I came away with every intention of writing this everyday. Like a big girl with a big gay diary. However after nearly 3 weeks I until now have failed to record anything of interest to anything except my hazy, inebriated brain (or what, after years of cannabis and alcohol abuse, is left of it.) But as I sit on this night train - freezing cold night train - waiting to depart from the beautiful gateway town that is Surat Thani, I thought i should make a start. This is not due to my overwhelming desire to write a big gay diary, but simply because this train was supposed to be a 'sleeper' train. Complete with beds and curtains, and at least some form of heat. But it is not. No bed. No curtains (which in turn bring privacy - and the small child running and screaming in the aisle next to me is testament to the lack of this.) But this is Thailand. And Thailand does exactly the opposite of what it says on the tin. Air Conditioned = Fan. Clean = Dirty. Lady = Boy. Etc.. But oh well, back we go to my favourite place in the whole world: Bangkok. For what is already the third, and hopefully final, time.
--- I was just about to make a comment about the plate of food I've been handed and say how much nicer it looked than our English train and plane food. Then i spotted the fish-eye staring at me from the curry. And oh look I'm sharing my seat with a cockroach. There's an added bonus. Maybe he's desert for after my fish-face main course.---
Anyway I've put my Michelin Star dinner to one side so i may as well see if my for once clear head can remember the first 3 weeks of Thailand...
I arrived in Bangkok after a day and a half of travelling from London. Via Mumbai - note to self: do not place India high on list of places to visit - into a busy metropolitan airport that aside from the majority of skin colours, could have been Heathrow. No scrap that, it was exactly like Heathrow. Then a taxi across town - through the bright lights - to Silom and Lub D (My hostel). Welcome to the other side of the world! Or not. Big bar serving a selection of local Thai drinks: Heineken, Smirnoff Ice, Lipton's Ice Tea etc. Six computers with free internet access. Electronic room keys. Decor like a trendy New York hot-spot and a big stainless-steel and marble bathroom with hot power showers and frosted glass doors. All traditional Thai features i presume..
So after reassuring myself that I hadn't just spent 36hours travelling to the Premier Inn on the A64 I decided to go introduce myself to the people in my dorm. Oh. Empty. Ok well back down to the bar and outside for a beer and a smoke. Half way down the beer and the jet-lag began to kick in - well, that and the fact that a Scouser turned up and started speaking to me. - So I decided to retire to bed and wake up early in the morning to go explore. Early for me in England is anything before 11am. But it turns out my body decided it liked 4am more. As it did the next day. And the day after that. Stupid body clock.
So Bangkok was... different. Nice people in my hostel, if a little crazy and free spirited due to the months of life on the road. but as for Bangkok as a place, not for me. Too hot (No sunshine, just a hell of a lot of sweat), too busy and just too much of a big fat city.
-- Oh good my train's decided to set off now. 10.17pm. Supposed departure time = 8.41. Not bad by Thai standards --
Some nice sights in Bangkok, bust also alot of not so nice sights in Bangkok. I have never seen and smelled so many cars before. Traffic everywhere. All day long. So no, Bangkok - not for me. So I decided to get the 13hour sleeper train up north to Chiang Mai. This train was actually a sleeper train complete with beds and curtains but as it transpired, not so much sleeping..
Turns out my current train isn't the steadiest so therefor not the best for writing on. So I will have to continue another day. But at least I have started on my big gay diary. Time for some music and maybe to finish the crap book i started reading only this morning. It''s been a long day of sitting and waiting. Surat Thani - I'd recommend it to anyone. Beautiful Place. (I hope my sarcasm comes across in text format).Goodnight. Or as the French say: "We surrender"
--Note-- What's the point in giving people blankets and turning the lights off so people will go to sleep, if there are still stops coming up where people are going to get on and climb all over you? And don't believe it when people say all Thai people are really friendly because it's not true. Some are just fucking rude. And if this bitch infront of me tries to break my knees again, I'm going to b r e a k h e r f u c k i n g f a c e.
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