On the road: Bangkok (22nd/23rd May 2010)
So it started well with me having to run to make the plane, late as ever. We’d spent around ten minutes running around the airport to find somewhere to take passport photos. Whats the likelihood of both the ones in Heathrow not working, really now? Anyway, the plane ride itself went fine, mini tvs, food appearing once every few hours and a place to rest my head suits me just fine. When I arrived in Bangkok however I did begin to get a bit panicky. I had kept up a brave face in front of people back home everytime I got a ‘You’re actually going to Bangkok, but isn’t that dangerous!!’ but in fact all the news headlines and people’s warnings worried me a lot. It’s ironic really, despite me having to get on a plane and actually go to Bangkok it was my mum that kept being told how brave she was being, ha! Well anyway I was in a right flap, but no drama no nothing. It was all fine. 11 o’clock curfew was in place meaning after our meal we had to head back earlyish, but in comparison to what I’d been told to expect a curfew was the least of my worries.
When I arrived in Bangkok I found the guy picking me up and then went to buy water. The driver told me it should cost ten bhaat and having heard bout haggling I ignored the sign saying more and offered ten bhaat. The shop keeper accepted this no problem, can you imagine someone doing that in the UK or Germany? Madness.
After arriving at the hotel, meeting my tour leader and managing to injure myself several times in my room on furniture and my pen knife, I headed downstairs to meet my tour group. They all seemed pretty cool. We went out for a meal and walked along Kao San Road, which was certainly different to anything I had ever seen before and a good first taste of South East Asia. I won’t tell you exactly what I ate (ahem, Bruce). But it suprised me it tasted exactly the same as Thai food I had had in the UK, after what I had heard about Chinese food being different I had expected Thailand to be the same.
When we got back I was so tired I was just happy to be in a bed and sleep.
