Bangkok between coups and bombs
Our cheap carrier delivered us safely at Bangkok's new international airport, Suvarnabhumi. We were surprised to find that the design and layout of this new airport was not very impressive at all. The streets are bustling with traffic (nothing like Delhi though) and all the official taxis are bright orange or pink or yellow or green or blue colours - really vibrant.
Before long we were on a bus shuttle to Khao Sanh Road - the road with the highest permanent concentration of backpackers that we know of anywhere in the world. One of the aspects of this road that really tickled us was the enormous silver and bead shops to be found everywhere. We immediately found a fantastic room for our next 2 nights, handed our passports in to get our Vietnam and Cambodia visas, booked a bus to Laos and hit the streets of Bangkok. Much interneting, shop browsing, good eating and kuiering was done in this time. We hooked up with Maryanne, a new South African friend we met briefly during our home break. She spoilt us rotten: everything from a thoughtful package of crave food and other goodies to delightful french dining (i.e. really good steak and wine) and a park lunch. We also managed to fit in a visit to the royal palace grounds which was such a great bombardment of the senses.
An enormous highlight for Janine was her 1.5 hour Thai massage - her favourite type of massage in the whole world! She is still trying to convince Johan to do a Thai massage course. She was also more than ready to enjoy the Thai seafood which she did continuously and with great relish...
Before long we were on a bus shuttle to Khao Sanh Road - the road with the highest permanent concentration of backpackers that we know of anywhere in the world. One of the aspects of this road that really tickled us was the enormous silver and bead shops to be found everywhere. We immediately found a fantastic room for our next 2 nights, handed our passports in to get our Vietnam and Cambodia visas, booked a bus to Laos and hit the streets of Bangkok. Much interneting, shop browsing, good eating and kuiering was done in this time. We hooked up with Maryanne, a new South African friend we met briefly during our home break. She spoilt us rotten: everything from a thoughtful package of crave food and other goodies to delightful french dining (i.e. really good steak and wine) and a park lunch. We also managed to fit in a visit to the royal palace grounds which was such a great bombardment of the senses.
An enormous highlight for Janine was her 1.5 hour Thai massage - her favourite type of massage in the whole world! She is still trying to convince Johan to do a Thai massage course. She was also more than ready to enjoy the Thai seafood which she did continuously and with great relish...