I continued with my illogical route around South-East Asia with a trip to Bangkok, via KL. I arrived at KL airport in the morning and bumped into Matt - the one whose fault it was I was in Borneo in the first place as he wouldn't stop talking about it! (thanks Matt - owe you one!) He was off to Indonesia - via KL as well - on the same flight, so we hung out together once again. We'd both allowed the same amount of time in KL - too long - so made the most of the KFC (there's a time and a place for western food and this was it). After this we parted again, for the last time, and I boarded my flight for Bangkok. I've noticed my tolerance for the more annoying parts of Asia diminishing already so when I got to Thailand, I was particularly lazy and took a taxi to Khao San road to find cheap accommodation. Thus began a particularly horrible 24 hours in Bangkok, when I was so sad and depressed I was on the verge of coming home early! A bit over dramatic, but thats how it felt! I didn't know anyone here and accommodation laid out the way it is, with individual rooms and no communal areas, its harder to meet people. I was obviously also suffering the loss of Camilla, having been with her for most of the last 2 weeks. So I found a horrible room, ate some street pad thai - which was yummy - then ended up sitting in the only bar that was showing the F1 rather than football. Then I went to bed - incredibly bored! The next day was not any better, but I already knew I wanted to try and find the guest house Ben and Becky had recommended which was about 10 mins away, so I headed off early to do that. I then haggled with a tuk-tuk driver to take me there with my bag - it was close but it was also raining! After this I tried to get a tuk-tuk to take me to the Cambodian Embassy - error. I knew how it worked, which makes it more annoying that I still got scammed - but he said he wanted to take me to a suit shop so he can get his petrol token. I was fine with that, it meant he'd take me for less money, but what he actually did was take me to a suit shop in the opposite direction, to a place I where I was completely lost, and abandoned me in the shop! Luckily there was a tourist information office opposite, where I was told there was no point going to the embassy - I needed to be there before 9. so I instead got a taxi to the bus station - but was taken to the wrong bus station. By this point I decided I didn't care if I was scammed on a bus from Khao San, it would be a lot less effort than this was, so I got a taxi back again, and booked a bus, and planned to get my visa on arrival. I spent the afternoon walking to and looking round the area where the Grand Palace is. I couldn't actually go in as it was closed from 3.30, but even though I could see this, I had great fun arguing with the guard as to why it said in Thai - opening hours 8.30-16.30 but in English it said opening hours - 8.30-3.30. "Same same!!" he said. "Not same!!" I said - gesturing to my watch which clearly said 15.45. "Slow!" he said, pointing at his analogue watch face, which clearly said 3.45....hmmmm. I gave up the argument then, but it made me chuckle... I then visited Wat Po, to have a look at the largest reclining Buddha in the World, he was pretty big - and golden! There were several other temples to look at which I did for a while, then started the walk home. I'd already decided not to use tuk-tuks, but with nothing better to do, I decided I may as well, but I refused to go to any shops. I got a pretty good deal on a trip to three more temples/Buddha statues and set off. Inevitably he started bargaining with me after the first stop, saying I could pay nothing if I went to his friends shop for 5 mins. I said that was ok and went for it, he seemed pretty nice. The shop staff were much nicer too so it was generally much easier on me, and the driver was still there when I came out - bonus. After the last temple he wanted to take me to another store - I argued him out if it by walking off towards a taxi, then we set off and he kept arguing. I gave in, but almost laughed out loud when he took me to the shop I'd been in earlier - he took me to another instead, but was annoyed I didn't spend long enough there. I'd run out of patience by then and demanded he took me home - which he did. It seems I was right about them all along... At this point, Bangkok changed for the better, as I found out Amber (who I met in Malaysia) had turned up as planned and was staying at the Mandarin Oriental - a leaving present from her work. We'd planned to meet up there, but I hadn't heard from her for a few days, so as soon as I did I put on my smartest (but still really quite scruffy) clothes and jumped in a taxi. I arrived to find her just finishing at a cocktail party, with her friend Evan from New Zealand. She then took me up to her "executive" suite, where she had been upgraded to and we ate the complementary fruit and drank beer overlooking the Bangkok river and skyline - beautiful. Finally we went down to the seafood restaurant, where we had a short wait (for which they were incredibly apologetic) while they set up our table and ordered from the completely unbelievable menu! So I started with the crab meat, coated in gold leaf with balsamic dressing salad and a chilled avacado soup and quails egg - or I though I would, but there was a complementary pre-starter starter of shrimps with caramelised onion and potato salad first! There was then a mango sorbet - served in a glass bowl, chilled from beneath by ice, and then the main course. Evan and I had both opted for the Mediterranean sea bas encrusted in salt with dauphinoisse potatoes and crab meat and a caper berry, asparagus and carrot salad. Yum. They came to apologise that the sea bass was unfortunately not Mediterranean, but local - we were very understanding! Amber had the lobster, which was of course presented impeccably. Following this, we were so full we didn't order dessert, but they arrived with a tray of complementary chocolate liqueurs and truffles and 3 glasses of chilled peppermint tea anyway - we managed to force them down! After dinner we went down to the outside bar by the river, but it was closing, so we went to the bamboo bar instead where there was a live band (despite only having about 7 customers - the other 4 of whom gave us very disapproving looks). I drank port - It seemed appropriate! After this we went back up to the room and sat in the dark watching a lightening storm over Bangkok - beautiful.. It was too late really to go home so I stayed in Amber's room (Evan had his own) and set the alarm early to catch a taxi back to Khao San road and my slightly less posh room! They unfortunately are too attentive to let me leave unnoticed, so They rang a taxi for me, I embarrassingly told them it was headed for Khao San road, they politely told the driver this, opened the door for me and we pulled away. As I looked out of the window I noticed a sign I hadn't seen on entry saying "No backpackers, no sleeveless tops, no shorts, no sandals, no flip flops". I was wearing a strappy top, shorts, sandals and luckily was not carrying my backpack!! I headed back to Khao San to collect my backpack to catch my bus to Siem Reap.