23rd March 2009
Leaving Bangkok
Day167
Oh my God I'm so hungover. Check out of the guest house by 10am and went for a full English and a cup of tea to make myself feel better. Must leave Bangkok today - it's so hectic and too much for me right now. Apparently it's best to ignore all the tuk-tuk drivers and touts on the street when they talk to you or strike up a conversation, but I can't. It feels too rude (although here culturally it isn't) and right now I'm drained. Plus all the disabled and disfigured people begging in the streets, lying on the floors in busy areas and the feeling that everyone is trying to rip me off (tourists are walking cash machines - everyone wants a withdrawal). I need to move on.
I waited for a bus to the coach station after I had had my breakfast, but it was so hot and the bus never showed up so I took a taxi. There was so much traffic and I'm sure I turned green. The taxi man was amusing enough. He asked me to guess his age. He looked about 50 odd but I said I didn't know how old he was. He then told me he was 30 years old. There is no way he was 30! I'm sure he ripped me off but once I was at the coach station I didn't care and ran into the toilets to see my breakfast in reverse. It wasn't pretty.
Felt better and got the coach to Ayutthaya. It felt so good to be out of Bangkok. Once in Ayutthaya I got out my map and tried to work out where the hell I was when a man came up to me and asked if I needed help. I said no as I was sure he was trying to sell me something. A few minutes later he came back over and I accepted his offer of help and he pointed me in the right direction. Great! Not everyone is a scammer.
Got to the guest house and noticed one guy staring at me then he asked if I wanted to get some food from the market so off we went. His name was Toby and he was from Australia. He seemed nice but was a bit awkward and when he opened a bottle of water he managed to get most of it on himself. We planned to go out tomorrow and split the cost of a tuk-tuk.
Had a great night sleep on a mattress on the floor of a very cheap room that smelt very strongly of paint.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Sunday 19 April 2009
Day 166 How do those chairs spin?
22nd March 2009
No change and spinning chairs
Day 166
Well how cheeky is this - I went around some stalls today and bought a pair of socks. I bargained for them as they were 20 baht (40p) and the woman agreed on 15 baht (30p). So i hand over 20 baht and she hands me the socks and does not give me any change! I start to ask for my change when a guy on the next stall tells me she doesn't speak English. How very convenient! I was right chuffed with actually bargaining for something at first.
Anyway at night I went around Khoa San Road with Lucy and some of her friends. It's a shame she is going back to England soon as we get on really well. Had a great night out anyway - we noticed the stools in a bar would rotate when touching another stool and had this sort of mechanical stool thing going on. A bouncer walked past and Lucy pointed out the spinning chairs. Then one minute later these bouncers appeared with flash lights searching under the chairs and up the walls thinking we were up to something! They all got so paranoid!
Day 165 Bangkok
21st March 2009
Exploring Bangkok
Day 165
Went exploring today. Passed a man offering a tuk-tuk (motorbike-van-taxi contraption) for 5 baht (10p), which made me and another tuk-tuk driver laugh as these things are always scams when offered that cheap. Got speaking to a Official Tourist guy (99% sure he was official) who taught me some Thai words and got me a tuk-tuk and sent me on a tour of Bangkok and I saw big Buddhas and a marble palace then went to a tourist office to ask about bus times for north Thailand and the guy there got carried away and tried to sell me a trip for 1800 pounds and wrote out a plan. When I said no it was awkward.
The food here is so good and cheap. Had a lovely Thai meal then bought a Cornetto and fell asleep in my room.
Exploring Bangkok
Day 165
Went exploring today. Passed a man offering a tuk-tuk (motorbike-van-taxi contraption) for 5 baht (10p), which made me and another tuk-tuk driver laugh as these things are always scams when offered that cheap. Got speaking to a Official Tourist guy (99% sure he was official) who taught me some Thai words and got me a tuk-tuk and sent me on a tour of Bangkok and I saw big Buddhas and a marble palace then went to a tourist office to ask about bus times for north Thailand and the guy there got carried away and tried to sell me a trip for 1800 pounds and wrote out a plan. When I said no it was awkward.
The food here is so good and cheap. Had a lovely Thai meal then bought a Cornetto and fell asleep in my room.
Saturday 4 April 2009
Day 164 Bangkok
20th March 2009
Bangkok
Day 164
Landed in Bangkok at 11:30pm Thai time. Went to the prayer room to get some sleep but people were praying in there (obv). One guy was lying down and getting some kip but he looked Thai and suddenly I didn't think it was appropriate for me to go in there and try to get some sleep.
There were no more buses to the city so I slept in the departure lounge. It was noisy and cold and not nice on the steel chairs. Not a good nights sleep (3 hours sleep max). I woke up and opened my eyes and saw a monk on the seats opposite in bright orange robes.
At 5am I went to get my bus to the city centre but just missed it. A guy there that I asked said the next bus would be in 2 hours, but he could take me to a taxi. I declined as I wasn't sure if he was just saying this so he could get commission for the taxi, and guess what - another bus was there in 10 minutes.
