Hello from Bangkok.

We are on our second day here now and are going to try and make the most of it......but of course an internet cafe is the first stop.

Kate had a bit of a fall down the stairs this morning, so we are going to try and see as much as we can without actually crippling her.

The flight from UK to bahrain then Bahrain to Bangkok was tedious. As soon as we got to bahrain airport we could feel the heat and the gritty air at the back of our throats. The airport was quite nice but we hardly saw any women. We went to the smoking area so I could get my dose of nicotine and poor Kate had to suffer through it. It was very surreal. There was a smoking room but nobody took much notice of the room itself and decided to stand outside the toilets and flick their ash and cigarettes in the sinks. We got out of there as soon as possible because we felt left out, or just the fact that we stood out.

Arriving in Bangkok, I (Becky) had the window seat. Kate chose to move across the aisle to get more comfortable, which meant I got two seats to myself. However, I still didn't sleep. Kate didn't seem to have a problem lol

As the plane came down and I caught the first glimpse of Thailand, it wasn't exactly as I expected it. I think I was expecting Jungles with Skyscrapers towering above and people on elephants. For a second I thought we were flying into england. The river looked like the Thames (so I chose to sing the Eastenders tune, and received a confused look from Kate). The major difference was that Bangkok's 'countryside' is very organised. It's great to see.

We got into Bangkok airport at 8 in the morning (2am UK time) and were surprised how that it was cloudy and still quite hot. We were determined to do somethiing with our day and not let it be a total waste because of jetlag, so we went to see the Grand Palace. On our way there we were stopped by about 8 people asking us where we were from, where we were going and how long we had been in Thailand. At first we (or maybe just me, Becky) were quite charmed by the interest but these were the people a lady at our hostel told us to avoid. They kept telling us that the Grand Palace was closed and why don't we go to the export centre for jewelry at 30% discount. Hell no, we declined (ALL OF THEM) and went to the Grand Palace, which was strangely.............open. It was beautiful but i'm not sure we fully appreciated it due to the heat and lack of sleep. We were also surprised at the price to get in (350 baht). Considering the cheapness for everything else, it was a mild shock. For a second we decided whether it was worth it. It was. They have a miniture copy or a cambodian palace (I think it was a palace lol) which the Thai's claim to have a distant connection to. That was interesting to see. They have a temple amongst the grounds where you can enter, without cameras, and sit on the floor and bow to the buddha. As Kate and I don't worship the Buddha we sat there (without shoes) and witnessed some pretty moving stuff. It's a very serious place. The fact that they let travellers in is amazing.
We read that women were not allowed to go near or communicate with Monks, so it was quite limiting to where we could stand on the taxi boats. There were two infront of Kate and I. I thought they got off before us but when Kate and I went to get off they were standing on the top deck, seems they didn't want to be too close to us, I haven't made up my mind on how I feel about that yet, however I respect that they are different.
The taxi boat was really fun to ride. They stop and go pretty quickly so everytime you get on or off there is about a 50/50 percent chance you may end up in the water. I think it's actually the cheapest mode of transport (barr the bus) at 13 baht a ride. However, it is only useful to get to certain parts of the city. We'll find out today how cheap the taxi's are. We will let you know about our first inner city taxi ride tomorrow.

Anyway I have Jabbed on for yonks now. Here's Kate.

I don't think I have much more to add actually... it has only been a few days away but seems like an age! Think we've settled in pretty well though and no problems as yet (not that im expecting any!) My bum is gonna have a big bruise from the trip down the stairs this morning.. becs was very good, telling me to breathe through it... was quite comical in the end!
I'm glad we've got a few more days in Bangkok.. its an interesting place but quite crazy at the same time.. can't wait to go down to the island now though..really up for some beach relaxation...

lots of love to everyone.. will update again soon

also forgot to say yesterday we saw some stray dogs mating outside hostel and then they got stuff together... it was truly wierd they just wandere around for ages not seeming particularly bothered! not that this was a highlight but worth mentioning i thought!

Love
Kate and Becky xxxxxx