Bangkok, Thailand (26/5/07 - 29/5/07)

I was glad to be arriving into some better weather but nervous about not knowing the language again. However, I'd booked a tour of Thailand with a Thai and English speaking guide. The tour wasn't scheduled to meet until tomorrow, so I just settled into the comfortable hotel, had a swim in the pool and sauna. At night, I ventured onto the streets for some Pad Thai. Although just like pizza in Italy, I believe these dishes taste better in Australia. Maybe it's what I'm used to or maybe we have higher standards. Before hitting the sack, I got a well deserved massage.

The next day was all about meeting the tour group. I was a little disappointed as most of the group had been travelling together in the Northern parts of Thailand for a few weeks. I was out of the loop in a lot of the conversations. Some of the group were a little annoying too, especially a girl from Montreal who thought she was the best thing since sliced bread but ironically was ugly as hell. We had dinner with some of the group while the others went to a seperate dinner to say goodbye to their previous tour leader.

The 1st day of the tour included a trip on a long tail boat, followed by a songtaew (bike taxi) to the Grand Palace. The river stunk and was extremely polluted but the experience in a new form of transport shadowed the negatives. The Grand Palace was what you would expect to see in Thailand and fairly impressive (especially if you were religious). We got to see the famous reclining Buddha. Buddha's everywhere.

Upon returning to the hotel, we prepared for the overnight train journey to Surat Thani - where we would catch the ferry to Koh Samui. The train was comfortable but since it had a mini disco where I could play tunes from my iPod and drink with the group, I didn't spent much time in the cot (the person standing with their back facing is a lady-boy).

Return rating: 5