Bangkok 18/11

Today we woke up a little late as I think the jet lag is still
affecting us, and went 2 the tailor 4 lukes fitting. the suit and
shirts looks very nice so far! So does my shirt! They will deliver to
green tulip guest house in chaing mai for us.

We then got meter taxi to wat pho to see the famous reclining buddha;
42m long. We got a tour guide for 300 baht and he was brilliant! We
spoke politics, buddism, religion, corruption etc, and it gave us a
really nice overview of thailand and the current situation in the
country. He taught us the basics of buddism and answered all our
questions we have been accumulating over the past day. There are 66
different buddha poses and he has 32 characteristics different to
humans. We also learned about the naga, a mythological serpent, who is
bad but part good as he came down and protected buddha from the rain
when we was meditating under a tree.

We picked up some corn in a cup(not on the cob) and some chilli pork
from a street vendor and then got a taxi from the wat to jim thompsons
house and did a tour of it for 150 baht- I got student discount with
my expired student card! Jim is famous for starting the thai silk
export company. He dissappeared in the cameron highlands, how crazy!
His house was made and out teak and situated on the longest canal in
thailand- it was beautiful and he was a very artistic man combining
thai design with western design. We had delicious shakes at the
restaurant on the koi pond- I has a banana raspberry shake, and luke a
crushed cookie frappe.

FACT OF THE DAY: thai ppl keep their floors so clean and remove their
shoes before entering the house because they traditionally eat off the
floor.

We walked from jims house to the mbk shopping mall which was cool!
Luke got a wife beater(£4) and me a beanie for snowboarding(£4) and a
new navy element fanny pack to replace the skokkend old beige one!
Then rushed home in crazy bangkok traffic to collect bags from hotel
and go to hump along station 4 over night train to nong khai. Its
absolutely crazy how the tuk tuk drivers and taxi drivers try and rip
you off cos u r a witou farang! Luke has to ask 3 or 4 taxis each time
we want to go somewhere to use the meter and they refuse and many
times quote you a fixed rate of up to 4 times the meter rate! Tip for
gary, giada and lauren: ONLY USE METER TAXIS! As soon as we say
"chinatown, meter?", you get a shake of the head. So we close the door
and onto the next one. We found going to a rank helps as there are
officials there, although the drivers still refuse sometimes so then
they have to go to the back of the queue. The dorky drivers are always
willing, they will go to nirvana I am sure! Another thing to avoid is
these damn slimy tuk tuk drivers to take u for a laugh and take you to
all their commission shops and pressure u into buying, and more
importantly waste your time, so they can get gas money. Fair enough
they hardly charge a thing, we paid 40 baht for the lift to 3 or 4
attractions which is peanuts but then got taken to 4 places so he
could get coupons. The craziest thing of all is that 95 % of the
population is buddist and they so superstitious and lying is one the
the main sins, yet they so easily lie to your face.

We have had our beds made and eaten our seafood pad thai and cabbage
chicken from a hawker for £1 and are about to sleep. We are first
class so have bunk beds and our own basin. Pity the train only has
eastern toilets! Tomorrow we will be in nong khai, away from the
hustle and bustle of bangkok!