Reinforcements Arrive

I was excited about getting to Thailand. Not just because it meant exploring a new country, but because for this leg of the journey we would be joined by a good friend of mine, Nick.

Nick had arrived an hour or so before us and came baring gifts of mosquito nets, hay fever medication and a hug from my mum.

Our plan was to get out of Bangkok as soon as possible, that way we would score some brownie points with our respective mothers for avoiding trouble. We even rented accommodation on the outskirts of the city so we weren't likely to be caught up in the political demonstrations. The downside to that, we discovered, was that although we were unlikely to get involved in any violent clashes, we also weren't likely to see anything of real interest. Unless, that is, concrete motorway flyovers are your thing. So, a few hot showers later and despite not sleeping for nearly 40 hours, we decided to catch the train into the city centre. 

As Bangkok's 'Sky Train' cut a line through the suburbs and headed towards the various skyscrapers that loomed out of the haze, we caught a first glimpse of the city. The towering glass fronted hotels and wide highways were in stark contrast to Kathmandu.

We spent the next two days exploring the madness of Bangkok, a city full of brightly coloured taxis, noisy tuk-tuks and venues offering trailored suits, etc.

We sampled the steet food, watched Rafa Nadal beat Roger Federer in the Australian open and got lost trying to find the river. At one point we even inadvertently stumbled into one of the protest sites. Except it didn't seem very protesty at the time. Thailand's answer to Britney Spears was wailing in front of some national flags to a smattering of locals enduring her best efforts. Perhaps an attempt to torture the government into submission.

I don't know if it was the exhaustion from travelling or the malaria tablets I was taking, but Bangkok passed by in a bit of a blur. We relaxed in our hotel's rooftop pool and I have vague recollections that we dressed up as Sherlock Holmes and solved a murder, but I was quite pleased when we boarded the sleeper train bound for Chiang Mai. And a slightly more authentic version of Thailand.