Yesterday, with much excitement and twice as much coffee, we hauled ourselves out of the pit at 6 am to go and meet our beautiful friend and general “faffer” supreme Sarah at the airport. We got a little caught in Bangkok traffic along the way so by the time we arrived we were only waiting a few minutes and then HAZAAR!

A quick smoke, catch up and cuddle then back in a taxi to the Khao San Road with Stretters in toe.

Sarah got a room just across the hall from us and then off we went to walk the many stands and stalls of the Khao San Road, her eyes were all a flutter bless her and Georgie was spurred on by having another girl there. I tagged along behind, relieved that I didn’t have to be enthusiastic about every single item on every stall… Unfortunately for me this just got the shopping juices flowing and before I knew it we were in a Tuk Tuk… River taxi… The MBK centre!!! I wasn’t too fussed though despite having been there just a couple of days ago I knew Sarah was a little jet lagged and would go for too long… Wrong again, we saw just about all of the MBK and then even made time for a little of Central world before they relented.

We had and interesting taxi ride back to KSR, the driver had a very random collection of English music which he insisted on playing for us. That was all very nice of him except that he danced and changed CD’s while driving at pretty high speeds, he even started swerving in time with the music at one point.

Dinner at our local food stall and a good old scrub up we set off down the KSR to celebrate Sarah being with us in the best way we could think of… With Bangkok buckets full of Sangsom whiskey and dodgy Thai Redbull. We sunk several buckets while fending off the street hawkers and then Georgie had the brilliant idea of making our way to Patpong’s infamous red light district in search of a ladyboy cabaret… In theory this sounded like a lot of fun but I must admit I had my doubts from the outset and another manic tuk tuk ride later those doubts were confirmed, we saw no cabaret – only bar after bar advertising super pussy ping pong show and the touts trying to get us into their bars were out in force… Maybe it was the drink talking but we thought if we’ve come this far we should at least pop into one of these fine looking establishments for a drink, also Sarah and I needed to piss badly!

Once inside the pounding den of ladies in very tiny bikinis the whole situation was amplified, it was quite small inside with seemingly useless poles everywhere and a raised centre stage, every flat surface had a “lady” either dancing on it or sprawling across it. There were close to 50 girls all swinging and gyrating themselves about inside and at a glance… 3 men – needless to say I got what I could only call an “unnecessary” amount of attention from the outset, but we endured and drank our beers watching the numbered “girls” strut their stuff and to be honest it was quite fun… Luckily a pair of men clearly after a nice slice of ass came in after about ten minutes so most of the girls left me to my beer and started dripping off them… All that is except for one “lady” in particular who after getting in a fight over the flush looking new fellas came crawling back over to our table and started dry humping my leg… Of course Georgie and Sarah were loving it, but they did at least have room to see the funny side. I suddenly remembered I was desperate for a wee so I ducked out and left the girls getting seduced by a pair of dancers on the stage.

We didn’t stay for a second beer down at Patpong it was a little “claustrophobic” shall we say, so instead we got a taxi back to KSR for one last bed time bucket and some greasy fast food…

Today was supposed to be a look at Bangkok with our cultural glasses on but Stretters was super hung over and Georgie was still drunk so the best they managed was having a massage and getting their nails done in preparation for another night on the town… This time at the very exclusive Bed Supperclub, apparently the best club in all of Bangkok!

Some things never change and the Khao San road is one of them, just as chaotic and vibrant as ever. It was still early when we arrived in Bangkok but we both felt tip top, maybe it was because we managed some sleep on the night bus or maybe it was because we were so excited to be back here either way we new one thing for sure… We both urgently needed coffee and a shower – in that order, so we slipped off down a side alley just off the Khao San road and got ourselves the best little room we’ve ever had in Bangkok. Apart from the usual amenities our guest house also has two of the fluffiest little dogs I’ve ever seen, Georgie almost shits herself every time they’re out!

It doesn’t matter how many times we come to Bangkok and how many times we stroll down the Khao San road there is always so much going on it always takes a while to get our bearings… And the best way to get our bearings… Over a frosty pint at a kirb-side bar!

