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well this is my last blog from the trip. i feel guilty about my recent lack of blogging but i havent had as much time to kill as i did in sri lanka! so this could be a long one to update you all.
after last writing we took a long trip to bangkok, taking a night train from just past the thai border to bangkok. the train was over night and it was a nightmare to sleep on. the lights were on all night and it was so noisey, a door kept opening and slamming all night and neither of us slept very well. but hey i guess thats all part of the adventure of travelling. we got to our hotel about 8 in the morning, and it was just of khoa san road. we went there for breakfast and to suss out wether there were any trips we wanted to do from bangkok but left soon after. it wasnt nice at all, it was just full of grotty travellers either drinking at 9 in the morning or walking around like they were still out of their heads from the last nights binge. so we took a canal boat to the next area called pratunam where there are loads of markets and shops, so many we could hardly take it in.. it was crazy!!! we afterr we had had enough of this we decided to go up the Bayoke II tower which is the tallest tower in bangkok at 998ft tall. 200baht got us up the tower in a glass lift, and a walk round the top with panaramic views around the city. looking out it hits you how massive Bangkok actually is. we messed around with the fun things such as tuk tuks you could pose in (photos to come soon!) after this we got a free drink in the sky bar which was nice but lacking in any atmosphere and no where as good as the cloud bar in manchester hilton (except the view was a bit more impressive!) all in all a good day although i was feeling a bit out of it (more on that later!)
in the evening we went out with the group for our final dinner. i was still feeling pretty out of it and was off my food so didnt really enjoy it that much. we went home after dinner. the next morning we met the group for breakfast and said goodbyes. it was a bit awkward as we hadnt really 'bonded' with them that well so there were lots of awkward hugs goodbye. after this i think we both felt a sense of relief that we were leaving them and getting to do our own things. i think after china we realised that we didnt really need to be travelling with a group and the frustration that some of the group were rather annoying, and some were just downright weird made us wish were were travelling alone.
so we got a cab to our luxury hotel, the lebua at state tower. we were blown away when we got in (almost literally, by the air con) as it was so grand. when the hostess took us up to our SUITE we knew we had chosen the right hotel. we didnt realise that it was an all suite hotel and when we walked and realised,it was great. the hostess explained our room to us pointing out all the luxury items such as free chocolates and bvlgari toiletries and told us a bit about the hotel. after this we had a look round the hotel at the sky bar and the pool which was really gorgeous. it was pure luxury!!! after this we headed out to look round our are but i started feeling really weird again, like in some massive daze. so we headed back and went round the pool for a bit and then i went up to the room cos i felt awful. when i was up there i looked at my malaria tablets leaflet and realised that i the medicine the doc had given me for my tummy troubles wasnt supposed to be taken with my malaria tablets. i guess this is why i was feeling so weird and didnt take anymore of the medication and have felt fine since.
after a sleep we headed out for the night. we were going to an area called san luam to a night bazaar and thai boxing stadium. the boxing didnt kick off until half 9 so we looked round the amazing market and had dinner and drinks. when we got to the boxing it was getting to the good bit and we stood with the thai fans to experience the true atmosphere. they were going absoloutley mental for it, betting like crazing each time a hit was made. we both loved it and had a great night but were pretty squiffy by the end of it!
the next morning, feeling a bit worse for wear we had our luxury breakfast at the hotel (they had cheese - real cheese!) and headed out for the weekend market. this was about half an hour away and when we arrived darren pointed out the 8000 rooftops that was the market stalls. i didnt believe him. untill we got in there. it was absoloutley mental! stalls and stalls of all sorts, pretty much everything you can think of, they sell. its just like a maze and although we got a map we didnt have a clue where we were going any of the time. 8000 stalls! mental. (still not a patch on the world famous bury market, obviously) it was great and i got some great bargains but after 4 hours of it we had had enough and headed home.
in the evening we went up to the sky bar for a very expensive drink and took in the beauty and luxury of it. it was so great and posh up there, i almost felt like we didnt fit in! after this we went on a dinner cruise on the chaopraya river. this was amazing with beautiful views of the grand palace and wat arun lit up at night. the food was great and the entertainment (though not planned) was amazing! there was a party of about 50 indian people and after dinner they started dancing. they were going absoloutley crazy for it, especially one guy who looked like he could have been your local GP and couldnt keep still doing a finger pointing dance like crazy. then it started raining and they took it inside, all crowding round the elegant stair case in the middle of the boat. then this song came on called 'made in india' and they went beserk, there were 3 young girls on the stair case all in the same tshirts, doing sycronized dancing and a guy doing the classic bangra screwing-in-two-lightbulbs dance, all the time the GP doing his finger dance, and about 20 others crowded round joining in. it was soooooo great and we just sat there watching them for about half an hour! i think they were abit reluctant to get off the boat at the time as they were having such a great time, as were we!
yesterday was our last full day in bangkok. we spent the day getting a boat cruise to nontaburi which was an hour away from bangkok. the boat trip was great and really cool which was a nice change in such a hot city. nontaburi itself wasnt quite what we thought (we thought being away from the city it would be less city like) so we took a cab futher up to get a boat across to ko kret, a little island in the middle of the chaopraya river. this was just completely amazing and not like we were in bangkok. there isnt a single car on the island, just a small concrete path around its circumference which we walked round for a couple of hours taking in the peace and nature of it all! while we were there we didnt see a single tourist so this was a really nice break from the city. although by the time we had finished darrens grey tshirt was black with sweat and i smelt like i was culturing onion yoghurt in my arm pits because the heat and humidity was a lot to be walking around in for 2 hours! gross!
after a late lunch and a long boat ride home we chilled out at the hotel for a bit and then headed to the suan lum bazaar for our last night. we did a few hours shopping and got lots of pressies and other stuff and then had a gorgeous late dinner of tom yam soup, green curry and prawns which was really really good. i have fallen in love with thai food!
today we packed up and have just headed out. we are going to spend our last time in an area sukhumvit where there is a great restaurant called cabbages and condoms where all the procedes go to anti aids charities where we are going for lunch. we fly at 9 tonight but leave hotel at 4 just in case cos the traffic is so insane in this city!
well i cant believe its all over. it seem like only yesterday that i waddled into manchester airport with my backpack.. this has been the most amazing trip of my life and i am sad that it has to end now but manchester is calling and as nervous as i am about starting uni in a week i cant wait to get on the road to being a nurse!
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