thailand travelogue, bangkok travelogue

thailand travelogue - the odd couple 21-08-2003 [17:20 LOCAL TIME] - New Siam II Guesthouse, Bangkok

Well I've made it to Thailand and what can I say...fantastic! The flight on Cathay Pacific was the worst I've had so far. It was a turbulence-fest and at one point during landing I thought we had actually landed only to look past my equally scared partner to see we were still about 500ft off the ground. It really was something else with children crying and one woman screaming. Anyway, we made it and are staying in the best hotel yet, New Siam II Guesthouse.   Yesterday we went to a restaurant with 'the odd couple' - he's an Australian living in London and she's an English hypochondriac. Anyway we had the best tasting Thai Red Curry ever...but...my thought, "hmmm, I don't want this inside me!"...Projectile vomit then ensued and to put it bluntly, I spewed all over the restaurant floor! It came on almost instantaneously. I was sitting talking and the next minute, I came over sick and spewed. The second it was all out I felt fine and we ended up dancing the night away at 'Gulliver's' until 03:00am - Don't think we're going to eat at that restaurant again. Checked out the infamous 'Khao San Road' today and bought six CD's for £3.00...   ...BTW, I gave the restaurant owner 40 Baht to clear up my sick!   - Matt.

thailand travelogue - ladyboys and oz language 26-08-2003 [13:25 LOCAL TIME] - New Siam II Guesthouse, Bangkok

I've been partying every night until the early hours! Gulliver's, our second home, is the party place on Khao San Road and at 23:00 the place really starts thumping. The clientele is a mixture of Thai girls, Thai prostitutes, Thai ladyboys and westerners. At first I couldn't tell which were ladyboys and which weren't but now realise it's not appearances, it's how they act. Ladyboys are men trying to act like girls and they can't quite pull it off...Also the adam's apple is a bit of a giveaway! I've met some really cool people whilst in Bangkok, but also some complete 'knob shanks' (knob shanks is a Corrick phrase). I'm trying to collect Irish Rugby shirts whilst travelling and wore my 'Durty Nellies' shirt in Gulliver's. This Irish chap came up to me, drunk of cause, and gave me a hug saying it was great to see another Irelander.  Let's just say he was a bit disappointed with my English accent. Anyway, we had a great laugh and have met up most nights. We've book our train and ferry tickets to take us over to the island of Ko Samui and will be sitting on a picture postcard beach by midday on Thursday. This travelling thing is a weird pastime which at times doesn't sink in. Ko Samui is a fantastically beautiful island where people save up for years to go to or honeymooners jet off to to find that overly romantic destination...I'll be there for 700 Baht (£12UK)! Sometimes I have to really think about where I am as it just doesn't seem real. I may have mentioned this in a previous entry but what makes travelling really special are all the characters you meet - good and bad...like Quentin Tarantino said, "Just cause you are a character, does mean you have character". When I first came away I was a bit worried about meeting new people, but I needn't have been. It just happens and strong bonds seem to form between the nice ones almost immediately. There are bad experiences too...Take the 'odd couple' staying at our hotel. Originally they were like limpets and just clung to us but sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind. A few mornings ago I staggered back to the hotel after being out all night and I heard this Australian voice..."Hey Mattski, grab a stubby and pull up a chair you f***ing c***"...He probably meant well in his own eloquent way, but I just couldn't be bothered to even speak to him so just kept walking. People like that should have there passport endorsed.   - Matt.

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