जेस is in Bangkok

kia ora

i am in bangkok! Arrived at 9pm-ish on thursday night. The flight over was 'ok' despite i didnt get the extra leg room that i asked for, got what everyone else had...dammit! Gonna try to get the exit aisle, they had a sweet deal. Saw a few movies, one was Rachels Getting Married which was a bit emo, and Twilight...i really dont get how everyones so into the Twilight vampire guy. Seriously, pale as anything and just has this weird look on his face. Probbaly the thing that won't give the flight a 10/10 is the Thai guy next to me, who insisted on hogging the armrest...even when i had it once he pushed my arm away, plus when he did have the armrest his arm kept touching me, so id move further away from him...making it incredibly obvious that i was uncomfortable...but he really couldn't have cared less :P So an interesting flight. The Bangkok airport is pretty choice tho, really futuristic.

Arrived at the Ibis Hotel over an hour later, didn't realise that taxis don't have seatbelts! So thats a bit fun. Got there ok and pretty much went straight to bed, felt pretty weird being in a new country...plus it must have been an extra hot day cos i was sweating up a storm after getting out of the airport & my glasses were fogging up! The next day got a taxi to my little hotel/guesthouse in Soi Rambuttri (a street away from Khaosan Road)...i thought the reception people told the taxi driver where to go, but he actually had no idea. So he asks me where it is, i gave him the address...he thinks i said Patong...which is the red light area!! So after an hour we get there, and im totally freaked out that hes going to leave me in this awful place...so he calls the Rambuttri Inn and they tell him where to go, and he laughs his freakin head off! Then it took another 30 mins to get there. So glad to leave that guys taxi, its incredibly hard conversing with someone who cant speak english and who is also rude.

Rambuttri Inn (http://www.khaosan-hotels.com/) is nice, its not amazing but its clean which is a bonus. I was such a dork when i went to have a shower this morning and thought the shower was broken...when i was just a silly white girl and didnt turn the knob properly. I went downstairs and told them it wasnt working and this old guy came up to have a look at it...shame!!

Was feeling a bit shitty about being here (along with being lonely & missing everyone back home -wish i had a friend with me here), with the noise, people constantly coming up to you to buy something and the dirtyness...but had a productive day today so feel better. Went off in search of a pier to get a boat down to the southern part of town, in order to get a train thing to these markets (met a Scottish guy yesterday who suggested it & said it only cost him 40 baht to get the boat)....this thai guy said it would cost 600 baht so with that i just left after failing to renegotiate! So just walked and walked and walked...and ended up at the Thailand museum, so that kept me busy for a good few hours, then walked a bit more and ended up at the Grand Palace which is pretty amazing! You have to be pretty covered up, so you had to borrow some of their clothes to wear around the palace...a sari thing and a big blouse, really really hot. So that was all worth the mission. Yesterday i had a wander and turned up by the river wher this lady was giving an outdoor aerobics lesson, it was really cool...if i had my sneakers i would have totally gotten into it!

Outside the palace there are heaps of people running after you to buy things, there was one little boy who was trying to sell thesepostcards,and just wouldnt leave me alone. I was being nice and i said no...ive already got some...no thankyou. He just wouldnt stop following me so i gently turned him around by his shoulders and he got the idea!! Walked past this big dirt field which i think used to be grass, was really weird...it was multifunctional...served as a home for some homeless, a hackysack thing tournamet, chess tournament, kiteflying, a place for people to pee in, sell food that looks like dogs legs & stuff that resembles little octopuses. Very amusing!! So many people sell food on the side of the streets, its crazy...and i cant even begin to guess what it is theyre trying to sell...most of it looks foul and it smells pretty gross!! But i guess someones eating it so it cant be that bad...im just sticking to food that doesnt make me gag :P

Tonight i had a nice cheap foot massage, bought a thai fishing skirt (same style as those fishing pants), got some yummy indian so im in a much better mood!

Off to Wat Pho tomorrow...should be interesting!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho...the reclining buddha!

peace, love and miss you all xx