Anywhere I lay my head is...

...lumpy... mmm love vinyl covered mattresses... not very much. And noisy guesthouses with noisy backpackers... no Khao San is not exactly the kind of place I generally stay. I guess at best you could describe it as a kind of bohemian "everywhere" type place, full of all sorts of everything... but it is the most "tourist" area I have ventured near so far and I don't fancy it. But the prices are right, and with the slight money flow problem I had up until today, cheap and relatively secure was important when I got off the train from Chumphon. It is also close to things I want which is important when time is limited. So it gets the job done. Compared to Phuket I have to say it has a refreshing lack of old men walking around with Thai girls though. No I am not out sampling the Bangkok "nightlife", not that kind anyway. Even those of my Phuket companions who decided to sample the more "interesting" bars without me came back regretting they had. Some things are best left to the imagination, or in fact, not. There is a nasty element to the place that you can't brush aside or laugh away, and sadly it is fundamental to what Thailand has become.

Having said that there is far more here other than "that stuff", and "that stuff" can be largely avoided if you got to the right places. I branched out today on one of my patented "wanders" after getting over the disappointment of not being able to see the historic sights, and in my travels explored the highways, byways, waterways and alleyways. There is indeed a lot to Bangkok, 9 million people who it would seem all attempt to cross the same bridges over the river at around 5pm. I gave my camera a good workout and took more photos of boats and shacks than anyone could ever want, but paid the price for walking the freeway bridges across the river... I looked in the mirror when I got home and my eyes were red and stinging, my throat raw, from the exhaust fumes. The sun dies with a whimper in Bangkok, burning fiercely down to near the horizon before suffocating in a noxious haze.

But that was all forgotten with my green curry tonight, absolutely fantastic it was... washed down with a couple of Chang (that's "Chung") beers which are bad but cheap... not that NZ$3 is actually that cheap for a beer considering what even we pay in a supermarket at home. Tonight I am again doing some wandering and largely avoiding the "night spots"... I did enough of an imitation of a tourist in Phuket and, while fun, that is all the boozing in places not really any different from anywhere else that I need for now. Tomorrow hopefully holds one of the highlights of the entire journey and I will report back on that soon.

This blog was brought to you from two different internet cafes for reasons best disclosed when I am home...

Once again don't be shy to drop an email to my hotmail and let me know the stories from where you are, it would be good to know what is going on while I am away from the world... I will apologise if I don't reply quickly, blogging takes up most of my internet time, but I am grateful!

Hope again that this finds everyone well and happy and healthy. I am off for a wander and then a shower (you only truely love showers when you are reminded what it is like not to have them... I think ten days is my personal record for not bathing in the tropics, but that was another place and time... be glad you weren't there. You don't appreciate what it smells like until after you get clean and then stand next to one of your mates who isn't yet...). Cheers all.