Back in Bangkok, top of my to-do list was going to see the new Batman film (The Dark Knight) at the IMAX cinema so I bought the Bangkok Post to check the listings and ordered taxis with five of the other guys in my group (on a slight tangent, I love the brightly coloured taxis here - fuschia pink, orange, purple, turquoise...). However, the man at the hotel that arranged our taxis had sent us to the wrong cinema and the only thing showing in English was The Mummy 3 - we went to see it instead, it was ridiculous but I did enjoy all the China references (it's about the Terracotta Warriors coming to life).

Before every film shows in Thailand they play a video celebrating the King and everyone in the cinema stands in silence out of respect - it is strange from an outsider's perspective but nonetheless the video is beautifully shot with emotive music. At the end of the video it says 'We love the King' and then 'Long live the King'. Also, every day at 8am and 6pm the national anthem is played in all public buildings with images of the national flag shown on TV screens and everyone stands to attention.

The next day I discovered that the Irish girls that I'd been travelling with in Cambodia and Vietnam were in town so I arranged to meet up with them to see Batman. Just as I managed to get myself to the correct cinema in the super-swanky Paragon shopping centre (possibly the nicest shopping centre I've ever been in!), the girls messaged me to suggest going to the ladyboy cabaret show instead - it was their last night in Bangkok so I obliged. On my way to meet Caoimhe, Terri and Joanne in the Pat Phong area, I kept getting approached with offers of "Sex Show? Ping Pong Show?" - Bangkok attracts a lot of sex and drug tourists and they seem to think that's what all foreigners are there for!

Eventually I found the girls and we escaped from all the offers of drugs and sex shows and discovered that the ladyboy cabaret show was at the Asia Hotel in another part of town - a surprisingly helpful guy found us a taxi driver and the driver helped us get tickets when we arrived. It was not as cheesy or tongue-in-cheek as we had expected - most of the performers seemed to take it quite seriously, despite the fact that they were just miming (badly). However, their costumes were fabulous and it was fascinating how feminine most of the ladyboys were (they all appeared to have had a lot of surgery). At the end they hung around so that we could have our photos taken with them - their deep voices betrayed the glitzy dresses and surgical enhancements!

Third time lucky, the following day I finally succeeded in seeing Batman and it was worth the wait! There were only about five people in the whole cinema so I was sprawled out right in the middle with my giant popcorn and Starbucks caramel frappuccino I loved the film and it is crying out for another sequel.

That evening I met a new group of people that I will travel to Singapore with, and some all the way to Bali. Our trip leader turns out to be Nigel - the boyfriend of Bobo, my trip leader in China! A few of us went to Soi Rambuttri for dinner and then Khao San Road for drinks.

The following day I visited the main tourist attractions in Bangkok with Jayna and Manpreet - the Standing Buddha, the Seated Buddha, the Emerald Buddha and the Reclining Buddha (spot the theme??). The Emerald Buddha, actually made from jade not emerald, is only a small part of the Grand Palace complex - a huge series of stunning buildings and statues, almost entirely covered with gold paint and mirror tiles so they glisten in the sun - it's a lot to take in and my energy was fading with all the walking in the heat. The reclining Buddha, housed in Wat Pho temple complex, is staggeringly big at 15 metres tall and 46 metres long.

It was nice to have a few lazy days in Bangkok and indulge in some home comforts but I'm not bowled over by the city and wouldn't necessarily rush back there. It has to be said that most Thai people are amazingly friendly and helpful - I have found that they'll go out of their way to help me, generally with no expectation of anything in return. However, I don't always understand the Thai sense of humour - maybe something is being lost in translation!