We spent a few days in Bangkok, getting over jetlag and generally exploring. I had been told not to hang around there too muh as it's not great, but we ended up staying 3 days and really enjoying it. Now I'm back again and really liking it!

We arrived at 8pm, but to us it was 2 in the afternoon, so we hit the bars in the hope of drinking uorselves to sleep. We couldn't believe how cheep the beer was at 60p a pint (little did I know that would halve in Cambodia, and halve again in Hanoi!) so we had a fair amount of it, and ended up in some dodgy club on Kao San Road till 4 in the morning. We then slept for 12 solid hours, having the reverse effect on the jetlag that we had intended.

So the next 2 days were spent in a bit of a tired haze, we went to a really cool Wat one evening that had a 60ft statue of Buddha, it was empty of tourists as it was a bit late and a monk was taking a leature/reading while we wndered around. Suddenly I felt a million miles from London and my work desk, and the fact that I was travelling started to feel like a reality.

Our tired haze lead us to Pat Pong (where else would it?!) to take in a ping pong show. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, and we went for a really cheap bar to avoid any scams. Turns out the price of drinks is an indication of the quality of the girls! The first ball to be fired hit Laura, and after that we spent our time avioding ping pongs, bananas, darts, and watching women blow out candles with their.....you know. Very different experience to the Wat and the monk reading, but another great part of Bangkok culture all the same.

The next day we wandered around the parks and river, and ended up spending the night drinking on Soi Ratambutri, which is far better than Kao San Road. I'd recommend anyone coming to Bangkok to get a hostel here as it's got a great vibe, really chilled and about as hippy as you'll get in Bangkok, better than the crazyness of Kao San Road. We spent the evening relaxing on a sofa drinking Chang, planning our next move.

When we left Bangkok I was suprised about how I felt. Most people had said to stay as little as possible there, and yet I had loved it. At the time I thought it may be my rose tinted travellers glasses, but 2 months on I'm back and still feel the same. For all it's craziness and all it's faults, Bangkok has a unique spirit, and it's one I like.