well hello!! hows things where you are??? all is still great here!! am in bangkok still and its crazy to feel more like we are living here than travelling. we finished the tour two days ago and the majority of the past 48 hours have been goodbyes to the people we met. its pretty much just me and maz left here!! seen all the amazing temples and buddhas and buildings to see...absolutley stunning and the trip to the kings palace was a definate highlight!! said bye to one of my good friends off the tour last night though, and also a couple of people that we got on well with, so it all seems a little flat now to be in such a crazy city after all the hustle of the tour! and theres only 2 left...yet another poo side to travelling when the good times finish...but the times have been fun!! and i gess the plans for next year are an incentive!! so yesterday was spent doing all the last minute things...trekked round to find a swimming pool...its so hot we just needed to cool down!! but 4 hours later we still hadnt found one so we resorted to another hotels pool and risked the fine of being caught!! ; ) the rules and laws are amazing here...there dont seem to be anything for serious things but the rules that do exist are amazing!! ; ) had presents to buy so off to the markets!! been here a few days now but khaosan road has been avoided - until now! bartered galore and got some nice buys!! ; ) and bought some spring rolls for lunch! theres plenty of thai women patrolling the streets with the craziest things to buy!! frog shaped musical instruments are a sound i will definately be missing soon!! ; ) after all the heat and hassle it felt needed for a thai massage!! absolutely petrified and not knowing what to expect me and my friend headed into a 'nice looking' parlour! our feet were washed and we given clothes to put on...totally unsure of what was guna happen i just shut my eyes and hoped for the best!! it was an amazing massage but so bloody painful too!! they pull, and twist and bend in all shapes and ways - definately painful but somehow fulfilling!! of course we got the giggles from time to time but wasnt sure whether to laugh or cry either!! what an experience!! ; ) not sure if ive updated on the previous couple of days here either...the city is crazy and you just kind of blend in after a few days!! the first day we all just did our own thing. me an a couple of the others took our first tuk tuk ride!! scam experience - to cut a long story short we basically made a deal and he took us to everywhere else but where we'd agreed and shouted at us for not wanting to!! the tailor shop was the funniest, especially when we were told off for not buying anything and making him miss out on free petrol!! ; ) after another argument we told him to stop and we left without giving a single baht - scammer , they try anything out here!! the lucky buddha was also an experience when we turned up and it was being painted by a monk! yeah right! ; ) we all went to a lady boy show in the evening. we were taken by our tour leader - apparently its a must see in thailand and it certainly was something to watch! the only lad of the tour looked petrified and took shelter behind us all! bless him! ; ) never seen anything quite like it but thats nothing compared to the next night!! ... the following day we all headed to the river kwai. learnt so much about the history and conflicts of thailand and about the life stories of the british and american POW's back in the 2nd world war. an interesting day and got me up to speed on my cultural sights!! went for a group meal that evening as one of the members was flying out early back home. next to the river - was very nice. would never have guessed we backpackers - apart from me and my friend/drinking buddy sneaked a bottle of sangsum (rum) under the table to mix our drinks with! cheeky stuff! ; ) ended up to be one of the best nights of my trip...went to 'the station' - a petrol station by day and a pub/club by day! must be safe with all them cigarettes and mobile phone signals around eh...!!! ; ) fab night and the cheapest alcohol ive ever drunk! the two of us were still going strong at 5:30am and, apart from losing my watch, goes down as one of the top 3 nights of the trip!!! the next day i had to be responsible and sensible as we visited the kings palace and the reclining buddha. all very interesting and i was suprisingly awake to take it all in! pictures just dont capture the colours or size but what a day! a group of us headed to pat pong road that night and went to see a ping pong show. for those of you who dont know what that is i will explain when i see you (its most definately not what you are probably thinking!) ; ) although it felt extremely seedy at times its a part of the thai culture that is another must see among tourists and thai locals alike. not really guna comment on it much other than to say it was good to see but maybe not again!! ; ) crazy what people will do for culture and money! that brings us to yesterday which was the pool mission, shopping (with someone more indecisive than me! - it made a nice change to take someone else on a shopping missions and i think she was quite successfgul!!) ; ) - and the thai massage. as for today - it is christmas eve for me and my travelling buddy!!! (Maz) its our last full day together tomorrow - my god, thats the first time ive thought about tat! how scary! got so used to being by each others side for 4 months it will take a little getting used to to being alone!! so we have been shopping again for christmas!! feels like we are living here though (like i wrote at the beginning of this) cos weve been in the hotel a few days now and are doing more normal things...tomorrow we are in all day with present and food and decorations!!! also got xmas movies on the tv and generally just behaving like its xmas!!! i cant wait...guess i better go and wrap her pressies i guess!!! this also might be my last entry from thailand. sad stuff - its gone so quick (again) and yet again, has been made more special by the people i have met. its been amazing and my favourite places have been the cameron highlands and ao nang, krabi. maybe i will return again someday...but for now i hope all is good there and if this is my last entry from here, im sure i will be updating from south africa...the countdown is on!!! lots of love always, georgie x x x