Day 3 in Thailand, the traumas and hilarities have already begun..... Nearly missed the flight from Heathrow, too busy eating and drinking wine! As if that wasn't bad enough we had a marathon sprint to get our connection in Singapore airport to Bangkok (it was a photo finish!) After an hours wait, had a hair raising taxi journey to our hotel. It was 8pm local time, 24 hours after we set out. So, the only thing for it was bed. Our plans to wake up early and refreshed the next day were a bit optimistic. Put it this way we missed breakfast! Managed to navigate our way on the Sky Train (London Underground's classier relative) to the weekend market. In typical Lynne and Lyndsay style we purchased some fabulous shades and new clothes (as if our backpacks weren't already full enough) for the grand price of 5 pounds each! For our next trauma enter Chinatown!!!!!!!!!!! This time we failed to navigate the Sky Train, ended up in the more refined transport mode of a tuk tuk (see postcard). Our heart rates were fast enough when we were dumped in Chinatown imagine then our surprise to find we were the only white kids on the block! Didn't fancy food poisoning or a death ride back on the tuk tuk so took the "safer" mode of a formula 1 taxi. By this point it was 9:30pm and we still hadn't eaten. We decided to give in gracefully and retire to one of the restaurants in the hotel. A few glasses of wine (or what we think was actually brandy) later we were feeling no pain so decided we were cool enough to hit one of the local bars. Needless to say pretty soon we were joined by a few local thai boys who claimed they wanted to practice their english. We suspect it was their french haha....... Actually they were very respectful compared to some of the boys/men we've had the pleasure of encountering! Our choice of beverage was either thai whisky or red wine coolers and seeing the sobertagious state of the locals we opted for the tongue and teeth staining wine. We were the last people to leave the bar at 1am and hysterical giggles took us back to the hotel. Day 2 (yes only day 2) we made it to breakfast, however we have felt sharper. Believed we had a full day organised and planned to a tee but as you may have gathered by now our plans don't always go smoothly. First stop Baiyoke Sky Hotel, Thailand's tallest building, for the observation platform on the 77th floor. What should have been a 15 minute walk turned into an hour and 10 minute trek through some crazy local market. By this time we were wondering where all the westerners are, do they know something we don't?!?! The Sky Hotel is 300metres high, the elevator took 1 minute 20 seconds. You would've paid to see the look on our faces at the 14th floor when the secure elevator became glass fronted. Lyndsay stayed calm incase she had to slap the now hysterical Lynne. "This was your f***ing idea" was one of Lynne's catchphrases as she dug her nails into the metal of the liftdoor...... Calm and serenity ensued as we stepped onto concrete flooring and an observation haven awaited us. The views were spectacular and some hilarious snaps were taken (photos downloaded soon). We then braved the 84th floor for the outdoor revolving platform. It was all a bit rustic and creaky! Needless to say after 5 seconds we decided Thailand may not be the best place for a heart attack. Next stop Grand Palace. Knowing how fashion conscious we both are imagine our surprise when entry was refused due to inappropriate clothing. We were bundled and wrapped in floral sarongs topped off with the most delightful "sandals". We expected a calm, serene atmosphere -how were we to know it was a religious holiday and every Thai person and their dog was out for the day! 10 minutes was enough religious experience for us so we headed for the river express to Khao San Road. This mode of transport was a lot less hair raising than the roads. Khao San Road - AAHHHH, this is where the travellers descend. We will kill the STA travel agent (Richard) who booked us into a hotel in the heart of localsville!!! Having found what feels like a different country we have decided to stay in Bangkok another day before catching the sleeper train to Krabi. A blow out in Khao San Road is well deserved, I think you'll agree. We're off to Patpong to discover the delights of ladyboys and transvestites. So rest assured there will be more trials and tribulations in our next postcard. Until then..... xxx