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6th jan.
We had a very very early start we both left home at 5:30 am!! When we arrived at the airport at 730 we discovered that our flight had been delayed for 6 hours due to 'operational reasons' which is no good to anyone because it really gives nothing away- quite useless. But as a peace offering we got a food coupon for lunch. So we waited, and waited getting more fed up, until we got so bored that we started playing eye spy acting like little children, all we wanted to do was sleep! We finally got on the plane at 4 pm only to be delayed some more, but as soon as we took off from English ground we both passed out! Out of the 9 hr flight i probably slept 7 hrs and cherry only a few hours. The cabin crew didn't realize how annoying they were waking us up for drinks and food every hour- you would think they would get the message after us saying no for the first 7 hours that we were actually ok and didn't need food or drink!!
On the flight from Sri Lanka the cabin crew were much better (think they got the message to not mess with us!) We landed in BKK at 7:30. As if it couldn't get any worse, our airport transfer wasn't there to pick us up! We spent a lot of time wondering around the airport trying to see our names, eventually it was decided that we should get a taxi. So we jumped in a pink taxi. And it was quite honestly terrifying!!! They definitely don't have a Highway Code over here that's for sure! Zig zagging between lanes with no sign of knowing that indicators even exist and no clue about lane discipline- something my mum made sure I learnt very early as a learner driver. But all this said, we made it safely to the hotel after THIRTY TWO HOURS OF TRAVELING!!!
7th jan
So stressed out and tired is not a great way to start your travels...especially in Bangkok!! Not only this but our phones weren't working- this could probably be the worst thing at could have happened! But anyway we were told that we had a tour at 8am- this did not go down too well! So we decided that sleep was needed ASAP so went straight to bed at 10pm, luckily for Chloe she fell straight asleep unlike myself who instead of sleeping decided to stay up all night being sick- it was no fun!!!!
8th jan
So when the alarm went off at 6:30 it was needless to say I really didn't want to go anyway and even Chloe didn't after so much traveling and so little sleep. So Chloe went down to the front desk and called the company and explained our situation and they just said that we couldn't have a refund and we would not get on the tour! So instead of complaining we just went to sleep- then later on in the morning we received a call saying that we could go on a tour at 1pm and luckily I was feeling better after some sleep and so was Chloe.
We met a woman in reception at 1pm and she seemed lovely (little did we know she was the bossiest person ever and spoke about some really pointless stuff)! Then we found out we would be going on a tour with another person, named Marco- he was from Berlin and shared our opinion on the tour guide! We jumped on a tour bus which had about 12 seats and there was three of us- very spacey! The traffic was very heavy in the afternoon- motorbikes/tuk tuks/vans/buses/cars were everywhere! We eventually reached the temple which had the reclining Buddha in it! We were very impressed with how passionate thai people were about their religion and how huge the Buddha was! There were monks everywhere in their orange robes and we even saw a few nuns! There were so many temples in a small space- there were meditation rooms, praying rooms, rooms with about 10 buddah statues in, everything you could think of! Every temple we went in to we had to cover our shoulders and take of our shoes- this wasn't ideal as it was sooooo hot and there were posters everywhere about a shoe thief (photo and everything)- and I love my golden sandals!!
So after not eating anything all day Chloe and I decided to buy some Pringles (something we knew would be filling and taste good)! Then we were off to the next temple which took a bit of time, again because of traffic! This was the home of the golden Buddha- 92% gold- that's a pricey Buddha! On the way our tour guide bought Us a drink off a market stall, it was meant to be good for our stomach and rehydration! I had a sip and was nearly sick, i thought i was drinking eels- then chloe tried it and had the same reaction- so poor marco had to drink the awful thing. So we went in there- taking our shoes off again- which started to get quite funny as Chloe's shoes were not the easiest to get on and off- around 10mins!!!
But trust me when I say this- after you have been to one temple in Thailand you feel like have been to them all!
After leaving the 2nd temple which we weren't their for too long, we headed for the third which was meant to be more of a museum and made of marble! It was vert pretty and had 52 Buddha replicas representing every week of the year- but to Chloe and myself, they all looked pretty similar! So after taking a few photos we then decided to make our way home- arriving back at the hotel around 5pm!
We then were stressing about our phones even more just wanting to let our parents know we were safe as we weren't sure whether they would have got our messages on Facebook! So we went on the Internet and googled 'lebara' and how we could make our SIM cards work! Nothing came up that we hadn't already tried! So then Chloe spoke to everyone she
needed to on Facebook and I was relieved that dad had got my comment about my phone not working! He had been on the case and even what he suggested wasn't working- turned out they had drained all of our money even though we were meant to have unlimited texts and calls!
