want for a fraction of the price you would pay in England, but most of the labels are fake of course. An interesting place to visit, but I prefer to just visit and not stay on the road.
So, Bangkok. Well, it’s smelly, and loud, and crazy and the people are nice. I’ve been out and about a bit, taking the river taxis (which absolutely rock) to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (one of the big temples here) yesterday. Also had a Thai massage at the wat as they have a school on site. A half an hour massage will put you back under £2. And Thai massage isn’t for the shy. They twist you and turn you and I think the objective is to separate your bones from your muscles, using every little pressure point to cause pain along the way. Strangely though, it felt good afterwards. Chiropractors have nothing on these people.
Today I took in a teak mansion that one of their kings used to live in. Taking it very easy today, as there’s not really much else I want to see in Bangkok. I’m fighting the urge to go straight to the beaches, and plan to head north then into Laos, down back to Bangkok then into Cambodia before I head for the beaches. That’s the plan at the moment although as everyone knows, it changes quickly.
Tomorrow I’m out on the piss with my friend Bjorn who lives here in Bangkok. We’re going to an Irish pub. How’s that for culture shock? Then some scuba diving equipment buying with Bjorn on Saturday after which I think I’m going to blow this joint.
