Hello!

After hauling two bursting rucksacks across London (including an interesting hour on a packed tube train) we made it to Heathrow. A few hours of waiting led us to discover that although we brought a pack of cards neither of us actually know any card games other than solitaire - how anti-social?!

11 hours later and we were in Bangkok. Once we had arrived at our hotel there was time to eat, soak up the enormity of a nearby thunderstorm and then sleep.

After a typical Thai breakfast (Garlic?......Bread?!!!!) we headed out of our secluded surroundings to experience the real atmosphere of the city. A few trademark Butler shortcuts later eventually found us on the road we wanted to explore. On the way we were amiably approached by a man who updated us on last night's England score and offered us directions to the local tourist spots. After a few minutes of help his conversation had suddenly transformed into a full on sales pitch, followed by the arrival of his friend the tuk-tuk driver. After the third such approach of the day we had learned a very valuable Bangkok lesson - if someone approaches you, they want something in return! Thai people are far too polite to disturb you so the ones that do are just trying to con you! At first this seems quite disconcerting and a little intimidating but by the end of the day it became second nature to ignore these few people. It also gave us a chance to compare the fabricated stories we'd heard throughout the day with the other people we met.

After half a day in the city we returned to the hotel for a Thai massage. Two friendly, middle aged women arrived to administer the relaxing treatment. Over the next hour we were to experience pain in its purest forms! With one of us in a half nelson, the other was trapped in a figure-four leg lock. (The pummeling we received can only be likened to the beatings enduredby Mat as a child when I tested out my new wrestling moves, although I never remember asking him to pay for it!). It is apparently a case of "no pain, no gain"and i'm sure that as soon as our bruises heal we'll feel the benefit!

In the evening we visited a night market in Lumphini. There were rows upon rows of stalls all selling genuine Mont Blanc pens, Calvin Klein boxers, DVD's etc etc...We ate dinner in a small restaurant nearby and enjoyed our first mojitos of the trip. We also learned the art of taxi driver negotiation - we only had to get out of 3 cabs!

On Monday morning we got up bright and early to enjoy another traditional Thai breakfast (mushroom........soup?! Pineapple fried rice?!) Much nicer than we make it sound lol. We then headed to the river taxi boat and travelled south to Wat Pho. Here is a collection of Buddhist temples, one of which houses a huge reclining golden Buddha statue. The level of detail in all of the art and architecture around the temple was incredible. We then travelled to the Grand Palace where we saw the Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most revered place of worship. The photos don't really do justice to how incredible these places are. There was also an old man removing stains from the paving slabs with Thailand's number one premium paint stripper..."Strip Off"...that photo, I think, does capture the moment!

Tomorrow we plan to see a more modern side of Bangkok. We'll try and get the photos online asap. Keep in touch!

Jo & Dan x