Our next 9 weeks of travel will be a real adventure as we have done absolutely no planning except to book accommodation in Bangkok. We were originally due to fly to Mumbai on 4th January for 9 weeks in India. However, we decided to re-route our travels due to the terrorist attacks last month. At the time we did not know what the repercussions would be and we decided not to take any risks including that of invalidating our travel insurance. With limited alternative options we re-routed our tickets into Bangkok which means our next leg of travel will take us through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. We also plan to make our way over to Nepal and from there journey overland by bus into Northern India. Our return flight back to London is still from Delhi as we are both determined to set foot in India and visit Varanasi and the Taj Mahal!
We had a smooth flight to Bangkok and arrived just before midnight. It was still 28 degrees at that time of night!! We collected our luggage (it is always such a relief to see your bag appear on the conveyor belt no matter how crappy your belongings are!!) and headed straight to the taxi rank for the 45 minute journey to the city centre.
We shared a taxi with a couple staying at the same hostel as us which worked nicely and saved us a few pennies. We have decided to ease ourselves back into the backpackers lifestyle gently and booked a 'flashpacker' style hostel which has slightly more upmarket facilities than the basic hostel and attracts the 30ish traveller as opposed to the 18 year old party types!!! It is in a superb location by all the historical points of interest in Bangkok and the well known Khao San Road where there are loads of restaurants and markets.After a good night sleep we were up early and ready for the sights of a very congested and polluted Bangkok. We are so excited to be travelling again and we have adapted into our old routine like ducks to water! We started the day with breakfast in the hostel cafe....a rather odd brown porridge with sliced banana and a cappuccino bef
ore heading out into the heat armed with our Lonely Planet guide. After navigating our way along crowded pavements and risking life and limb to cross a few roads, our first stop was the Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace which are two of Bangkok's most famous attractions. En route 
we wandered through the Amulet market which is a maze of tiny alleyways lined with stalls selling millions of different amulets pertinent to the Buddhist faith. Wat Phra Kaew was an awesome sight and we spent 2 hours wandering around various different temples and into one temple that houses the famous Emerald Buddha. The temples are adorned with coloured glass, stones and gold leaf and statues which makes them look very opulent and despite the hordes of tourists it was a really peaceful and tranquil place to wander around.
Next stop was Wat Pho to see the huge reclining Buddha which is 46 metres long and 15 metres high, completely covered in gold leaf and squished into a temple almost the same size as itself. After Wat Pho we made a lunch stop at a western patisserie and had soup served in a bread roll bowl and then soaked up the airconditioning as it was stinker outside. Our next steps took us on a river ferry across the Mae Nam
Chao Phraya river to Wat Arun, another temple, where we climbed up the steepest stairs we have ever seen for commanding views out over Bangkok. We stood and admired the views and rested for a while in the cooling breeze feeling exhausted from the heat.
All 'templed out' we made our way back to the hostel in early evening via some of the local food markets... which included delicacies such as stir-fried cockroach! After dinner that night we wandered our local area called Banglamphu where we caught sight of our first 'ladyboys'. There were three of them walking in front of us dressed in short skirts, high heels and wearing handbags. Ash noticed them first but Bi didn't believe him as they had the best legs she'd ever seen! However, on a closer inspection, their huge ungainly feet gave it all away! 
