It's all about Bangkok!

Writing this post on the night train from Bangkok to Surat Thani: it’s going to take approx. 11 hours, we’ll be arriving around 4.50 am, then taking bus + ferry to Koh Phangan Island – To give you an idea of the price, we paid the equivalent of 25 euros for a package deal (train/bus/ferry) at Hua Lamphong station. Pretty reasonable… Still can’t get over how cheap life is over here!!! I must admit I’m quite happy: despite the last-minute flights I paid for Thailand, I’m still going to stay within my budget - life is so much cheaper here than in Bali!! I reckon we'll stay on the same island for the rest of the holiday - Doro will stay in the South and I’ll take the train back to Bangkok (from Chumphon station) on the 12th in order to catch my flight to Denpasar on the 13th. Can’t wait to be on the beach and finally make the most of the sunshine!!!

Little summary of our stay in Bangkok:
We stayed two nights in the Sri-Yuttayah Guesthouse (close to the National Library) recommended by one of Doro’s backpacker friends - 500 BAT/night (fan but no AC, shared bathroom)

I definitely recommend this place – very basic, yet pretty and clean, close to the Khao San area, but not noisy and touristy like some of the other hostels there! It’s quite difficult for taxis to find though, so take a map with you to show its location – I was told most drivers come from the rural areas so don’t actually know Bangkok that well…we once had to tell the guy he was actually going the opposite way and we’d only just arrived in the city!! One thing I’ve noticed in Thailand is that local taxi drivers don’t like tourists AT ALL. How many times have taxi drivers just sniffed at us or waved us away when we asked for the meter or tried negotiating the prices…Quite comical at times, less funny when you’ve been trying to catch a cab for over half an hour!! It’s crazy when you think that some tourists agree to pay 300 BAT for a tuk-tuk ride…

Our flight arrived quite late but we still took the time to explore Khao San by night – that place is crazy!!! Loved the atmosphere, so busy and lively…It’s like landing on another planet! We had dinner there (which was unfortunately not very well tolerated by our stomachs lol), got another manicure at midnight and walked around the streets til 2 am…

The following day we visited Wat Pho, the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok – so beautiful and colorful. I was amazed by the Buddha sculpture – the biggest in the country. We then walked along the river to China Town where we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening just wandering around the flower market and the busy shopping streets…Paris just seems so boring and dull compared to all these places!!!

We then went up the Baiyoke Tower (the tallest building in Thailand) to enjoy the view of the city by night – 400 BAT to go up to the 84th floor + one free drink at the Skybar :) definitely worth the price!!!

We visited the Grand Palace (former royal residence) the following morning – also worth the 500 BAT entry fee. We walked back to Khao San for a bit of shopping before heading to the train station (yes, no need to ask…of course we bought the “Same, Same…But Different” tops ;)) photo coming soon!

I think 2 days are enough to visit Bangkok, although I’d love to come back with a bunch of friends to enjoy the party scene – there are so many bars, cheap drinks, cheap food everywhere, it’s ideal! Would also have liked to check out the floating markets but time is lacking – next time I guess ;)

Love,

Laura xxx