Tuesday 25 November 2014

1. Arrival in Bangkok: Parte the first

These are writings from a journal I kept whilst travelling in southeast Asia that I have only just got around to “writing up”. It is mostly unabridged, although not entirely because despite it being nearly 2 years ago I realise there are some things I remember now that had not written down, and some things I had written down that were basically tedious drivel that is of interest to nobody! Although saying that I can't promise there wont be some boring bits, but then I don't know what you're into, dearest reader. Hopefully it's reading about travelling.
The arrival at Heathrow was a mixed bag of emotions for me. Probably partially caused by the 5am start combined with the late drunken night staying at a friend's mansion in the middle of London. They had kindly offered me a lift to the airport for my flight - so I was very appreciative of that. It was a long serving friend, although I had never seen their house. It was a surreal evening where I rubbed shoulders with some entertainingly odd upper middle class types and got lost every time I tried to find the toilet. Before leaving I obviously checked and triple checked my backpack, which at this point I felt a little bit silly having to lug around, having not gotten accustomed to it yet. I also triple checked my plane ticket; Checked my Thailand cash was safe and generally panicked. I was finally ready, my plans had all come to fruition. However this turned out to be about 15 minutes too early, and so I had an agonising 15 minutes wait as my friend prepared himself, disappeared, reappeared, had a cigarette, used the toilet. All the while I tapped my feet, eyes on the time. I needn't have worried, we were underway roughly on time, and so we made our way through the predawn traffic. I must admit at this point I was shitting my pants a bit. Once there I hopped out of the car without too much ceremony or shedding of tears, and wandered into the airports hive of activity with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. So I had planned to travel to south east asia for a few months for the first time. It would be the first extended traveling I will have done solo, and the first time I have been outside Europe (unless you count Moscow). I had saved something like 5/6k so had spent much of the year of saving attempting to plan an itinerary for my budget. I went over all this again a few times on the plane. The flights over took 15 odd hours. It was highlighted by nothing. A minor frisking at Heathrow. I then got another minor frisking in Mumbai by some heavily armed Indians. After that I enjoyed delicious curry from Mumbai to Bangkok; and was amused as many of the new passengers took endless photos of each-other sat on the plane. It lead me to assume that the plane journey must be the highlight of their trip! Eventually I touch down in Bangkok, 7am local time. The plane had thus far protected me from the heat; but I was punched in the face by it as I stepped into the local air. At this point I was 100% in the hands of my guidebook having never been to this part of the world before. It suggested trying to get a public bus into town at the airport, but much wandering, asking people and looking at signs only yielded a healthy amount of sweat. “screw this” I eventually thought, and wandered over to where the taxis were. I had been careful to pick out where to stay the first night, so knew where to ask for and was very hopeful that they understood English. “Hey! Can you take me to Kao San road?” I ask one of the men cordially, with a grin. “Kao San?” The driver replies “bleugh!” I laugh. He doesn't. Is 'bleaugh' a word in Thailand? I'm not sure it is... I'm suddenly doubtful about my choice. I don't really have any alternative at this point however, so we agree on some sort of price. Well, I say we agreed, but I actually didn't even bother to haggle, which my guidebook insisted I always do. I am still quite nervous, and didn't want to annoy my new friend! This is my first exposure to “non-europe” roads, and is a nice intro to the place; seeing the swarms of scooter mounted Thais periodically envelop the taxi, as we drive. The driver is a little "swervy", but relatively sedate from what I understand of some other cities. The taxi is modern, and his air-con is a godsend. We leave the artery roads and weave our way deeper into the city, and eventually arrive in the right area. For some reason I direct the taxi driver to drop me off at the wrong "soi" (street). I don't immediately notice this though, so get out, head down it and and become immediately lost. I am a little baffled as to how to navigate anywhere here for a few reasons. Firstly the sois (on which the 'Bella Bella River View' guesthouse I am looking for is located) are often little more than alleyways that adjoin the larger roads; Secondly the signs are tiny and sometimes in odd places; Thirdly the pavements are hidden behind stalls of tasty smelling food, garbage, scooters and whatever else. The heat and humidity of the place is overwhelming and despite having chose light cottony clothes I still feel like I’m going to sweat to death before even finding my guesthouse. I drink all of my water, swap my hiking shoes for flip flops and consult my guidebook. After much wandering, doubling back, and generally looking like a lost tourist I finally find myself at the end of a tiny, winding soi at the guesthouse. I heavily fumble checking in thanks to jet lag and culture shock (definitely not general nincompoopery), and go to my room. 

So there is a river view! it's not just clever marketing...
The room is clean & spacious. I drop my bag and take a few minutes to let the fact that I have made it sink in. I then set off on my first foray into the city.

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