Day 54, 55 & 56 (Bangkok)

We've now had the second OzBUS flight of the journey to get us from Kolkata to Bangkok. The flight started off quite scary when just seconds after take-off we hit a bit of turbulence (pretty bad to be honest, some of the worst I've come across in all my travels) and one of the girls had a panic attack and couldn't breathe. It was only her second ever flight so she didn't really know what to expect with turbulence and got a bit freaked out – the crew got out an oxygen tank and hooked her up to help calm her down. Thankfully all was ok within a few minutes and order was restored. The flight was with Jet Airways, superb service and an airline I'd definitely use again :)

The flight passed really quickly, probably due to the distraction of having so many in-flight movies to choose from – I went with 17 Again as I would appear was the choice of half the bus. The hotel in Bangkok was lovely, and really close to Khao San Road which was great, but also very dangerous!

First stop on arrival was the laundry place around the corner from the hotel to get us hooked up with some clean clothes. Though we've mastered the hand wash at this point, there's nothing quite as nice as clothes that have been machine washed and smell really fresh. From there we went a few doors back toward the hotel to a restaurant called the Cozy Corner where I had the best Pad Thai ever, and Una decided to try out meatloaf for the first time (weird choice in Thailand if ya ask me!). A couple of the crew headed off to Khao San Road to see what was going on down there, while I rather sensibly headed back to the hotel to get some rest in advance of the touring that was planned for the next day.

Our first full day in Bangkok was spent driving around some of the distant sites on the bus. We visited the floating markets where I bought more than everybody else combined (it was reminiscent of my time with the ASWS crew in Vegas - I had so many shopping bags getting off the boat, though it cost me a tiny fraction of the price). In addition to the JEATH War Museum we took a 2 hour ride on the Death Railway which ended after we'd passed over the Bridge on the River Kwai. That was quite an experience, one that had me pondering all sorts. In between these major sites we visited a coconut plantation where in addition to an orchid farm we saw how they make coconut sugar, butter and how they get the dried coconut out of the shell. They had a big market there with all sorts of wares for sale. I'm getting much better with the haggling thing. I don't think I'll ever master it, but I've got to the point where I don't even listen to their opening price. The issue that I have is that I tend to start with the most I'll pay rather than some ridiculously low price. I don't buy unless I get it for what I'm prepared to pay but I'm sure I could get it for less. Still it works for me...and they eventually part with what they're selling for what I'm willing to pay, even if I walk away..they follow. We also went to a wood carving factory where I saw some of the most beautiful furniture I've ever seen. If I ever win the lotto and buy a mansion I know where to go to furnish it. With all the driving around to see these places we were within a 3 hour drive of the Myanmar border. What I would have given to just go there and get a postcard for Mr. Green, but alas it wasn't to be...next trip, I promise! We also passed really close to the famous Tiger Temple but weren't able to stop because we were on a strict time line to get to the train, would have been cool to see it, so again, something for my next trip to Thailand :)

The day lasted a lot longer than we had thought it would and we were pretty late getting back to the hotel. We thankfully made it back in time to get our laundry *bounce*. While we were there a couple of the girls sampled the waxing techniques of the lady in the laundrette (they were a multipurpose business). After that we headed out to Khao San Road so they could have a stiff drink or three to absorb the pain and I was introduced to Bacardi Buckets. I'd been told about Samsong Buckets already and was set to try one even though I don't really like whiskey, but then I was saved when I saw beautiful bacardi on the menu. One bucket turned into a couple and I ended up in a club called 'The Club' with a glowstick wrapped around my arm dancing like a crazy lady until they kicked us out some time after 4am. We stumbled back to the hotel and stayed up chatting until around 5.30am when we figured it was time to get some sleep. Shortly after 6am we were about to go climb into bed when we saw a note being pushed under the door – Mel & James were leaving Bangkok 2 days early to get some more time by the beach in Koh Samui and she was bidding us farewell. Rather than leave them to eat alone at breakfast we joined them and finally got to bed some time after 7am!

We eventually woke up at 3.15pm...most of the day wasted! As we were leaving the next morning to fly to Koh Samui a day early this was rather silly as that day was our only opportunity to see the sites in Bangkok. After getting up at that time it's obvious we didn't manage to see anything – Doh!! Instead we rushed to the MBK shopping centre to meet Michelle who had got us tickets to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – whoop whoop! There was a crazy moment after all the weird ads where a short film came on starting off by asking us to be upstanding in respect of the king. The whole cinema rose to their feet so we did too and then watched as there was a 5 minute long movie with clips of the kings life – very bizarre! The feature film was excellent and I was so happy we'd got to see it.

Rather than eat at the shopping centre we headed back to the hotel to see what the rest of the gang were up to. A lot of them were ordering room service so they could get ready for a major night out in Khao San Road. As we had no intention of going out due to the 6am start the next morning to get to the airport for our flight to Koh Samui, Una and I went to another small eatery near the hotel to sample the local cuisine cooked by locals. The owner was a crazy man who on hearing we are Irish said 'howya' in the most convincing Dublin accent I've ever heard from an Asian person. He had a cupla focail too that was nice to hear. Food wasn't great, but there's nothing quite like eating at the side of the road in the shadow of a construction site with an Asian waiter who's dancing around like a leprechaun. We tried to sneak back into the hotel without being seen for fear we'd be cajoled into going out again. I thought we were in luck when we'd got through reception, into the lift and up to our floor without being spotted – no such luck! As we turned the corner from the lift into our corridor we were faced with Michelle, Abby, Emily, Jacinta & Sarah all dolled up and on their way out the door. We stopped for a chat and then when we tried to pass to go to our room I was literally dragged into the lift by Abby & Emily – damn my slippy flip-flop soles! We weren't packed, we had a flight to catch, but off we went to Khoa San road for one, that turned into lots and again we ended up in the club (me with a new glowstick to add to the old one so I now had a necklace not a bracelet) and were kicked out at closing time having had a few too many buckets. We stumbled back to the hotel, packed up our bags and I crawled into bed for an hour before we had to get our asses into a taxi.

So, my overall view on Bangkok – I need to go back, I didn't really get to see the place as the only thing I did was visit Khao San Road and the organised tour day. I didn't see the Reclining Buddha, the Palace or anything else that I had thought would be good to see. Anyone fancy a holiday in Thailand when I get back home and get some money saved up?

For photos from Bangkok click here.