We wandered along the jam-packed Khao San Road lined with restaurants, stalls of home cooked food that reminded us very much of our time in South America, lanterns, cheap clothes, bags, fake cd's and watches and more. There are Thai massage places everywhere and they are so so cheap. It's only 5 pounds for an hour foot relexology and back massage and so we shall be making the most of it!! Feeling a bit jetlagged and worn out from a long, hot day of sight seeing we retired to the hostel for an early night at around 10pm.On Friday morning we were up early and after a shabby breakfast we took a taxi (with some hard bartering as they'll take you for a ride... literally) through the heaving Bangkok traffic to Hua Lamphong station where we boarded a rickety old train heading 1.5 hours north to a place called Ayuthaya. Ayuthaya is a popular day trip from Bangkok and was the royal capital of Thailand from the 13th to 17th centuries. The city is covered in temples which now lie in a state of ruin after the city was sacked by the Burmese 200 years ago. The sacred city has been restored somewhat over the last 50 years and is now a UNESCO
World Heritage site. Arriving at the train station we jumped in our first tuk-tuk akin to an automated rickshaw (with more serious bartering!!) and headed across the city to the Historical park. We visited Wat Phra Si Sanphet
, one of the most photographed temples in Thailand and famous for its three impressive bell-shapped chedis and spent a while walking around the ruins, soaking up the very peaceful atmosphere... it is so much quieter than busy bustling Bangkok! Next up we walked further through the historical park to visit Wat Phra Mahathat where there is a Buddha head enbedded in twisted 
tree roots among the ruined temple and across the road to Wat Ratburana. This temple retains one of the best preserved prang towers in Ayuthaya and we were able to climb up and inside the tower which afforded great views over the rest of the city's ruins.
With our thirst for archaelogical sites quenched by early afternoon we jumped back in another tuk-tuk and returned to the train station and headed back to Bangkok. Arriving back at our hostel we freshened up and then we grabbed an early dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant called Ranees where we were invaded by hordes of mosquitos. Bi has become addicted to pad thai and where better a place to get it than here!! After dinner we stopped into a Thai massage centre and treated ourselved to a 1 hour package of foot reflexology massage and a back massage. The masseuses were tiny but very strong and were getting Ash to do all kinds of weird stretches. It was so relaxing and we will definitely be going back for more! Afterwards we wandered the frenetic Khao San Road and headed home late via a street stall selling banana filled pancakes!
Today (Saturday) we had breakfast at a local cafe (because the hostel breakfast is rather dire!!) and then spent the day around Chinatown, Little India and the modern end of Bangkok city which is all shopping shopping shopping!! Instead of a taxi we jumped on a Phraya Express Boat for transport and headed south down the river, getting off at Tha Ratchawong on the edge of Chinatown. We spent the morning walking around the heaving, bustling chinese markets which are fascinating. 
Shuffling with the crowds down the tiny narrow lanes where the sky is completely obscured and bargains lie in wholesale ambush was quite an experience. We budged and shoved our way past shops and market stalls selling an array of nick nacks, stationery, stickers, stuffed animals, dried fish
and some very very weird and unidentifiable food stuffs (you can imagine the look on Bi's face!). We eventually stumbled onto one street dedicated to selling nothing but counterfeit (oh... but of course they are real the vendors tell you) Rolex, Omega and Tag Heuer watches and Oakley, Ray Ban and Police sunglasses!Next we wandered into the neighbouring district of Phahurat, the 'Little India' of Bangkok. We had a well needed rest and shared a thali at the Royal India restaurant before heading through the Indian fabrics market which was comparatively boring against our morning's fun in Chinatown! We then hopped in a taxi to ultra-modern Siam Square and in startling contrast to the morning had a Starbucks coffee and muffin and walked around one of the huge shopping malls which was brimming with shops selling absolute rubbish and with one whole floor dedicated to mobile pones and fake Ipods!!! Exhausted by the crowds and bored by the endless shops, we jumped on the
Sky Train, Bangkok's speedy overland high rail system and travelled to the Saphan Taksin pier where we caught a very busy express boat back to the pier near our hostel in the much more interesting old part of Bangkok. We freshened up then headed out for dinner by the river and enjoyed some more local thai food ( Bi enjoying her 4th bowl of Pad Thai in 3 days!). There is no serving of alcohol today in Bangkok as it is election day... we are hoping it is a peaceful one in light of recent events affecting Bangkok!Today is our last day in Bangkok as tomorrow morning we take a short flight to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand.