Went to a guest house near the main strip of Khoa San Road in Bangkok. They passed me the keys for me to check the room before I decided to stay. To be honest I would not know what to expect and probably would have stayed anywhere with being so tired after my night in the airport combined with my lack of knowledge in knowing what a good room was, but I went to check anyway. There was no lift so I set off up the stairs to the first floor, then I realised the lady had said 'third floor' , not 'first'. So I trekked up 2 more flights of stairs.
The room was basically four walls with a metal frame bed, a window and a fan on the roof. I thought it was well cool, and only 4 quid! (Hostels in Oz had been up to 15 quid). Was jet lagged and couldn't sleep so went for a walk. It started raining so I went to a bar. There was one other person at the bar and we got chatting. She was from England too and also staying in the same hostel as me! Quite a coincidence in the most touristy and popular city in Thailand.
We (Lucy and I) decided to meet up later for some drinks in Khoa San Road. It was crazy! There were people everywhere. Bedlam. There was stalls selling foods and so many beggars sitting in the road, many of them disabled. I was shocked.
We picked a bar to sit at and sat on the seats near the front. Bad idea. So many people came up to us every few minutes and tried to sell us all sorts of things - bracelets, wooden frogs, etc. It was awkward, mostly because we weren't use to how to handle the situation. A 'no thank you' would not always work and the sellers would keep trying or just stand there. So we went to another bar that was on a balcony away from the street sellers. Problem was that the music in there was so loud that we could hardly talk.
On the walk back to our hostel we came across an elephant. It was a baby elephant in the street. Its owner was parading it around selling nuts to people so they could feed it. Random.
Bangkok is crazy.
Bangkok
Day 164
Landed in Bangkok at 11:30pm Thai time. Went to the prayer room to get some sleep but people were praying in there (obv). One guy was lying down and getting some kip but he looked Thai and suddenly I didn't think it was appropriate for me to go in there and try to get some sleep.
There were no more buses to the city so I slept in the departure lounge. It was noisy and cold and not nice on the steel chairs. Not a good nights sleep (3 hours sleep max). I woke up and opened my eyes and saw a monk on the seats opposite in bright orange robes.
At 5am I went to get my bus to the city centre but just missed it. A guy there that I asked said the next bus would be in 2 hours, but he could take me to a taxi. I declined as I wasn't sure if he was just saying this so he could get commission for the taxi, and guess what - another bus was there in 10 minutes.
Went to a guest house near the main strip of Khoa San Road in Bangkok. They passed me the keys for me to check the room before I decided to stay. To be honest I would not know what to expect and probably would have stayed anywhere with being so tired after my night in the airport combined with my lack of knowledge in knowing what a good room was, but I went to check anyway. There was no lift so I set off up the stairs to the first floor, then I realised the lady had said 'third floor' , not 'first'. So I trekked up 2 more flights of stairs.
The room was basically four walls with a metal frame bed, a window and a fan on the roof. I thought it was well cool, and only 4 quid! (Hostels in Oz had been up to 15 quid). Was jet lagged and couldn't sleep so went for a walk. It started raining so I went to a bar. There was one other person at the bar and we got chatting. She was from England too and also staying in the same hostel as me! Quite a coincidence in the most touristy and popular city in Thailand.
We (Lucy and I) decided to meet up later for some drinks in Khoa San Road. It was crazy! There were people everywhere. Bedlam. There was stalls selling foods and so many beggars sitting in the road, many of them disabled. I was shocked.
We picked a bar to sit at and sat on the seats near the front. Bad idea. So many people came up to us every few minutes and tried to sell us all sorts of things - bracelets, wooden frogs, etc. It was awkward, mostly because we weren't use to how to handle the situation. A 'no thank you' would not always work and the sellers would keep trying or just stand there. So we went to another bar that was on a balcony away from the street sellers. Problem was that the music in there was so loud that we could hardly talk.
On the walk back to our hostel we came across an elephant. It was a baby elephant in the street. Its owner was parading it around selling nuts to people so they could feed it. Random.
Bangkok is crazy.
Day 163 Bye NZ
19th March 2009
Bye NZ
Day 163
Have enjoyed my time in NZ (even through the 2 days of moaning). Have seen what life is like out here compared to the UK. It's so much more laid back. Work doesn't overflow into daily life and there are so many activities. Makes it seem stupid to get stressed out about work at home. Don't think I could live here though - I'd want something more going on, to live somewhere more vibrant.
Off to Thailand now bye!
P.S. Marianne did get back to the hostel.
Bye NZ
Day 163
Have enjoyed my time in NZ (even through the 2 days of moaning). Have seen what life is like out here compared to the UK. It's so much more laid back. Work doesn't overflow into daily life and there are so many activities. Makes it seem stupid to get stressed out about work at home. Don't think I could live here though - I'd want something more going on, to live somewhere more vibrant.
Off to Thailand now bye!
P.S. Marianne did get back to the hostel.
Day 162 Hungover
18th March 2009
Hungover
Day 162
Hungover. Went out with Marianne last night for St. Patricks Day (any excuse). Am a little worried as she did not come back last night and she should be back by now surely?
