Bangkok-up
My last days in Australia were peaceful and uneventful, staying with family and friends. It was what I needed after spending a lot of time unpacking and packing my bag and lugging it around so to have the chance to rest properly was good.
I'm in Bangkok now using the cheapest Internet access I've ever used. The couple sitting next to me are Spanish I think. I know this because they smell of cigarettes and the lady's voice is deeper than her partner's by several octaves.
I've clearly been "outta the shit" for too long. I was ripped off by a taxi yesterday and it just served to wake me up a little to how things "work" in Asia (again). Even walking a relatively short distance brought out the usual well-dressed men who want to know all about you. This normally ends up with them getting you into a taxi. One guy even went as far to promise me free beer and an ATM, all in one of the Temples. Amazing. He got the arsehole when I just looked confused and began to ignore him. Tosser.
But I must remain positive. Bangkok is like any other city: shit. I need to get out of here lickety-split and I have a couple of options at present. I can wait for a friend who I met in NZ and we will go East to Cambodia together. This is preferred for me as it gives me someone to talk to on a potentially difficult journey. Otherwise I'll just head South to the pill-popping places along the coast and islands. They should be nice to look at anyway and maybe even peaceful. Failing that I'll just head North. I don't know why.
Bangkok is not that difficult to get around. Generally you don't get much attention which suits me. I've not managed to stumble across the seamier side of it. I'm not sure I can even be bothered with that; not by myself anyway. The traffic is not that bad and once you get the bastards to use their meters the taxis are cheap. This pleases me as it saves hours a day haggling with a tuk-tuk driver. No novelty value for me as this wasted a lot of time in India and I don't want to buy anything anyway. The streets are clean and busy and the air foul. It has just hammered down with rain though which has cleared the air a little but it still feels like a sauna outside.
In the mean time I guess I can check out the McDonalds, Boots Chemist, and Starbucks. That'll be nice.
I'm in Bangkok now using the cheapest Internet access I've ever used. The couple sitting next to me are Spanish I think. I know this because they smell of cigarettes and the lady's voice is deeper than her partner's by several octaves.
I've clearly been "outta the shit" for too long. I was ripped off by a taxi yesterday and it just served to wake me up a little to how things "work" in Asia (again). Even walking a relatively short distance brought out the usual well-dressed men who want to know all about you. This normally ends up with them getting you into a taxi. One guy even went as far to promise me free beer and an ATM, all in one of the Temples. Amazing. He got the arsehole when I just looked confused and began to ignore him. Tosser.
But I must remain positive. Bangkok is like any other city: shit. I need to get out of here lickety-split and I have a couple of options at present. I can wait for a friend who I met in NZ and we will go East to Cambodia together. This is preferred for me as it gives me someone to talk to on a potentially difficult journey. Otherwise I'll just head South to the pill-popping places along the coast and islands. They should be nice to look at anyway and maybe even peaceful. Failing that I'll just head North. I don't know why.
Bangkok is not that difficult to get around. Generally you don't get much attention which suits me. I've not managed to stumble across the seamier side of it. I'm not sure I can even be bothered with that; not by myself anyway. The traffic is not that bad and once you get the bastards to use their meters the taxis are cheap. This pleases me as it saves hours a day haggling with a tuk-tuk driver. No novelty value for me as this wasted a lot of time in India and I don't want to buy anything anyway. The streets are clean and busy and the air foul. It has just hammered down with rain though which has cleared the air a little but it still feels like a sauna outside.
In the mean time I guess I can check out the McDonalds, Boots Chemist, and Starbucks. That'll be nice.