Back to Bangkok

6th-7th Nov

Very little needs to be said about our journey back to Bangkok. We got on the boat and after a much smoother crossing than previously we got off it again at Chumphorn on the mainland. We then boarded the bus, waved tearful goodbyes to the beach and sat (uncomfortably) for 8 hours until reaching Bangkok around 8:30pm. I`d like to say we spent our last night partying till the early hours and woke up in an unknown location with hazy memories of the night before, but it would be a lie. Instead, we went back to our original hotel, showered, put on our complimentary hotel dressing gowns, and sat in our twin beds watching a Bond film on the movie channel and drinking Singha beer from the mini-bar. There`s no denying it: we are definitely the wrong side of 25.

Lisa left for the airport the following morning, leaving me with a whole day in Bangkok during which to amuse myself - and to be honest, I don`t think I did a bad job. I started my day at Jim Thompson`s House, an old Thai house/museum owned by an American architect, who moved to Thailand in the 1940s and lived there until he mysteriously disappeared in 1967 whilst on holiday in Malaysia. It`s a really attractive place, well worth a visit if you`re passing...pretty gardens, a house packed full of beautiful antique furniture and art collected by the aforementioned Jim Thompson and a cafe that serves very good cheesecake (I heard).

Afterwards, I caught the skytrain (which is not nearly as exciting as it sounds - just a subway train that runs above ground) down to Silom and headed for Lumphini Park to potter about, write a few postcards and go lizard-spotting (or more accurately, get the sh*t scared out of me by a 2-foot iguana-type thing that leapt out of the bushes at me). So far, so good: a very peaceful and relaxing day. Bangkok was redeeming itself. Next, I hopped back on the skytrain to the Hindu Temple of Sri Mariamman. It was smaller than the guidebook would lead you to believe, but very colourful and made a nice change from all those gold, shiny buddhas. My final stop of the day was a return to Khao San Road, where I burned my photos onto CD, did some last-minute shopping and, worn-out by the whole independent traveller thing, retreated to Starbucks for a nice cup of tea. I had to admit that Bangkok really wasn`t that bad after all - even the tuk tuk drivers seemed less pushy this time around; I practically had to throw myself in front of one to get back to the hotel. Ironically I seemed to have adjusted to life in Thailand just in time to get back on the plane to Japan. Back at the hotel I ate dinner in a restaurant alone for the first time ever, which although not preferable to communal dining at least meant that for once I finished at the same time as everyone else at the table. And then, before I knew it, it was time to catch a taxi to the airport and I realised that my holiday was well and truly over.

Goodbye Thailand! I shall miss your mouth-scorching food, your ridiculously low prices, your smiley people (even the ones that tried to rob us) and your breathtaking scenery. But maybe one day I`ll be back? I certainly hope so.