So yes, we're still in Bangkok. We've now had two flights cancelled and are not feeling particularly sympathetic to the PAD cause at the moment. Instead of flying direct from Bangkok to Kathmandu, as we intended, we are now taking the long way round - two overnight bus trips (about 36 hours in total) from here to Hat Yai in southern Thailand and from there to Kuala Lumpur. After that delightful trip (assuming we can even get that far - we have to change buses and since we can't prebook for the second bus we can't guarantee we'll even get all the way to Kuala Lumpur on time) we have to fly to Singapore, stay overnight, and leave first thing in the morning to fly to Kathmandu. If that doesn't seem like it's too far, take a look at a map, and compare the distances with New Zealand! We've spent the last couple of days meandering around the hotel and Khao San Road, which is still as interesting as ever. We've met some cool people, which is nice as it seems that everyone comes to Thailand with a group of friends and we're left lonely and sad! (not saying anything bad about Evan's company, of course!). The problem is that since we've done basically all we wanted to do in Bangkok, we've been spending money shopping to fill in the time. I've got a couple of nice dresses, two pairs of earrings (one I'm going to convert into a charm for my bracelet when I get home, since noone seems to sell charms here), and Evan's bought some lovely Billabong shorts, a Lacoste shirt and a Ralph Lauren polo, all for about $30 - what a bargain! He was gutted, however, that his designer sunglasses broke - but that's what you get when you only pay $2! On a brighter note, we finally went to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew the other day. These buildings are absolutely spectacular and if any of you come to Thailand (not in the immediate future!) then I definitely suggest you go see them. It's the royal family's former residence (we couldn't see their current one which is also meant to be quite beautiful; thanks, PAD) which shares the same grounds as a temple that's hundreds of years old. We saw the famed emerald buddha, which is a lot smaller than I expected. I managed to get some illegal photos but it's pretty tiny so you can't see much. We also visited the Golden Mount (Wat Sakit), which has the best views over Bangkok. The disparity of the city is even more obvious from above - we saw some of the poorest slums, where people live in half-collapsed buildings crowded together in incredibly unsanitary conditions, and not too far away are the huge skyscrapers that house some of the richest people in the city. Despite this, we really enjoyed looking out at the city, and the walk up to the top of the mount (around 300 steps, I heard) is surrounded by trees and bushes with lovely ponds and waterfalls and real toads! It really makes such a contrast with the crowded and hot streets we walked along to get there, as you can barely hear the noise of the city when you're in the temple grounds. Well, I'd better not spend too long sitting down, as I'm going to be in a cramped bus for the next two nights... I can't wait. Wish us luck that we get to Kathmandu safely and in time to join up with our tour!