Sathorn

Neither of us slept well in the hot house that was our bedroom. The air was thick and still whilst noises of the city and an archaic pluming system rattled around us. Admittedly it was not solely these conditions that deterred our bodies from falling into deep sleep. The impending homecoming, with its sense of both ending and beginning, brought an excitement that whirled in our minds and bubbled beneath our skin.

Walking along the pavement (a novel experience after Vietnam), slick and shining with the early morning rain, we marvelled at the scale of the shopping malls that lined the streets. Towering upward with broad colourful signage to denote their brand, we detoured into these mountains of glitz, waltzing past giant cartoon sculptures and shining fashion displays. The scale and opulence was like nothing else we had seen in South East Asia and was somewhat comparable to parts of Las Vegas, minus the casinos. As with Trang Tien Plaza in Hanoi, there were no real bargains to be found and some of the prices in recognisable stores were even higher than back home (shirt in Topshop £90?!)

Our turning heels squeaked on the over polished floor as we took ourselves to what we had heard described as the 'working class mall' of Bangkok - MBK. This description is due to its layout being more like a market with thousands of makeshift stalls selling unbranded or fake branded clothing items at prices more in line with the average local salary. With limited finances the opportunity to replace some of our clothes, brutalised by 6 months backpacking, interested us.

After a day of much haggling for items that will likely disintegrate on their first wash, we met with Freddie, our friend from Stray who 'hopped off' the bus in Ho Chi Minh City.

Whilst our backpacking styles differ somewhat (Freddie was holding a signature Starbucks coffee, sporting a new haircut and staying in the Holiday Inn) he is very likeable and it was great to catch up on our respective adventures since we parted 3 weeks ago.

Freddie was in Bangkok to continue his own round the world trip by flying to Bali tomorrow before travelling to New Zealand and beyond. We wish him the very best on his travels and hope to see him back home once he returns next year!Read more