Two nights in Bangkok

So Bangkok is not that offensive. After hearing such bad reports, i had awful visions of the place, but Celia and I really enjoyed it. Key is to not stay on Kao San Road unless you would like to easy access to great fake clothes, a press pass, NY State drivers license or any other qualification you seek, the Thai's have copied it. Incredible....

The road side food just off Kao San road is some of the best we have eaten in a while and full of healthy foreigners so we know it must be vaguely safe to eat. The vibe there is unbeatable and the banter between the cooks and the guests makes it quite special. Although their addition often leaves something to be desired, always erring in their favour, you still have to love them.

Finally i got to go to the floating market i had been hoping to see since Vietnam. I knew it would be overrun with tourists but it was still great to see the images that have ordained postcards for years and with a couple days work on photoshop, my pictures will look exactly the same. Celia was not feeling well so I went myself and had a great time people watching, eating some noodle soup on the banks of the river and generally having some good alone time. We had an option of going to see the Cobra show on the way back which included showing how they retrieve the venon (interresting) and a man who catches 3 cobras - one with each hand and one with the mouth... ridiculous. That was my queue. I'll leave that one to those who enjoy those types of sensational money grabbing techniques while i go back and watch some Orangutan boxing.

Our transport to and back from the market was via longtail boat which is hilarious. I do have a couple pics. These small little wooden boats mostly have reused car engines on them, sometimes up to 1600cc. I was canning myself as they screamed by.. what next.

One of the main objectives of Thailand was me getting my PADI dive qualification. So off to Ko Tao where the cheapest dive schools exist. They even throw in accommodation for every night that you are on the course. Great success!! Unfortunately this involved being scammed by the tourist agengy again.. Getting tired of this... But we got it booked at the 11th hour and were ready for the overnight bus trip which now do not phase me anymore. Before this trip if i had to travel longer than 2 hours you would see me start to sulk, but 11 hours is more than acceptable. Shup