Just on the toilet in Hanoi airport and thought I’d use the time effectively!
Yesterday we took a river bus out to the Reclining Budda, Grand Palace and the Emerald Budda, all very grand. I had to queue for an hour as I had to rent some trousers as shorts were a no no.
We eat a lunch of sticky rice and bbq chicken at a steet cafe. Nothing soecial, but at 65 baht (£1.20) I wasn’t complaining.
After a quick snooze we headed out to Paragon Mall to meet Mike & Cha for dinner. Laura use to work with Mike at Centrica. We ended up eating at the place next to the hostel Laura stayed at last time she was here. I had a whole Sea Bass …. mmmmm.
We had an intetesting start to the day today with a narcoleptic taxi driver taking us to the airport! Me and Lau were chatting as we were sat in Bangkok traffic and we heard this snoring sound from the front. This was to happen virtually every time we stopped!!
Highlights for me were:
First meal on the street – the energy of the street, the smell of food that permeates Bangkok and the realisation that we were actually away, finally.
Getting scammed
View from The Dome
Bangkok. Done.
Just had dinner at a place called Cabbages and Condoms. It’s a charity setup to help out Thai women. The Gates Foundation gave it £1M recently.
The food was excellent and the tables were set outside where we were surrounded by plants and trees.
Oh, and there was the occasional sculpture made out of jonnies! I like the one attached of Santa.
We’ve just been for a drink at The Dome bar on the 64th floor of some posh hotel. Aparently the attached restaurant is the highest open air restaurant in the world.
The entry cost: a pair of shoes! Being a posh hotel, they don’t let flip flop clad travellers like us in. They do however let you in if you buy a pair of the cheapest looking shoes (check them out, they had velcro!) from a very nice lady at the shoe shop around the corner.
So, at the second attempt we were in and all bad memories of trying to get in clubs as a kid ebbed away (Xanadu anyone!!).
The views were well worth the shoes though, although the Mojito wasn’t quite up to standard.
I popped back to see the nice shoe lady on the way out and gifted her my shoes … she didn’t know quite what to do, but I reckon there is a fair few more entries in them yet.
Laura wanted to go back to have a drink in a hostel her and Kaz (Payne) stayed at last time she was in Bangkok.
We managed to find where they’d written in the wall … up the ‘Dale!
We figured out that Kaz wrote this 7 years ago almost to the day back in 2002.
I think our first hotel (www.lamphutreehotel.com) pretty much hits the mark as the definition of flashpacking.
Flower Juice on arrival
Pool
Americans saying “oh my goodness”
Free wifi – a number if guests seem to have tiny laptops and iPhones (I thought I would be the only loser!)
Breakfast of fresh fruit, bacon, eggs and coffee served to you at the table on the veranda.
Preppy Americans in Chinos
Large LCD in the bar showing Larry King on CNN and the impeachment of the Illinois Governer (not that I’m watching it or anything as I’m listening to Lau talk about Temples. I am.)
Which all add up to a dizzyingly high 11th place on Trip Advisor … I’ll be voting to keep it there.
Fresh off the boat and we were shown no mercy!
Contrary to Lau’s meticulous plan, we were being whisked around various Buddas and retail outlets within 5 minutes of leaving our hotel!
I think the order was thus:
Standing Budda – quite impressive.
Tailor – you buy suit, Sir.
Lucky Budda (the irony)
Jeweller – you buy Ruby for Madam, Sir.
Black Budda
Stop – take us to the Sky Train chief, we’ve got a plan to get back to.
And the cost of this deceipt … 50p! Damn you pesky seemingly helpful Thai man helping us with our map.
To be fair Lau called it early to my protests of going with the flow and “he seemed really genuine”. Sucker.
It won’t be our last!
Later in the day we went to the vast markets at Chatuchak and ate Pad Thai at a street stall before heading back to our Hotel, stopping off for a 1h full body Thai massage of course.
So, 3 hours to go of the 11 hour flight to Bangkok.
The flight hasn’t been to bad, although my new Zen state is being tested as I’m flanked by a middle aged, overweight Aussie who has little regard for the boundry between my seat and his. This particular Aussie also comes with a stream of other middle aged Aussies who visit regularly to say c**t. Nice!
Me and Lau had a final British pint at Heathrow before boarding. I went with a pint of ale as a figured there wouldn’t be much of that where we’re going, Lau on the other hand … “I’ll have a Stella, that’s British”! I pointed out that getting blind drunk on Stella was British, but we didn’t have time for that 
This travelling lark is all feeling extremely real now. I very rarely get nervous or aprehensive, but there was an hour or so at the airport where my stomach was doing back flips. I think more because of what I’m leaving behind rather than what lies ahead.
Righto, off to watch another mediocre film with the right elbow of a fat man in my rib cage …
