Even though our Great Adventure ended a couple of months ago, we've decided to complete the journal, so stay tuned for tales from Bangkok, Cambodia and Japan (hopefully, we'll be back in 'real time' by the time we take our next trip!)...
Despite living ten minutes away from Manchester Airport, there’s no doubt that Singapore’s Changi is our favourite. Being the gateway to the Far East, we’ve passed through on our travels enough times for it to qualify as a real home from home. While waiting for the connection from Perth to Bangkok, we wandered round the shops and, due to the time lag between Singapore and Britain, I managed to catch a bit of Sky soccer while Alex dozed on the comfy recliners in the quiet zone.
Our stay was brief and soon we found ourselves emerging from yet another plane to be hit by the intense humidity of Bangkok. The air conditioned serenity that was Changi had left us ill prepared for the hot, damp air which smothered us as we waited in line to catch a taxi into the sweltering city.
Apparently, old racing drivers never die, they just metamorphasize into Thai taxi drivers and scare the crap out of newbie tourists as they career along the expressway into the city centre. We tried our best to look cool and unflustered but it was a relief when we finally pulled up outside the New Siam Guesthouse II in Banglamphu (after a tip-off from Kenny & Jenny - good work fellas!).
The room was cheap but it had air-con, our own bathroom and satellite TV - a perfect base for our Bangkok mini break before we headed on to Cambodia. The hotel’s location, five minutes walk from the Khao San Road, was close enough to enjoy the atmosphere of the famous backpacker hangout but far enough away to be relatively quiet, quite a feat in Bangkok!
Although we’d visited Bangkok before, taking a ferry down to the central Post Office was a new and exciting mode of transport. We weaved our way down the Mae Nam Chao Phraya river, the driver expertly guiding the craft alongside the ferry stop jetties, maneuvering the bobbing vessel in response to shrill blasts of the whistle blown by a fellow crewman who manned the stern.
Chugging along the river was a great way to see the city. We sailed passed the Grand Palace cutting across the wakes of water taxis and barges, drinking in the atmosphere - and occasionally the billowing clouds of diesel smoke hanging in the sticky morning air.
When it comes to buying presents for friends and relatives back home, there’s nowhere quite like Chatuchak Weekend Market. A short Skytrain trip from the city centre, the market is a cornucopia of thousands of stalls that sell a diverse selection of items, both genuine and, ahem, reproduction. Crammed cheek by jowl under corrugated iron sheeting which intensifies the oppressive heat, navigating our way round stalls involved zen-like patience and the ability to subdue serious feelings of an imminent panic attack.
We discovered that the secret of successfully negotiating the sprawling market was to get out and take regular drink breaks before hurling ourselves back into the throbbing warren once more.
All shopped out, we took the Skytrain back to Siam Square and then a taxi back to Banglamphu. As taxis in Bangkok are almost exclusively air conditioned, we chilled out on the way, glad of some respite from the oven-like conditions outside. When we neared the hotel, we began to notice small groups of locals flinging water and flour around. Deployed on street corners or sometimes in the back of flat bed trucks, they ambushed each other and innocent bystanders alike. It didn't take long to work out that our stay had coincided with the Songkhran Festival which celebrates the Thai New Year.
Of course, the backpacking contingent got well into the party spirit and the Khao San Road was cordoned off when we passed. We lost count of the number of saturated and bedraggled westerners we saw squelching along, giant water pistol in hand, looking for their next shootout. There was no avoiding a liberal coating of water and flour when we got 'battered' later that night.
Bright and early next morning, we took another 'heart in mouth' taxi to the airport, slightly nervous but definitely excited to be catching a flight to Phnom Penh where we’d begin our Cambodian adventure...
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