Hi, Bangkok is a crazy place. I arrived after surviving a very scary taxi ride with a driver who appeared to be sniffing glue (probably not but you would think so from his driving!). I checked into the nearest guest house as I arrived late (1am) and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow! The next morning I met up with james, who I had met at the Inn Crowd in Singapore, and Emily whom he had met on the plane. They were off to the TAT (tourist information place) so I decided to go and explore the area and meet them when they got back. I looked around all the markets, bought some clother and a guide book (second hand and cheap) and then had Pad Thai from one of the stands. Pad thai is vegetable stir fry and it is lovely, cost about 10p and is a full meal! I then sat in the Centre bar with a bottle of beer (I decided to go for the low card option after all the rice and noodles I've eaten!) and read my guide to Thailand - but mostly people watching as there is so many weird and wonderful things to see! I then met up with James and Emily and we went for a drink and more pad Thai. A pub crawl here is like nothing you could ever imagine. We went to a cocktail bar which was actually just a table set up on the pavement with all the different spirits and mixers on it with tables and chairs scattered around the pavement. The cocktails were strong and we even had live music in the form of a gut with a beard and a guitar singing Eric Clapton and Bob Marley in English but with a twist. Love came out as 'Lub', but the best bit was 'I shot the Shelif, but I did not chew the dipty....' everyone sing along...... I was crying with laughter. The next performer beared a very strong resemblence to Jack Sparrow out of Pirates of the Carribean and I swear he had a wooden leg! Good vocals though.... The next bar on the crawl looked strangely familiar to me.... yep it was the petrol station I had passed earlier in the day! They set up tables and chairs and the bar/table thing and were serving alcohol to tables set up next to petrol pumps with candles on them! The funniest thing was there was actually a warning sign stuck to the petrol pump saying 'no naked flames'! Only in Thailand..... We then went to Gullivars and yes it was Tequila time! We met an Irish ex squaddie who decided that Tequila time should lat all night and bought a bottle of it and parked himself at our table. All I need to say is I feel quite ropey today and have an 11 hour bus ride to look forward to - great! We went to the Grand palace today and walked around the grounds and went into the temples. It is such a serene place and is so spectacularly decorated. I've never seen anything like it. We went in to the temple that has the Emerald Bhudda, it was so peaceful, people were praying and meditating all around us. It was a really interesting place with all the monks walking around and then the soldiers with huge guns, again so much to look at. I then decided to come back to Kho San road to book my ticket to Kho Samui. It was really easy, cost about 4/5 pound, and I've got a 11 hour bus ride and a a boat trip to the Island aswell! Hopefully I will be able to sleep most of the way, but I have books and my MP3 to keep me going. As much as I have enjoyed Bangkok I can't wait to get to a beach and some sunshine! Julie x x x