Back from the land of smiles...

And was it ever. Wherever i went in Thailand there was someone smiling...

Bankok (BKK) airport; what can i say, very sterile, clean and tidy but also a little confusing. After what seemed like a 2km walk to get to passport check and baggage claim where you get the once over and directed to the exit. Then you're out amongst the noise & commotion of the gaggles of taxi drivers all bidding for your custom. I had pre arranged transfers (which i recommend to any 1st time Thailand traveler) and all I had to do was look for the Travel East sign and I was directed to my driver.

Everyone told me that Bankok smelt bad so I prepared myself for the worst when the airport doors opened. I never noticed it, i mean sure their were parts where it certainly did not smell like roses but you can find these odd smells anywhere in any city. What i noticed when the doors opened was that i instantly began to sweat when the wall of heat hit me. OMG it was hot; a tropical heat though that apart from my dampness i did not find it too bad at all.

On the way to my hotel I noticed how clean all the concrete was, now i know some of you are thinking im a freak but in Melbourne it all would have been covered in graffiti and tagging. The whole time i was in BKK I only saw one piece of graffiti, im sure there was more somewhere but it was just something i noticed.

I arrived at the Narai hotel where the bell boy seemed happy to see me, grabbed my bags from the van and escorted me to the check in counter, this unfortunately was to be one of the rare places where i did not find a smile in BKK. Iwas then shown to my room, it did not look like the photo on the website but hey it was a roof and a bed which was all i needed. The room had a safe that could be locked with pin or credit card, this was good for a budget hotel room. The bathroom was nothing to rave about and the hot water made showering interesting to say the least... It seemed to have a mind of its own, I think it was effected when people flushed or turned on the taps in other rooms. I got used to it though. Now I would not recommend this hotel to the first time traveler, great for a buget but my experience was overall not a very pleasant one.

For me the hotel should have been a santuary from the hustle and bustle of Patpong BKK. I mean you expect to be hassled by the Tuk Tuk drivers, taxi's and peddlers on the street but in the foyer or out front of the hotel... this cheapened the experience a lot and made me feel uncomfortable from the beginning. after unpacking and showering I decided to go for a walk and see what i had gotten myself into. I also wanted to see if I could find Mel & Dusty's hotel as they were in BKK as well and I knew it was not far from mine. I would have called them or sent them a text but my roaming was not activated, Vodafone took a couple of days to get it right.

4 people at the front of the hotel asked me if I wanted a taxi, I politely declined saying i wanted to walk and get a feel of my surroundings. They seemed to think this was a strange thing for me to do. I escaped the front of the hotel to then face the gauntlet of tailors trying to drag me into their shop with the promise of "the best deal for you" and Tuk Tuk drivers trying to sell me 1-2 hour tours for 10 baht/ 20 baht or 100 baht. WOW, I enjoyed the Tuk Tuk drivers though, they knew most of the time they were going to be knocked back so they would start conversations with me about where i was from. The seemed to do nothing all day and parked on the kurbs in packs lazing about and talking with their friends but then they also seemed to be buzzing around through traffic annoying any driver they could. Loved them, bless their cotton socks.

I walked down Silom Rd, one of the friendly Tuk Tuk drivers had politely told me where i would find Mel and Dusty's Hotel the Dusit Thani and it was not far. I worked it out that each and every person had something to sell me or were happy to talk to tourists, I then got to Soi 4 and a lady with a moustache stpped me telling me it was happy hour and showed me a card with sexy thai girls for my pleasure, maybe a ping pong show just for me. I politely declined and she followed me. I told her again I was not interested and she left me alone only for a guy on the oposite side to pick up her trail. When I declined his girly offering he then offered me boys, I declined, he offered me younger boys, I now firmly declined showing my distaste of his offering. he almost ran away.

It was down this end of Silom Rd that I really noticed the aroma's of the stall cooking. all sorts of meats and vegitables on offer. So tempting but i was not yet bold enough to try, fresh fruits everywhere and juices in bags. Stalls with all types of clothes and goodies for sale and heaps and heaps of smiles.

OMG it was awesome, the colors of BKK were alive and I found myself becoming more relaxed with my surroundings. I found the Dusit and called up to Melly's room, Dusty was sleeping but melly and I met in the lobby and had an iced tea at My Bar that was to die for. Melly even took a photo of one for Simon :)

After we had our refreshing tea's Melly and I agreed to meet up later for dinner after we had all relaxed and refreshed. I caught a cab back to the Narai (40 baht) and relaxed a little, excited to be on holidays in a strange city where everything was new and fresh to my eyes... I was ready to experience the world, after a few hours in BKK I was hooked on Thailand :) you win Simon hehehe.


I have so much to write about but this is all for now :) Although a big thanks goes out to Melly and Dusty for helping me to have an awesome holiday, you guys rock.