Well hello everyone!

Surreal is the best word to describe how we feel plus somewhat exhausted! Still feels amazing to think we just boarded a flight and now were in Bangkok!

The flights weren't the best as there was a lot of turbulence; Chris got a lot of sleep but i only got about 2 hours. On the second flight from Helsinki to Bangkok, for the the first hour of the flight they just had announcements! Firstly in English then Finnish then Thai! It got a little much for Chris haha

We arrived at 7.10am Bangkok time (1am GMT) quickly grabbed our bag and instantly felt the heat and was reminded of the strange smells. We went on their 'underground' which made us feel like we were on our way to work haha I was comforted by the sound of the doors closing BeepBeepBeep and the crowds. Chris and I offered our seat to an elderly couple who were so thankful that they offered to hold our bags; I thought how lovely but Chris thought ahhh Elderly Thieves! There was absolutely no chance of them running away with our bags firstly due to the crowds but more so due to the fact they were both 100 years old!

We hopped onto another train then walked to the youth hostel; even a simple walk like that a million things happen. Being bombarded by people trying to sell things is just normal everyday life in Thailand, Chris clearly needed time to adjust as they would offer him something and he would explain why he doesn't want it haha As if they care! We dropped off our bags and thought we would make as much use of our time as possible; we decided to go the Grand Palace which we didn't get time to visit last year. Rather than use a tuktuk we thought we would master the buses. You can already see where this is going haha We caught the no.47; Chris asked the ticket lady do you know which stop is Grand Palace? She just charged us and walked off! He then asked again with clear eye contact but got nothing! We even got the book out to show her where and again she ran away! Within 15 minutes everyone was off the bus including the driver and there was no Grand Palace in sight! We thought maybe we should get off, explained to a man the situation and he just guided us to another 47 as we'd ended up at the bus depot! We sat there waiting patiently for the next driver and again the lady got on and charged us, we said 'no no we want grand palace we haven't seen it' she said '8baht 8baht'. So we bought another ticket and realised we'd originally got the bus on the wrong side of the road. Initially I was soooo annoyed as we had to pay twice but once we calculated that the bus ride was only 20p each - cant really complain :) 

It was a lovely way to roam through the city, to see the sights without being greeted constantly. But again the question still beckoned when do we get off? I wondered how does anyone know when to get off as there's no maps or real road signs; but then you hear a moaning from the driver every ten minutes. I thought he was annoyed at the traffic but in fact he's letting you know where you are! Made no difference to us though haha but luckily a girl who sat in front of us was from ESSEX! Oh how the British are wonderful! She gave us a map and told us where to get off, magnificent! Got off the bus still laughing at ourselves for having caught a bus in Bangkok, serious travellers! Then a woman came up to Chris and forced open bags of corn onto his hand to feed the birds. She said 'free free', and again I thought how lovely so we fed the birds and off we went. No. She ran after us saying 'you pay'. So when she said free she meant not free. I walked off and Chris chatted to her and eventually gave her 70baht, Chris was annoyed but I thought it was hilarious! 

We got to what we thought was the entrance to the Grand Palace, but the men said no its closed but there's a market round the corner. We continued to follow the crowds up the path to the REAL entrance haha we got as far as 10 meters in then we were ushered to a room to pay for clothes to cover our legs, shoulders and feet. As it was 200 baht per item we thought we'd just pop back tomorrow to save as much money as possible. But the reception looked great! We thought we would go to the drinking district to have a much needed beer; khaoson road is the place. We walked around for hours in what was thankfully a damp heat rather than a dry heat. We found a nice cafe and had a pizza :) it went down a treat! Chris was asked maybe 20 of more times if he would like a suit! Each time he changed his answer, 'I've been to Bangkok many times, I don't need a suit, I have hundreds of suits, i'm a local' all answers they dont care about haha

We got the bus back and I fell asleep. As we didnt know the bus stop we just had to remember certain high rise buildings; quite tricky when all there is is high rise buildings! But we found our stop got a 2 litre bottle of water for 14baht only 28p :) got to the youth hostel and I was out like a light - 8 hours later and I'm writing this blog. Were both well and already working on our tan :) we just have to get used to the fact that there is no system, logic, correct price or chance that you will be left alone :) all good stuff!

Chris is talking to 2 Irish lads and a French man; thinking we might pop out for a drink with them. Or maybe have a shower and bed; both sound exciting to me :) fingers crossed Grand Palace tomorrow and then we have our bus booked for Cambodia for Wednesday morning.

Love to you all, 
Hope your all well.
Will be updating photos on Facebook soon xxxx