We took a walk up and down so Georgie could check out the stalls and see what’s hot and what’s not with this seasons hippy bums, earmark any good stalls for when Sarah arrives so they can hit them up and get a few essentials. I desperately needed a new pair of flip-flops because mine have worn down to a fine point at the front and are a good inch shorter than they used to be so my toes drag across the floor, also the second there is a dribble of water on the road I aquaplane all over the place which causes me to swing my arms about like a crazy monkey… Not a good look!

We found a really good food stall round the back of the KSR where the locals eat and pulled up a chair, I went for spicy chicken and Georgie had medium spicy fish… I shit you not it was like eating the sun! It was super tasty and delicious but it was the most intensely spicy thing that we have ever eaten, I sat sucking on ice cubes to try to cool off but in the end I had to dash into a shop and get a bottle of milk to douse the flames.

Feeling properly reacquainted with Bangers we started yesterday with purpose, Georgie needed a haircut and I needed some shorts so we made tracks to the MBK centre… Five shiny floors of shopping madness where almost everything is fake and cheap!!!

Georgie got an appointment straight away for her hair left me wandering about looking for some shorts. After half an hour or so I started to feel the strain of my new flip flops, I hadn’t yet worn them in properly and they had progressed from “rubbing” to “blister” and were in the final stages of “rubbed the blister and off going for bone.” Luckily I’d found somewhere that could sort me out some shorts and offer respite from my uber blister, I wanted cut off jean shorts and although they didn’t have any they did have a resident tailor who took the jeans I liked, the measurements I wanted and altered them for no extra cost, in less than an hour! We didn’t stay long after Georgie’s haircut because Sarah is coming tomorrow and I know full well that when I’m outnumbered I won’t stand a chance of avoiding hours and hours of shopping “fun.”

Again somehow I managed to balls up the flight info Sarah had given us and instead of her arriving today as I thought she arrives tomorrow, so with no need to get up early we decided to go out for a few drinks down the KSR… Georgie hadn’t even finished her first long island ice tea before she was pissed and by the time I’d helped her finish her second she was hammered and rowdy. We had a great night, just us two sitting in the rooftop bar, looking down on all the action and a live band playing behind us. By the time we left it was pissing with rain and the walk up to the falafel stand was nothing short of death defying, due to my new flip flops trying to kill me from the feet up I had opted for my old ones and it was like trying to walk on ice… Pissed! I must have looked like I was doing the funky chicken all the way up the road. We got back to our room with the same slip-sliding funky chicken walk and I got Georgie right where she needed to be… Bed!

Friday night up the Khao san road is as ever an assault on the senses, but a familiar one and when your all over the place like us loveable scruffs a little something familiar is always nice.

We went along again yesterday to the awesome central world to finish off what we couldn’t do in a single day and of course see what all the fuss was about at Elle fashion week. We did a little shopping before heading outside for a smoke, sat down on the edge of a large fountain just outside the Elle “enclosure” and sat and watched for a while. Models were coming and going in varying states of preparation all over the show and Georgie was pondering how the hell we could slide in and hob nob with the “beautiful people”. No sooner had she asked me to strut my stuff and blag us in just like at festivals back home I moved my hand back and what did I find… A security pass, this instantly brought the fiend out in Georgie, usually she will march back into Tesco’s if they over change her… Not this time! I slipped it in my pocket and we wandered around by the press registration area hoping to spot the kind of person that was sporting this particular type of pass… Lots of dolled up people were arriving and what looked like some Thai celebrities, also a fabulous drag queen in the most extreme wig I have ever seen. Unfortunately all we saw was invitations even for the photographers, so seeing as security was tighter than a ducks arse we decided not to chance a night in the cells, also we only had one pass and I didn’t want it work and be sat there on my own with the drag queen… We stood and watched for a while expecting something good to happen but it never did, they all trotted off into the big snazzy tent and that was that. We hailed a tuk tuk and headed back to our home from home, the Khao san road. It was the hight of rush hour and getting one that didn’t want a ridiculous amount was difficult enough, I managed to get one young lad down to a fair price and instantly regretted it. Obviously keen to get us where we wanted to go so he could pick up the next victim he tore off at awesome speed. Looking ahead there was no room to walk between the cars but this little fella was managing it at break neck speeds, initial terror soon gave way to mounting admiration for what was some amazing driving… It was fucking impressive! We got back safe and sound, went for some grub at a really nice place we found just of the Khao san then finished the evening just pottering about soaking it all in before we head off again.

