We have now arrived in South East Asia and our first destination in Thailand, the capital city Bangkok.  We flew in from Hong Kong late on Thursday afternoon and the first thing to hit us was the heat...Now obviously being used to the tropical climate at home - not, the humidity really hit us as soon as we walked out of the pleasant air conditioned airport.  The weather was about 30 degrees and incrediably muggy.  We quickly got in a taxi to take us to our hostel conveniently located just off the Kohn Shan Road.  However on the way our taxi stopped and there were guards stopping all the traffic, our taxi driver said it was because the King was coming... after a few mintues an ontourage of cars sped past along with an official looking car with flags on....not sure if it was really him but we took a couple of snaps just incase!  So as we arrived in the heart of city, this was my first taste of Bangkok's most famous street that I have heard to much about from everyone that has been here, The Khoa San Road and I have to say it didn't disappoint.  It was extremely busy and packed full of fellow backpackers - let the pary begin!!!

We dumped our dreaded rucksacks at our guesthouse (which no surprises isn't the best, the bed is about a centimetre away from touching the door as you walk in but hey, who cares, we weren't planning on spending that much time in the room).  So as I was saying, we hit the town and after walking all of about 10 metres, we were enjoying our first cocktail which went down a treat and then the next one...hiccup!  After a few, we then decided that to fit in properly we should visit one of the make shift bars which basically consists of some plastic stools on the street with a cocktail bar on a cart and a load of backpackers getting extremely wasted on vokda buckets - perfect!  So this is where we sampled the first of the famous "vodka buckets" that I have heard so much about from Linz   They were 300 baht (4 pounds) each, which isn't that cheap for Thailand but is for us!  We ended up getting hammered and meeting loads of really cool people from various places accross the globe.  My memory is extremely hazy so I just need to pause and check the photos to remember who they all were....right, Sean from Ireland, Jack from Leeds (he thought we were Southern Softies so obv we had to prove him wrong), Crystal, Ron and loads of others who I really can't remember their names.  We ended up playing games with the local kids who sell flowers (it's actually very sad as they are only about 5 years old and should be in bed by that time but this is how they make their money I guess). 

As the night continued and the drunker we got, one of the guys thought it could be a good crac to try one of the other local delicacies, yes some bugs!  Now obviously we couldn't lose face so after a lot of screaming, I put one in my mouth and chewed....Well I actually pretended to and cunningly spat it out bloody quickly but poor Carly did actually chew and swallow - ewww! 

So if all this excitment wasn't enough, we then had our first taste of a tok tok ride which was bloody scary as the drivers thought it was fuuny to race each other and do wheelies etc  We headed to Phat Pong (which is one of the red light areas in Bangkok and famous for the "Ping Pong" shows).  For those of you that have been here, you'll know what I mean, for those that haven't, I won't go into detail but i'm sure you can imagine what the girls do, actually you probably can't but needless to say it was an "experience" however I'm quite glad my memory is very hazy by this point!

The next day, we had planned to get up early and go check out the famous sights of Bangkok however in true "wolfe style" Carly had a hangover from hell (couldn't beleive it wasn't me for a change).  I felt a little swimmy and got up about midday however poor Calry finally stopped talking to the big white telephone and got up about 5pm!  Needless to say we did not get to see any sites that day but at least Carly got our monies worth out of the 4 pound a night room!

That evening, we met up with my friends Jo and Ian's friend, Adrian who lives out here in Bangkok.  He kindly took us on tour round the city, crusing in his car and showed us where the main sites are plus he also showed us the otherside to Bangkok that most tourists don't get to see.  (Don't worry Dad, he's not some seedy bloke or anything) but he took us to a posh bar area called RCA where all the Thai people go for a night out.  It was a hell of a lot classier than the street stall bar on the Khoa San and very strict on having to show ID to get in.  We also went to a local flower market where you can buy a huge bunch of roses for about two pounds and he showed us where the main shopping area is.  It was a really cool night so thanks again to Adrian for showing us around :-)

The next day we actually got around to seeing the main tourist sights visiting The Grand Palace, Emerald Budda and Wat Po - where the giant budda is.  (Dad - I took the photo of me, the same as the one of you and Mum and Linz, so you have the full set now....).  These were amazing to see and the architecture really is beautiful.  In the afternoon we went to the shopping area (as mentioned by Adrian) catching a river boat and the skytrain which was great and gave us two different views of Bangkok.

Last night we went out onto the Khoa San again however we were a little more reserved than the first night and stuck to beers instead.  We met up with the group we had been with the first night and enjoyed a cool and funny but a lot less heavy night than the first.  Unfortunately, Carly ate some dodgy food (she only had one beer all night) and has ended up having to spend all day today in bed as she is suffering badly from D&V.  The poor love.  We were supposed to go to Chaing Mai tonight but have had to stay an extra night as she can't risk being away from the loo!!!  Anyway, whilst I have been sitting here and amuzing myself today by writing this, she has now risen and I am pleased to say looking a lot better.  Fingers crossed we make it Chaing Mai tomorrow so hope you have enjoyed my update and until next time...

Lots of love to you all
Claire (and Carly) xxxxxx