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Wow, what can we say about Bangkok? It's safe to say that there is no city quite like it. Though unlike the poor souls in the hangover we can confirm that we still have all our fingers, have no tiger tattoos and we still have all our hair. The city was just how we imagined: crazy! We got a taxi from the airport with the funniest taxi driver we've ever met. He didn't speak a word of English but still somehow had us in stitches as he drove us to the famous backpacker street in Bangkok: Khao San Road. The road is just full of people all the time, day and night. Cars can't get down the road very easily, so we joined the hustle and bustle on foot. The first thing we noticed was the blistering heat. It was incredibly hot in Bangkok, and very humid so we were glad we didn't have far to walk with our rucksacks! The road is amazing, bars, restaurants, backpacker accommodation, and hundreds of stalls selling clothes, food, electricals, basically everything a backpacker could want! Our hotel was right in the middle of the street and we had booked a deluxe room months ago for our first night, forgetting we hadn't yet paid for it! Though the place was nice we just grabbed a drink from the mini fridge and headed straight out to explore! It wasn't long before we were tempted by the clothes. At just a few pounds each, why not?! We bought one or two things each, by which point it was dark and it was time to experience Bangkok at night. How else could we have started the evening other than a drink in an 'Irish bar'? Yes, we really did see an Irish bar in bangkok and continued our tradition by having a nice cocktail outside. We then ate a lovely meal in a restaurant before walking around the weird and wonderful city of Bangkok. The roads were full of people having massages in the street, salespeople, tuk tuks, not to mention the hundreds of motorbikes which hurtle down streets, zig-zagging between people! We enjoyed getting a first taste of Thailand, and when we went back to our hotel we realised that it was situated right next to the 2 noisiest bars on the whole of Khao San Road so even from our beds the party continued until 3am!
The next day we had a whole day tour which we had booked the previous night from a street stall. We thought we may have been duped when our transport was half an hour late but it finally arrived and it took us to a famous floating market, where people sell things from wooden boardwalks on the edges of canals, some even sell things from their boats. Everyone wanted us to buy things and we put our haggling skills to good use before going on a boat ride around the area to see how the locals live. This gave us our first taste of rural local life; people washing in the river or preparing food outside their wooden homes, everyone gave us a smile and a wave. After this we had a delicious Thai lunch at the riverside of sweet and sour chicken, our favourite! In the afternoon we went to a place called the Rose Garden. We didn't really know what it was when we booked it but it turned out to be a cultural centre where we saw a traditional Thai show. The performance told a bit about the history of Thailand, they demonstrated Thai boxing and a Thai wedding, as well as traditional Thai dancing. We really enjoyed the show, it was interesting and funny in parts. At the same place we were also treated to an elephant demonstration! The mahouts showed us how they bathe and feed the elephants, as well as demonstrating how to get on and off. We have a whole week with elephants soon so it was a good introduction! We didn't arrive back in Bangkok until late afternoon but we wasted no time in the hotel (we ended up staying in a cheaper room in the same hotel) before going for a fish pedicure! We'd seen the salons the night before and decided to give it a go. Colette added a normal pedicure as well while Katie opted for a foot massage. Why not, when we paid a total of £6 each?! With beautifully pampered feet we went back to change into some new clothes we'd bought for the evening. We ate a big plate of pad Thai (basically noodles and beansprouts) for just 50p then found the best bar in the whole of Bangkok. It was a campervan bar! The inside of the campervan had been turned into a bar and decorated with lots of fairy lights so it was really pretty. We made friends with the barman and later the owner of the bar so we got lovely free cocktails before making our excuses and seeing what else Bangkok had to offer! It was a really nice night, even if it was still stifling hot! The next morning it was time to leave Bangkok and join our 28 day tour around Thailand. We had a meeting place in Bangkok from which we were transferred to the bus station by taxi before getting a 2 hour public bus to Singburi, our base for the next week. This is not the last time we'll see Bangkok though, oh no! We'll be back twice before we leave Thailand so more Bangkok adventures are still to come!
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