This morning after a fairly good lie in we went for breakfast at the place we had eaten last night and as we finished and walked out we stumbled across Tom and Jo, two wicked people we were living next door to when we were on Koh Phagnan for a few weeks. Tom was the chap who taught Toby how to Poi and Jo was also a super poi’er. We sat and caught up with them for a while and then they had to head off to get some things from the MBK centre just around from central world, always up for a shop we joined them and had a wander around too. It was really good to see them again and I’m sure we will again soon, we all sloped back to the Khao san then Georgie and I booked our tickets for Koh Tao, tomorrow at 9pm. Got a few little eronds out the way like Ipod movies for buses and speakers for beach huts and that was about that for the day. Back to our room to slob out and get some sleep ready for the almighty weekend market. One last blast at the thing before we go home for Christmas…

Here we are again in Bangkok more specifically the Khao san road… With our new slimmer bags packed we were picked up from our guest house in Chiang Mai on the dot of 6:30 and we had spent all day dreading the 12hr journey and preparing for it in any way we could. This included downloading podcasts, (BBC radio shows) buying books and magazines, anything to try and break it up a little. Once on the bus we put to ease a little because it was the first night bus in Thailand with proper reclining seats, not all the way back but as good if not a little better than on a plane. We had one scheduled stop at a midnight café for food and drinks and one when the driver needed a wee but apart from that it was go go go. The distractions we had spent the day accumulating were life savers and we were soon at the rest stop, cigarettes were rolled with lightning speed and in a vain atemp to get some kip we even bought little cartons of chilled ovaltine. At the stop several busses rolled in just after us and on one was a couple called Mark and Sheena we had met in the sailing club in Nha Trang, Vietnam, also going to Bangkok… We had a little chin wag as best we could under the circumstances and decided to meet up at some point for a few beers in Bangkok. Then came the secret weapon… In Vietnam and especially Cambodia the bus journeys are a killer and the pharmacies are very easy going and whilst in Vietnam we had purchased a pack of sleeping pills, never really had the need to use them but because our time in Thailand is drawing to a close we didn’t want to waste a day laying in our rooms trying to wrestle back a bit of sleep we poped one each and got back on the bus. Some of the roads in Thailand are pretty rough and team that with a pretty old bus with minimal to no suspension it sounds like some one is firing an anti aircraft gun in the toilet below every time we come to a pot holed stretch of tarmac. As we layed as stretched out as we could deperately willing ourselves to sleep listening to the racket below the sleeping tablets kicked in and 6 hurs later we woke up as the bus was entering Bangkok, the sun was rising and the sky was pink and the best thing about it was we both felt pretty alright and had managed a fair bit of sleep. We were dropped off at one end of the Khao san road at 6:30ish and took a gentle hike down the infamous street towards the Siam Oriental hotel, our usual hang out when we are in Bangkok. It nice going back to a place and when we do we always stay in the same guest house or hotel if we can and if it was ant good because it’s one of the few opportunities we get to have a slice of the fimiliar. It was encouraging to see the usual assortment of casualties, drunk people still singing and whailing, Thais asleep on the floor after one too many and rubbish being hurriedly swept up by masked council workers befor the next day and the next plane load arrive. We checked in to a simple but tidy room, laid on the beds hoping for a tiny bit more sleep and the next thing we knew it was 10:30 and we had been out like lights for 4 more hours. Feeling very refreshed with a good nights sleep behind us we set about doing what we came here for… This time it was shopping… again! We headed off to Central world a sprawling new shopping complex in the heart of the new Siam square district, eveything is flashy everything is shiny and it is a million miles away from the craziness of the Khao san road. On arrival we stumbled across an outdoor stage being erected and much security loitering around, turns out that for the next 4 days its Elle fasion week in Bangkok! We descended on the shops with as much gusto as we could muster and by the time we left we must have walked close to a marathon but the place is so massive that we bareley scratched the surface, we will of course return today in the evening mainly to take a look-see at whats going on but we do have unfinished business there because this is the last time we will be in Bangkok long enough to do anything before we jet off to Dubai with mummy and daddy. By the time we were back down the Khao san road it was late and after the mandatory stroll up and down we turned in.

