Stop 1: Bangkok

I have decided to group my blogs per place, so we'll start with my first port of call.. Bangkok.

My flight from Heathrow to Suvarnabhumi wasn't too bad. I was sat in 27C next to a lovely young couple going on holiday. Apparently they were incredibly lovely as not long into the journey they were bumped up to First Class!! This meant a whole row to myself.. until one of the Cabin Crew moved another couple (with a broken seat) to join me. Ah well. It was good while it lasted.

The plane touched down slightly later than expected, but we had been delayed departing, so the Captain made good time. Once I was through security and had fetched my bag it was about 10am local time. Now came the fun part of meeting my transfer "in front of Entrance 3". This was a longer walk than expected, I had arrived in front of Entrance 9. I found my name in the end and handed the lady my voucher. I was to wait for another two people.

Derek appeared about 10mins later and we chatted in our unofficial waiting area. What we were waiting for we weren't too sure, the guide didn't speak much English. Derek was on a different tour, covering more of Indochina, it sounded tempting! 20 minutes later we were herded off out through to the road. Here we met our driver (possibly who we'd been waiting for?) and discovered we were in different hotels too.

I was checked in and relaxing with a lemonade by 11.30. My room wouldn't be ready until 2pm, so I left my bag with reception. Bangkok is much more built-up than I had envisaged and so so humid! My sweat patches were something else, just from carrying my bag in the lift. Once I'd updated Facebook, read through TripAdvisor and organised my belongings, I was ready to explore.

Taking a map from reception I headed down to the lifts. Here, I met an older lady from California who was heading to the river. Perfect. She had a route all set up on her phone and had read about a weekend market too. Could we find the river? We had been walking parallel for some time, unsure of how and where to cut through. A local took pity on us and told us a cheaper way to board a boat, avoiding "tourist charges".

A short tuk tuk ride later we had arrived at a small dock for long-tail boats. We paid for an hour of sightseeing up the river and down a canal to see the old houses. Our driver also took us to see the biggest fish I had ever seen. They were floating/swimming real close to the surface and people were feeding them bread?!

We were then dropped off near Wat Pho and I paid the 100BHT to visit the Reclining Buddah. Nancy wasn't too fussed so waited for me outside. The buildings themselves were amazing, all very detailed and bright. To go inside the temple shoes had to be taken off, think my feet might have been a tad smelly after all the travel, but I happily obliged. Hope the odd socks didn't offend anyone.

Once I'd rejoined my new friend we decided to walk back to the hotel. Google told us it was only 37mins. It was quite a  straight walk and enabled us to get more of a feel of the city. We walked through market stalls and past building works, and it was easy until the last stretch. Because of road works we had to switch sides of the street a few times to get to where we wanted. We got there though!

We bade farewell at the lobby just after 3.30 and I grabbed my bag, eager to see my room. Apparently I had my own tonight! It was very cosy, with a big bathroom, mini kettle and air con. What more could I want. By this point I was flagging so had a nap, setting my alarm so I'd have time to freshen up for our Welcome Meeting at 6pm.

I made my way down about 5.40 so I could scout everyone out as they arrived. Roughly 5mins later I met Jen and Dan, a couple from up North. They're travelling for six months and have already been to Cambodia. Suddenly at 6 everyone appeared, and we moved into the restaurant. Our guide is called Boom Siri and she seems a good laugh, this is her dream job and ninth year running our tour!

Once we'd introduced ourselves, read through the itinerary, and signed a waiver it was nearly time for dinner. There are sixteen of us, three girls we haven't met yet, but so far we have five Germans, three Brits, a Swiss, a Dane, an Australian, an American and a Canadian. Quite a good mix and a variety of ages too.. I'm the baby!

We dumped our documents and headed out together (minus Mo, Sarah and Christina who were crashing a farewell dinner with their last group). We ate at a family run restaurant called Siam. I had Fried Noodles with Chicken, which was washed down with a fanta. Delicious. Our waiter was quite something, he was incredibly gay and took a fancy to Dan. Once Jen had claimed him he then proceeded to flirt with the single guys; Eric and Steffen. Hilarious.

Here we had our first rain, actually quite refreshing, until it hammered it down and we traipsed inside. I stayed up way past my bedtime, it was about 11 by time Steffen, Eric, Alex and Maran, Jen and Dan, and I walked back to the hotel. I agreed to meet Jen and Dan for breakfast  at 8.30 so straight to bed.

~

Slept okay, despite waking at 4ish, and again when next door's alarm went off. When my alarm went off at 7.30, I snoozed until about 8. Then I realised just how much I had spread in such little time and started to pack things away. Before I knew it, breakfast was calling. I had a tea, a chocolate swiss roll, fruit and guava juice. It was then back upstairs to pack properly.

After checking out and leaving our bags at reception, Jen Googled the best way to get to the Grand Palace and we were off. The best way included a metro, a short walk and a trip on the skytrain to the port. We then had to get the orange flagged water taxi to No.9. They don't half cram you on the boat, we were like sardines!

Once we'd squeezed our way off the boat, we walked to the entrance. It was so busy, with locals as well as tourists. The Thai King died last month and so people were travelling from all parts of the country to pay their respects. We were to pay 500BHT to visit the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah.

The architecture was really something, like Wat Pho it was so colourful and bright. There was gold leaf shining on most of the buildings, the complex was massive! To visit the Emerald Buddah we had to take our shoes off and join the queue. Inside, the temple was adorned with every colour crystal and precious gem I'd seen, it was stunning. It was so peaceful in there, no photos allowed and everyone was silent. The Buddah was incredible too, high on a pedestal in the centre. We were told to sit on the floor, and after an acceptable amount of time staring in awe, we left. 

The guys hadn't seen Wat Pho, so we made our way over. Whether it was because of the King, or another event, there was free food and water everywhere. I made the most of the free water and sat and waited outside while they went in. May have fallen asleep for a bit, it was warm and I was tired. Jen and Dan came back and we had to work out the route back to the taxi.

Once our reverse lap of the palace was complete, we made the journey back. Compared to our previous boat, this one was empty. We actually had a seat.. which obviously meant nap time for me. The next two trains seemed really quick and before we knew it we were back. We stopped off at Kafe Kafe for a late lunch, I cheated slightly and had chips. They were just what I needed. Then on to 7 Eleven to buy snacks for the train.

It's safe to say we were all apprehensive about this 11hr journey. While we were waiting for everyone we met the other three girls. They're Scottish and so sweet, Claire, Alison and Amy. Then it was time to heave the bag on and walk to the station. My seat/bed was 31, next to Eric and opposite Mo and Sarah.

And so it's goodbye Bangkok and on to Surat Thani...