Booked the '$5 shuttle bus' to the airport. Guess how much it costs? $7 is the official price. So they said it has a $2 surcharge for petrol, but charged me $5. I don't get it.
Hungover
Day 162
Hungover. Went out with Marianne last night for St. Patricks Day (any excuse). Am a little worried as she did not come back last night and she should be back by now surely?
Booked the '$5 shuttle bus' to the airport. Guess how much it costs? $7 is the official price. So they said it has a $2 surcharge for petrol, but charged me $5. I don't get it.
Day 161 St. Patricks Day
17th March 2009
St. Patricks Day
Day 161
Leaving the beautiful Queenstown and heading up north to Christchurch, my last stop in NZ. Have chosen not to stay in the awful Base Hostel chain, like everyone usually does but am staying a little out of the way with a Swedish girl who doesn't want to stay at Base either.
So today is St. Patricks Day. Marianne and I are going out tonight to celebrate (well people usually guess I'm Irish so I might as well party with them). Just want to get to Thailand now. NZ is too much like home and I want something different - different culture, food, people.
St. Patricks Day
Day 161
Leaving the beautiful Queenstown and heading up north to Christchurch, my last stop in NZ. Have chosen not to stay in the awful Base Hostel chain, like everyone usually does but am staying a little out of the way with a Swedish girl who doesn't want to stay at Base either.
So today is St. Patricks Day. Marianne and I are going out tonight to celebrate (well people usually guess I'm Irish so I might as well party with them). Just want to get to Thailand now. NZ is too much like home and I want something different - different culture, food, people.
Day 160 Excitement
16th March 2009
Excitement
Day 160
Hannah and Helena left this morning. We are in Vietnam around the same time so hopefully will meet up again. Can't wait to go to Thailand in 3 days time! I get there at 11pm so have decided to sleep in the airport (have slept in Prague and Cairns airport before but this may be a little different). Usually get a bit nervous and worried before going to new countries but I am so happy and excited and I know it'll be fine.
Excitement
Day 160
Hannah and Helena left this morning. We are in Vietnam around the same time so hopefully will meet up again. Can't wait to go to Thailand in 3 days time! I get there at 11pm so have decided to sleep in the airport (have slept in Prague and Cairns airport before but this may be a little different). Usually get a bit nervous and worried before going to new countries but I am so happy and excited and I know it'll be fine.
Day 159 Good day
15th March 2009
Good Day
Day 159
Lie in! Fergburger. Day on the waterfront watching an extreme parachute skill event. Night in watching films and eating sweets with the girls. What a good day.
Good Day
Day 159
Lie in! Fergburger. Day on the waterfront watching an extreme parachute skill event. Night in watching films and eating sweets with the girls. What a good day.
Day 158 Bungee!
14th March 2009
Bungee!
Day 158
Up and off to the bungee site this morning. I was calm and looking forward to it. Got a little over-thinking on the way there. Not about being scared but was wondering if this is the best thing I'll ever do and how will I match it after. If this is the most thrilling and daring thing I ever do then what's left?
Got to the bungee site and quickly forgot about these thoughts once my
harness was fitted. We got a gondola to the jump station that was suspended over 200 metres above a river by some wires.
They attached the bungee cords to my feet and led me to the edge. All I heard was the '3-2-1' count and I jumped off the worlds 3rd highest bungee jump. 134 metres of freefall! The fall was crazy - just the feeling of falling through the air at such a speed, screaming and laughing like a madman.
The whole thing was over in a minute and I was hauled back to the top.
I celebrated with a Fergburger (the best burgers in NZ, if not the world) and went out partying around Queenstown at night with the girls from my room.
All in all I'd say the bungee jump is the biggest rush and most exciting thing I have ever done.
Bungee!
Day 158
Up and off to the bungee site this morning. I was calm and looking forward to it. Got a little over-thinking on the way there. Not about being scared but was wondering if this is the best thing I'll ever do and how will I match it after. If this is the most thrilling and daring thing I ever do then what's left?
Got to the bungee site and quickly forgot about these thoughts once my
harness was fitted. We got a gondola to the jump station that was suspended over 200 metres above a river by some wires.They attached the bungee cords to my feet and led me to the edge. All I heard was the '3-2-1' count and I jumped off the worlds 3rd highest bungee jump. 134 metres of freefall! The fall was crazy - just the feeling of falling through the air at such a speed, screaming and laughing like a madman.
The whole thing was over in a minute and I was hauled back to the top.
I celebrated with a Fergburger (the best burgers in NZ, if not the world) and went out partying around Queenstown at night with the girls from my room.
All in all I'd say the bungee jump is the biggest rush and most exciting thing I have ever done.
Day 157 Milford Sounds
13th March 2009
Milford Sounds
Day 157
Up at 7am to get the coach to Milford Sounds. It's fantastic! Absolutely amazing - waterfalls, seals, mountains, beautiful
Milford Sounds
Day 157
Up at 7am to get the coach to Milford Sounds. It's fantastic! Absolutely amazing - waterfalls, seals, mountains, beautiful
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