back in bangkok

After being woken up quite early to have the bunks refolded into chairs, we arrived in the city of Bangkok at around 6.30am. This also marked the official end of my Laos tour, however most of the group was would be around Bangkok for the next few days. It was far too early for anyone to check into their rooms, so we enjoyed a massive buffet breakfast at the Royal Hotel, before headed to a very sleepy Khao San Road. I went to the internet cafe to sort some credit card stuff out (still!) and when I returned to meet the others at about 8am they had already started drinking beer! As there was again nothing else to do, I agreed to join in. Not the smartest start to the day! I went to find a cheap hotel room, whilst the others kept drinking! One of the boys left for his flight home very pissed. That night I watched the Kiwis in the World Cup, but I am afraid I got too over it and didn't stay to watch Australia! Had some more drinks, then headed to The Club on Khao San. Was a pretty fun place- good dance music, cool lighting, an empty dance floor to run amok, and we had glow sticks! Was lots of fun, until we decided to drink Sang Som buckets! As always, this was a bad idea. I remember the night, up until the point where I was sharing my 2nd bucket... Next thing, I woke up in the morning in my hotel room (which is a good sign!), with a bottle of water next to the bed, so I had gone home via the 7-11! Felt very very ill the next day. Left my room when I felt ready, at about 1.30pm! I headed to the Pinklao Shopping Centre with Adam, a guy from my group. We went to the cinema and saw 1408, a John Cusack movie. Was really scary & really good- go see it when it comes out. It was good to sit in the air-con whilst I was feeling so seedy. Before the movie started, everyone in the cinema (us included) stood for the playing of 'We Love The King'- a montage of photos & a song of how much the Thais love their King. We had a wander around the shops afterwards, and I saw a camera that I really wanted to replace the one I broke in Vientiane (I am hate not being able to take photos!). However, I had no money in my account so no sale! We headed back to Khao San & I tried to stomach some dinner. I was still feeling pretty crappy from the night before so went to bed early. In the moring, I met up with the people who had stayed on in Chiang Mai, and we went back to the shopping centre, I bought my camera (yay) and the girls bought some clothes etc. There was a random Thai rock bad playing centre stage, but they were pretty hopeless! It sounded just like they were tuning their instruments or jamming, not properly playing, but heaps of people were watching them! back at Khao San, it was very very empty. Hardly any stalls were out, and lots of police were around. I am not sure if it was quiet cos it was a Monday, or whether something serious was going on. Whatever the reason, it was boring! Had a last dinner with the people from my tour group, before some drinks at Gulliver's. When they all headed out to find a Ping Pong show, I went back to my hotel. The next morning I had a lot to organise, as I was flying to China in the afternoon! I finally got my replacement credit card at last. After a last farewell, I boarded a mini bus headed for the airport. After checking in, I wandered around the expensive duty free shops, had some Hungry Jack's & went to my departure gate. It was tucked away in a tiny forgotten corner of the huge airport. After a LOT of waiting, the check-in staff arrived, after the original departure time. Everybody was very pushy, with no regard for the queue! Once we were through the desk, we had to board a standing-room only Air Asia bus to get to the actual plane! Took about 5minutes- that's how huge the sirport is. And to my amusement, I was right near the bus door, so all that pushing got the other people nowhere! There was no allocated seating on the flight, so I chose an aisle seat. Some of the Chinese men on the plane were real pigs. One had his dirty feet all over the seat. Another man was eating an orange and spitting the seeds onto the floor. Then, on landing, immediately after the plane landed, whilst we were still going really fast, he stood up & got his bag out of the overhead compartment so he would be first off! He left the door open, and the poor flight attendant had to get up & close it. She yelled at him, but fell over cos we were going so fast. I felt so sorry for her. I made a big point of thanking her as I was leaving the plane. After exiting via the staircase, I was in China!