The taxi ride back from the airport seemed to take forever and Georgie bless her was still pretty upset about saying goodbye but we got back to the Koh San rd and headed for a place Toby and Laura had found that was cheap, had aircon and free breakfast… it even had a lift! Not a patch on where we had been staying the past week but where would be… It was nice enough with a window that looked out on the Koh San rd below and Friendly staff. Once we got settled I thought the best plan of action was to keep Georgie busy and retail therapy sprung to mind…

Of course she was over the moon with that and off we went, also we had sort of made a grand plan to go from Bangkok to Koh Chang hopefully meet up with Toby and Laura one last time and then head to the south coast of Cambodia followed by Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam then up to Halong Bay in the north. We started with the essentials of tickets, malaria medicine and swap our books but the scorching heat was a bit much after the week long luxury of air-con and I had the cracking idea of going back to Siam until it cooled off… Central wordl shopping mall is by far the best mall ive ever been in and probably the biggest too, after several hours and bareley scratching the surface (and seeing the white tiger again!)we were pooped and i thought my legs might fall off so we got Georgie some root beer, then jumped in a taxi back to the Koh San rd to pick up a last few bits and bobs before turning in and drifting off to distant bass drums pumping and the glorious hum of air con…

hey hey everybody… last night and yesterday we had a full day with toby in bangkok and we decided not to stray from the ko san road and head back off to ko samet today, we just went from market stall to bar to food stall all day long soaking it all up and watching all the other backpackers doing the same. in the evening after discussing whether to go see a “ping pong show” or not (we didnt !) we found a grotty little shithole bar with a bloody good live band and we couldnt tear ourselves away and ended up staying all night! as we wandered up and down ko san rd for snacks from the street vendors Georgie decided she would get some grasshoppers! and meal worms…. and bless her cotton socks after several quality tunes and many many tiger beers she plucked up the courage and chowed down!.. but me and toby ducked out of that one, i claimed that i hated soy sauce, which they were covered in. also earlier in the evening we found a tiny reggae bar down a little dark alley and knocked a couple back there and as we did a little family of cats appeared 2 of which were so tiny they could fit in your hand… and of course georgie had to feed them and stroke them and love them and this morning all three of us have flea bites! as i write this we are packed onto the bus heading back to the beautiful island of ko samet.
we have really setlled into things now and we know roughly what things should be costing and have heard all the scams and getting around with a little bit of knowledge is infinately easier, starting to really feel like hardcore backpackers now. thanks for all the comments we love to get them and so many people have said they are planning to come see us and we cant wait because we miss you all so much
love love love big A and G unit xxxx

after some initial confusion (we couldnt find him and got
his flight time mixed up) we were sat at a bar and Toby just wandered past!!!!! of course by the time his backpack hit the ground we were pretty pissed! me and georgie had been drinking before anyway just trying to kill a little time before he arrived at an amzing bar with live music on a balcony overlooking the ko san road, and georgie fell in love with the tiny spanish guitarist. it all suddenly feels like backpacking and not just a holiday, now toby is here and hearing all his stories of south america. this morning we went for a shop down the street and just took it all in, although we have been here already this is the first time we stayed here and it was cool doing it all again with toby. we hatched a plan to take toby to ko samet then along to ko chang and then to the southern beaches of cambodia. that could all change but at least we tried….
in a while english crocodiles
love from the three amigos xxxxxx

well we made it back to bangkok and back to the backpacker ghetto that is the kho san road, the journey from ko samet took only 3 hours in relative comfort, although the bus might as well have had square wheels it was that shakey but it was cool and nearly empty and really quite enjoyable… it dropped us at bangkok bus terminal east and as we got off we were proptly ushered aside by the fuzz and told they would search us for “puff”, it was funny really because i had just been thinking how up until then not one person had asked to see our passports for any reason. but as you probably gathered we had opted not to be international drug traffickers and the police found nothing and really very nice about it all and let us on our way.
jumped in a taxi and headed straight here and within 10 minutes had found a very cool clean air con room at Tops Inn, for 3 people and will be happy to take 4 if Laura is with toby, and at less than 200 baht each…a steal.
catch you soon loved ones….beauty and the handsome beast xxxxx