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So, I've decided to write about some of the things I am seeing/getting up to. The main reason for this is because I was having a beer and chat with my old man prior to flying out to Bangkok, reminiscing about some of the funny stories I had told him from my early days in the Merchant Navy (16/17 years old) in Mexico and Canada. And I had completely forgotten about them which obviously is a shame. So, by writing down what I am getting up to I can look back when I'm grey and old and remind myself of this SE Asia trip I am embarked upon. Also, it will be nice for my friends and family to see some of the things I am doing. Don't expect anything too profound, I don't particularly take any pleasure from writing and although I got a very respectable B at GCSE, that's about as qualified as I am! This blog will simply consist of updates every now and then with a few pics!
After a 2 hour delay at the airport and a massive 11.5 hour flight, with copious amount of gin consumed prior to take off… I arrived in Bangkok at about 1700 local time and jumped straight into a taxi and to the hotel I was stopping in on Sukhumvit. My first impressions were what a mad and stupidly busy place. It took ages to get there, the traffic was absolutely insane. I don't know the statistic for accidents and resultant injuries in Bangkok but it must be quite high. Cars, buses, motorbikes, mopeds, tuk-tuks, just bombing around missing each other by inches and as for the traffic lights, I think the locals just turn a blind eye to these. I was a happy man when I got to the hotel and resisted the urge to go straight out and get amongst it…I was shattered and a little ropey still so welcomed what would be my home for the next 4 nights.
My first full day basically consisted of touristy things. I went to the Ratanakosin Exhibition hall where I found out about the history of Thailand and their culture. Then I hit the Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Wat Pho, the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok. As well as this I sampled various different street foods and tasted Thai tea for the first time which was spot on. I then found myself down by the river Chao Phraya and jumped on a boat to the other side. I didn't know where this boat was going, it turns out there was a busy market on the other side and this was the destination. I took a seat towards the front of the boat and as the boat pulled off I saw something bobbing in the water, just off the starboard bow (to the right!). As we got closer it was quite evident that it was a body so I shouted to the skipper that there was a body in the water and started preparing myself for the fact I'd probably have to pull the poor b***** on board. It took a while for the skipper to realise what I was shouting but when he did he started honking the ships horn, altered course to port (left) and just passed the body and cracked on to the other side. No one else on board bat an eyelid, it was quite bizarre. He is probably still bobbing somewhere on that river now but hopefully someone got him ashore, identified him and buried the poor man.
On the way back to my hotel at the end of a busy day, I stopped in a shop close by to buy a few things. I jokingly said to the shop assistant that I think she should stop singing because it's making it rain (the weather was redders for the majority of the day but rain came down sporadically as it has done since). It took me 5 minutes to explain what I meant which clearly meant my wit had been wasted on this occasion. However, I got talking to her (Her name was Deaw) and told her my plans to go to Kanchanaburi the following day. It turned out she was from there originally and said she would be happy to be my tour guide and show me around which I thought was great.
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