Arriving in Bangkok after being in New Zealand was quite a shock. Not only because of the crowds but also the heat just hit you! We arrived at 5am NZ time 1am Thai time so we were so exhausted wandering down Khaosan Rd looking for a hostel. Luckily we bumped into a couple who went to Sheffield Uni who Nick kind of knew and they sorted us out and took us to there cheap hostel where we stayed ever since. The hostel is pretty basic and only has cold water but thats all you want really in this heat. Also there is free internet and lots of pirate movies to watch so at 2 pounds a night its a steal!

The first few days Nick and I made the most of all the cheap transport and food and we had our first ride in a Tuk Tuk which was an experience in itself and so funny! Bangkok seems very much like Shanghai in how Western it is and geered up for tourists. It also seemed so cheap after being in Oz and NZ. There are these massive shopping malls that I would imagine being in America and they are so posh, Nick and I really enjoyed just wandering around these and benefitting from the Air Con! We even went to the cinema for a pound and it was so luxurious with leather reclining chairs. We werent expecting it when everyone stood befor ethe film started to sing the national anthem though!

We went out with Hetaher, Jo and Sarah from Sheffield a few times and discovered an awesome ice cream parlour! Also just off Khaosan Rd there is an old Shell garage that has been converted into a bar so we went there a few times as there was a good atmosphere sat out on the court with candels...we just hope all the petrol had been taken away!

One night we all headed out along with Jen and Phil also to the arabic quater to try out some sheesha as this was recomended in the Lonely Planet Guide, but once we got there we realised it was very Muslim as there were not many women and in most bars you couldnt buy alcohol, so the only bar we found that did was pretty gross! Once we all sat and had a drink and started up the sheesha we realised just how dirty it was as we saw a rat running around and there were massive cockroaches crawling around. Then the most horrible thing happened...I was sat there and noticed the biggest flying cockroach flying staright for me but i was hemmed in and couldnt escape so started scraeming...the cockroach landed onme and ran all over me! I could have died and everyone was looking at me as I was screaming and freaking out! It was awful and we left soon after that to head to the comfort of the Shell garage!

We spent one afternoon wandering around the Grand Palace which was just amazing! The Forbidden City in Beijing was very grand but the Grand Palace here is so detailed and a real show of their wealth! Nick and I couldnt put our cameras down the whole time it was so spectacular though pretty hot work wandering around. The palace is definately the highlight of Bangkok. Since arriving the temperature has just been rising and it is now silly hot. We are definately starting to feel nervous about India and how hot that will be. The humidity here is just unbereable and Nick and I ended up being some local clothes as they are so much cooler than ours...even if we do look like local fisherman!

We had to hang around Bangkok longer than we would have liked to get our India Visas so once we had handed them in they tok a week to be processed so Nick and I decided to go to Kanchanburi for a few days to break up the time...