Wavertree to Wahgunyah

Bangkok Bananas

Day "more than 200 less than 300"

My head hurts! Chang beer is deadly...... its about 6.4% but Im told thats just a guideline and it could be much higher!!!

So im in Bangkok which is just mad, in a organised chaos kind of way. Its hot, sticky, polluted and very very busy. Im told there are 7 million people in Bangkok and I believe most of them are living and working on my street.

I arrived on Wednesday night full of trepidation having been told a thousand stories about Thailand, ranging from "its the best place on Earth!" to "Its disgusting i never want to go there again". At this point and since Im covered in mozzie bites Id just like to thank all those people who told me about the chances of getting malaria over here... The arrivals hall was packed with taxi drivers and allsorts of meeters and greeters, it reminded me of a story a friend in Sydney told me about why the old British passport was so big... so you can smack people around the head and shout " Get out my way or we'll come and colonise you again!" Having manged to get a suicidial taxi driver who drove about 100mph, 2 inches from the car in front and from the car besides us ( I thought we were in some drag race) I arrived at my new YHA. Its about a 10 minute walk from the Ko San Rd it a very quiet peaceful place, its like the eye of a storm, all calm safe from the madness that infects the rest of the city.

My first day in the city consisted of a good long walk in the heat ( Only mad dogs and Englishman....) and a good browse around the markets avoiding Tuk Tuk drivers who wanted to take me places i didnt want to go.

Having survived the streets, I jumped into a Tuk Tuk and told him to take me to the Thai boxing show. Riding in a Tuk Tuk must be one of the most danderous things ive ever done. They are a law to themselves. They are twice as bad as the death wish taxi drivers! I think the reason why all the tuk tuk are young is because no one they dont live long enough to see old age. The Thai boxing was fantastic, it was almost a full house and the crowd were noisy and gambling like mad. The fights were exellent, i got to sit with the band, who play traditional Thai music while the fight is on.Even better was I had my own beer slave! a young lad who as soon as a finish one beer was over to see if a need another. Quality. I wanted to keep him ( this being Bangkok if I offered enough money they might have let me!) After the fight i went for a drink or two down the ko san rd, last thing i remember was stumbling out of McDonalds and trying to tell my Tuk Tuk driver who took me home that I didnt require his services in the morning " I take you to Grand Palace at 8am!" 8am who was he kidding...

So know I have to decide what I want to do. I could as planned head down to the islands for a bit of sunshine and RnR. or spend a few days here in Bangkok then head home. I thinking more of the later, 10 days on beach getting drunk with a bunch of Southern backpackers (all "backpackers" are southern, ) who will tell me stories about getting drunk in Laos or Vietnam... I might as well stayed in Bondi for that. The main reason is that I feel like Im just killing time here, having been offered sponsership to stay in Australia, makes me want to see home even more. Help me decide what to do. Im sure I'll be back in Thailand one day with a bit more money and the time to explore.

Anyway Im off to buy a job lot of Chang beer t shirts

Having Fun

Matty