Back in Bangkok

There is something about the familiar smells, sights and tastes of Bangkok that just signals "we're back on the trip" for me. After being out of the backpacker circle for a while, it was nice to ease our way back into it by starting in a city that we have become familiar with and, dare I say, quite comfortable in. As some of you might know, this was not always the case. The first time Brendan and I came to Bangkok, we were scheduled to be here for 9 days, and we lasted a grand total of 48 hours. Now that we are starting to get our heads around the public transport, know where some of the best noodles and soups are and have found a "decent" place to stay (read into that, not over priced, no bed bugs and beds that are a smidgen softer than the average concrete mattress) we are quite at ease here.

We have been in Bangkok for two days now and I think we have had chilli every meal (hmmm...oh now I remember what it was like to have your stomach hate you). We revisited the infamous Koh San Road yesterday, marveling how absolutely nothing has
changed on the tourist front. It's the same bars, with the same touts attracting the same tourists. However, it was a bit strange because this is the first time that we have spent time in Bangkok and not bumped into travelers that we met elsewhere in South East Asia.

Brendan was excited yesterday because he spent a couple of hours getting his dreads re dreadlocked (is that even a word?). While I supplied him with beer to numb the pain (big baby), he sat there and had his hair pulled and torn in all sorts of directions. The end result is great, his dreadlocks are no longer surrounded by a sea of fluffy hair and look a million times cleaner.

While we could probably hang around here for a couple more days doing very little, staying put in Bangkok is not what our trip is all about, so the show must move on! Next stop is Chang Mai - Northern Thailand. We are hopping on an overnight train early this afternoon that should get us there at 5am tomorrow. Not sure what to expect, but in some ways that is the nicest
part of it all...something new...something different.

Ok, well that is it for now. Until next time :)

//Kate