I am woken up by the person below me getting up. Turns out we are the last two in the room, everyone else was up early and out. This woman is called Maria, lives in Germany but originally from Serbia. I am able to peg the accent, I'm getting good at this. So I am lying on my top bunk, we are talking, next thing she just takes her top of and continues to talk to me. It's one of those situations I was not expecting to have to deal with first thing this morning. So she is standing there chatting away, hands on hips, no top. I find some reason to turn around, get my phone or something, thankfully she took this opportunity to put some clothes on. She is friendly and tells me she is up early to go to yoga and that she'll maybe see me later. After she leaves I get myself up and in to the shower before packing my bag and heading down for breakfast. I opt for the traditional Thai food of ham and cheese bagel. Part of me was disappointed that I didn't get Philadelphia, Ha. I get my map out and highlight a number of temples I want to visit. I ask at reception somewhere where I could get another memory card for my camera. Marked on the map I have my route and off I go.
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I set off around the old city, a network of small little roads lined with hostels, tour operators, no shortage of massage parlours and restaurants. I head to my first temple and it is a good job that I have my sunglasses, the glare coming off the bling is blinding. Shrouded in gold and extravagant detail, inside we have a Buddha, sitting up high and the end of the long hall. Looks like he has been polished every day for 20 years. There is the usual mix of tourists and Thai, with a lot of people praying. They also have life size sculptors of monks, sitting cross legged. The resemblance to a real person is quite scary. After this temple I am heading outside old town to look for a memory card. On my way I'm starting to get my sweat on, and so it's rest time, little iced latte for me. As I'm walking round the outskirts, all the shops are closed for the new year period, the place looks like a ghost town. I am not feeling confident about my destination. I plod on. My concerns subside when I set eyes on the only thing open for miles, a tech complex. Everywhere that I have tried so far for my memory card has plenty of SD cards but not the one that I am after, I'm looking a Sandisc Extreme 3, not that I am being picky or anything. Perhaps I will have to adjust my expectations, because my memory card is now full. Desperate times call for desperate measures. After having a look at what is on offer in these shops I get one. Not what I wanted but it will do the job. I head to my next temple, this one is much busier than the other ones I have been to today. Inside people are making various offerings, and hanging them in the hallway as you walk in to the temple. There are monks on the left hand side that some people are going over to and getting a blessing. On the route home I stop off in a local little restaurant an get some Pad Thai, yum yum. I get back to the hostel at about 3.
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Maria is there and soon her friend Peter, from Australia, arrives along with another guy Lucky, from USA who had stayed in the hostel previously. He was away to a monastery to try meditating for a 10 day course, he lasted 1.5 days. Said it was too intense, no talking, little eating. I can only imagine, it's not really something I am interested in, that and the yoga. Maria and Lucky are chatting away about this meditating/yoga business. I've lost interest after 5mins so I just do some work. Alex comes back and tell of his trekking day, he didn't even get to climb the mountain because there was too much fog. After paying the money he did, I'd have been demanding my summit. Peter is doing a good job of insulting everyone, I am enjoying the awkwardness this is creating. I sit here for a couple of hours and have a few beers, then one of the girls calls me from reception to tell me that they don't have a room for me tomorrow night. I'm sorry I do not understand, I said I would stay for 3 nights. Ahh but the girl only put down 2 nights, of course and you have already sold my bed on hostelworld? Yes, brilliant! I don't understand why they just didn't ask me today if I wanted to stay for tomorrow before putting my bed up on hostleworld. I was going to book a tour with my hostel, but after this they are getting nothing. Words can not covey my anger. I look online at somewhere nearby and Peter and I go out to check it out. Full! Yes! I end up heading back to Peter's hostel and they have some space so I get myself booked in for tomorrow night. Peter, Lucky and Maria are heading to the cinema tonight and ask me if I want to come. It sounds like it might be a terrible way to spend the evening and so I decline. Instead Alex and I enjoy some street food and beers and then head to the Sunday walking street market. It is not as busy as the market yesterday, but that does by no means mean it was quiet. I could walk without someone touching every part of me, so that was nice. I had a lot of the same stuff, and my band was there playing away, tonight we had "Hotel California" We don't have a late one because we are planning to get up early tomorrow morning and rent some Motos and head up to the temple on the hill.