Bangkok - the Seedy Side.

Arrived into Bangkok and got off at the train station as we didn't really want to stay on Khao San Road again. We only had one night so thought there was little point in heading to that area. Walked around for a few minutes and couldn't find any decent accommodation so just hopped on a tuk tuk and headed to the Khao San Road.
Found a guesthouse which had air conditioning and then headed out for dinner. Ate at the place opposite and then enquired about ping pong shows. Must have got scammed by a tuk tuk driver on this because he told us that they had been made illegal and there are only a few left. Saw his list of 'tricks' and after twenty minutes of travel we arrived at some dodgy looking club. Haggled on the price and got 25% off the ticket. It seemed a bit easy to haggle so no doubt the price was still inflated.
Was quite glad to see plenty of other westerners and back packers in the club as it really did feel a bit dodgy. Got our 'free drink', a tiny little vodka and redbull, and took our seats. The show was fairly amusing but mainly just a bit weird. Whistle blowing, 10 metres of rope pulling, balloon popping and bottle opening were amongst the tricks on display during the 45 minute show which then looped over and over again. They must get bored surely!
Got a lively tuk tuk back to base and went for some drinks. Saw a really good two piece band play many an indie classic and then had a walk up and down the Khao San Road armed with a big bottle of Leo (not Chang this time). Met loads of people and just hung out all night. Got another rigourous Thai massage in the gents but this was more brutal than the one I had in Chiang Mai - they tried to crack my hip joints or something but I managed to wriggle out of it and escape. It was like being in Wrestle-Mania or something. They are very thorough.
It got light so we knew it was late (or early) so went to bed. Decided to pay half room rate so that we good stay until 6pm. Woke up at about 1pm and went through our bags chucking out anything we didn't need so that we made the 7kg hand luggage weight limit.
Checked out but forgot to get back my 200 baht key deposit - gutted! I wonder how many people do the same thing. Enquired about a bus to the airport and were told that due to traffic jams it can take three hours. Hmmm, bit worrying so opted to take the airport train link. Got the same lively tuk tuk driver to the train station and then boarded the train. Very clean and efficient.
Arrived at the airport over four hours before our flight so had lots of time to kill. Had some miso soup and then went to Burger King for dinner - classy I know! Bangkok airport is huge - it takes a lot of time to get to your gate but it's air conditioned so at least you aren't sweating like a pig. Boarded the plane late and took off waving goodbye to the enormous and mad city of Bangkok, then to Thailand, then to the entire region of South East Asia.
Didn't sleep too much on the plane but got more than Claire who wasn't feeling too good. Landed in Melbourne at 10am and got Claire's barking deer teeth that she found on our second trek through customs (the guy even went and gave them a brush for us). Bought a tram pass (Myki). We were immediately stunned by how quiet everything seemed. Quiet and clean. What a contrast to Bangkok.
Got back to Joel and Debs house in Port Melbourne and am currently typing this blog on a laptop. So much easier than using my phone!
Bangkok, our third flying visit, was lots of fun. The ping pong show was pretty crap to be honest but its now ticked off the list of things to do. The night out in the Khao San Road area was really good fun and it was nice to end our South East Asian travels with a big party. The city of Bangkok is huge - it seems to go on forever. Seeing it at night from the sky was really nice but being in the middle of the chaos was quite hard work. We didn't see many sights except those we passed in the many tuk tuks we rode in.
To summarise Thailand the second time round I'd say that it was just as good as our first visit in April. The North of the country is certainly cheaper and friendlier but the Eastern Gulf island of Ko Chang was very nice too. Bangkok doesn't change - it's always busy, always loud and always hot. I'd take it or leave it to be honest.
Next up, a round up of the travels and maybe some photos. Hope you've enjoyed reading this blog.