The Orient Express ! (Bangkok to Surat Thani - Koh Samui sleeper train)

We took the 14 hour sleeper train from Bangkok Hamphanluh train station down to Surat Thani in southern Thailand to catch a bus then a ferry over to Koh Samui. The first few photos are of the local people in Bangkok going about their daily business on, between and next to the train tracks of the busiest station in Thailand. We opted to save some money by going second class without air-conditioning. Maybe a mistake in Heinseit, it must have been 30C on the train the whole way down.

Chinese visas, and lack thereof

So, we got up at the crack of dawn today to spend an hour and a half in a taxi across Bangkok to try and get ourselves some Chinese Visas. When we eventually got there there was a tiny sign saying that all of teh consular staff are having a day off today. Pain in the arse! It also said that until the 18th of this month everyone applying for a Chinese visa needs a return airticket and accomodation for the entirety of their stay.
Back we came across Bangkok in rush hour. We are going to head out to one of teh Islands today, probably Ko Chang. Not sure on internet access there so will do my best.

Patpong and the Tuk-Tuk Race

After a day at the palace and on the river taxi's yesterday we thought that we would go for a few drinks in Pat pong. Interesting place for sure. An eclectic mix of lady boys, Brits abroad and 60 year old men with 20 year old Thai brides. After a few beers in some visually stunning local bars we decided to move on for some late night drinks elsewhere. After the usual wrangling over the price we got ourselves two Tuk-Tuks back to Ko San Road.
An impromptu race ensued between our two Tuk-Tuks with both teams jeering on our respective drivers. Having been way out ahead in our clearly superior vehicle, our guy decided that we had enough of an advantage to actually stop at some traffic light.
Jay and Mike's Tuk-Tuk came up on the inside and also stopped for the lights. It was gonna be close so both drivers were revving their engines. As the diesel fumes chocked us we eagerly awaited the green light. Adding to the race track feel was the fact that Thai traffic lights have a count-down timer.
As the lights changed and our guy let out his clutch, I looked across at the opposition just in time to see their Tuk-Tuk do a wheelie. A proper wheelie, at 45 degrees, with Mike and Jay in the back, they soured off of the line like a dragster.
Luckily what our guy lacked in style, he made up for with sheer driving skill and the mentality of an immortal. We arrived three minutes later, first and all in one piece. Certainly the best 25p I've ever spent on a cab!

Bangkok Grand Palace

This morning (well, this afternoon following a Chang - over) we took the local river taxi from Prah Attich pier, just at the end of the road that we are staying on, to the Bangkok Grand palace.

Whilst waiting for the water taxi, a man in the crowd started throwing a pram containing a child wildly from side to side. As we all looked round we were just in time to see the worried father of the child, grab an orange snake that had been crawling up the side of the pram towards his son, and toss it into the river below!

Ten minutes down the river we arrived at the royal palace pier and walked the short distance to the palace.

On the way home we took our first tuk-tuk ride thus far in Thailand.

Tonight we are all off to a ping pong show, something to do with table tennis I think!

Bangkok Khao San Road

Got into Bangkok at 12.30 pm yesterday, got a taxi down to the Khao San Road and met Casey in an Irish bar there. On the way in we passed rows of open backed army trucks full of soldiers and a good few hundred police sitting around smoking with their riot shields at the ready.
My taxi driver insisted on taking me on a free detour to show me "The king House" which seemed to be a large compound full of cows from what I could see from the road. As for a state of emergency, the long haired, 60 year old hippies that have been here for 30 years certainly dont seem to think anything is wrong so im gonna trust their instincts.
Met Jay at about 10.30 last night when he got in.
True what they say about budget accommodation in Thailand, we had a good few, inch long, dead cockroaches in our shower! The innovative owners had also decided to save on fancy air conditioning units by simply installing the cooler unit from a refrigerated truck on the ceiling. This unfortunately meant that the temperature settings for our room were tropical or arctic with nothing in between. But hey, what do you expect when your paying 2 pounds 50 a night!