So not being able to take it anymore I forced Chloe out into the city- which we didn't feel most comfortable with! After running across busy roads and weaving between motorbikes we were walking a long a street! A man then spoke to me and said hello- and even though this could have been creepy I didn't know where we were going. He was so friendly and told us where to go- I suppose after all this is the land of smiles where everyone is so friendly!
We then entered a random shop and had our fingers crossed they would sell Thai sims! To our relief they did!! Chloe did hers first to check that they worked and the moment we knew they did I bought mine as well! I don't think either of us could of been anymore relieved to talk to our parents- so good to hear their voices and let them know we were ok!
So that night feeling much better we went downstairs for some dinner- opting for the English menu as our stomachs weren't the strongest! But we had a lovely dinner and ended up paying around £2 for our meal- ridiculously cheap!!
So we got back to the room, once again I completely passed out and cherry couldn't sleep... But at 12.30 I woke up we had a chat, decided to put the tv on (the only English program is bbc news, its amazing how interesting it is when you have nothing else to do! We didn't fancy venturing out to Bangkok. We decided to put the News on low and we eventually fell asleep.
9th Jan
Well this morning we had a late start, we got up for breakfast at 9, but went straight back to bed! For breakfast we opted for the English option once again- pancakes and poached egg on toast. We were up for all of about 15 minutes then straight back to bed for us! We then didn't surface until 12:30!! Even then it was a battle to get cherry out of bed!!! I had showered and got ready and she still hadnt moved!! Lazy girl!!
We made our main objective today to sort out my iPad, we got a taxi ride with a lovely Thai man from koh samui callee Shi. He drove us chatting away, we talked about everything, families, boyfriends, Bangkok, Thai massages... He even started to give us a Thai massage in the taxi. He turned around in traffic grabbed my hand and started massaging it, next thing I know he's CLICKING all of my fingers (which I hate more than anything!) but he left my hand feeling so loose and relaxed- amazing! so we ended up in a big electronic shopping mall, thankfully Shi came with us and he translated for us. I think he took a liking to us as he stayed with us for over an hour. This shopping mall was a tecchy geeks heaven! Everything to do with technology was in one place, lights everywhere, it was amazing. Looked very dodgy though.. We walked over to the supposed apple counter, Shi told the lady what had happened and what we wanted to do. She said she could do it for £800 bht (about £18) she had to completely reset my ipad and download the software again. i started panicking much to everyone's amusement thinking its a knock off apple software.. But an hour later I must say I'm pretty happy with it- but I will still get it checked in good old England!
As we left the shopping center I had my biggest culture shock yet... We saw the grand city scape of Bangkok, multimillion pound sky scrapers, big international companies which were less than a mile away from the worst living conditions I have ever seen. These hand made shanty towns had plastic covers as roofs and they looked so weak, all built along the brown dirty looking river. You see these kinds of conditions on telelvision all the time, but until you see it you can't comprehend the smell of it... it smelt absolutely foul. The thought of such wealth living along side such severe poverty reminded me that although Thailand is up to speed with technology, it is a long way from wealth equality... Two worlds can operate so closely... absolutely shocking. A thought that saddened me greatly. Outside our hotel, the homeless also line the streets.
We had our first Thai meal this evening as well!! We had thai fried noodles with egg... I would love to say it agreed with me.. But 3 days in to Thailand the immodium is already in full swing! We both know we haven't made the most of being in Bangkok, but for two very English looking girls (Shi told us Thai men like white girls because they look clean... They should have smelt us after the 32 hrs traveling- we were definitely not clean), it's actually very scary. It's a very fast paced, polluted city we would rather feel safe than scare ourselves right at the beginning. We are trying to get used to the culture change to start with. I think if we do Bangkok again we would do proper tours. Needless to say we cannot wait to head down south to explore the islands, waterfalls, beaches and to FINALLY enjoy the sun!!!
- comments
Fiona Dixon What a wonderful detailed story of your adventures so far. Dad and I are so proud of you two very English looking girls! Safety is the name of the game and you two are sensible enough to do exactly that! So very pleased that you are both happy in the islands so thank you so much for posting and we wait for the next blog! Love you both very much! Keep safe! But most importantly have fun and enjoy the sun!!!!
Bea Maddison Sounds like although a little bumpy at first you guys are having a great time!! I miss you guys lots!! Hope you have a wonderful time!!! Stay safe and LOADS OF PHOTOS PLEASE!!! Xxx