Day 2 - Bangkok with a Bang

22:30
I suspect these updates will be a daily affair. It transpires that having my travel partner in crime with me means that my ‘spare’ time for writing is occupied with much laughter and stuff. There will always be times when Vicks is sleeping, and I am not.

Lots to catch up on though. Our first flight from Gatwick was a breeze. We both managed about 3 hours sleep from a total flying time of a shade over 6 hours, which is a pretty good result. We land around 07:30, and have a frankly leisurely transit at Dubai airport, with more than enough time for a couple of beers at Hard Rock Café. I love transit airport bars, particularly those with such a geographical reach as Dubai. All time-zones are represented, and we enjoy guessing what body-clock time different travellers are on. There are the Europeans, for whom it’s 04:00 or thereabouts, the North Americans, who are at the midnight end of the day, and Asians, who are approaching lunch. For all, it’s definitely beer o’clock.

Our second flight is an equally straightforward affair. Flying time on this leg is only 5 1/2 hours, as we’ll catch a heavy tail wind most of the way. Again, we manage some decent sleep. 3 hours for Vicks, and near enough to that for me. We should both feel fresh enough on arrival to manage to head out for some beers and food.

Deplaning in Bangkok, we’re met by a wall of heat. From the air-conditioned cool of the plane to the tropical humidity of the city is a body shock. Immigration is done in a jiffy - neither of us is asked any questions about our stay, visas etc etc. The drive into the city is a slightly fraught affair, our driver determined that we’ll make it to our hotel in record time. Fair play to him - Google Maps reckoned it was a 40 minute drive, but we arrive in less than 30. It’s 20:00 local time, and we both feel like our journey has rushed past very quickly, despite the distance we’ve travelled.

Checked in and cooled down, we head out into Banglamphu for an explore and for some sustenance. I’ve marked a bunch of places in Google Maps that are worth a visit, and most appear to be cocktail bars. We womble to one of the food places I’ve recommended, which transpires to be a tiny restaurant serving some cracking Thai staples. We share some fried rice noodles, a green papaya salad and some fried dumplings - all of which are excellent. I’m a huge fan of these Thai salads, and often make a version at home with cucumber, carrot and shredded raw swede. When ordering, we’re asked how hot we’d like it. “Tourist spicy’ is our reply. We agree on 1 chilli, and that’s about right. I could stomach more, but I’m not sure it would be in my long-term best interests. Including a couple of beers, the damage is about £12.

We wander a little further towards the river, and find the incredibly named “Adhere the 13th Blues Bar.” We sit at a small street side table watching the world go by, me with a beer and Vicki with a Pina Colada. This tiny joint is heaving, and a band is warming up. The smells of Thai weed drift down the street. The band are good, playing boogie-woogie style blues pretty effectively. A trio of middle-aged European men arrive, and I can’t help but think ‘sex tourists.’

We’re both approaching the finishing line. We manage one more beer at a backpacker bar in the back streets of Banglamphu, and stumble back to our hotel room. It’s 23:00, and we’re both hopeful that our sleeps earlier will mean we get a decent sleep through the night. Fingers crossed etc etc.Meer informatie