Hello there brave new world, So, here it is, the first semi essay of a correspondance you can open and leave to lunch time / delete. I've been away now for three days and a combination of jet lag, tiredness and hangover mean i'm not quite sure to start or what my name is. I warn you all now that this e-mail may veer in to the surreal for the reasons mentioned above. Let's see. Flight was well, a flight really. The whole leaving experience is a strange rite of passage from extreme nervousness you hadn't expected in to excitement mixed with relief as you get in to the departure lounge. And then there's Bangkok. Now the thing with Bangkok, is that it's, well, everything that you have heard in its stereotypes. It is not so much of a culture shock as a culture assault. It's a frenetic, 24 hour, humid (how about 34F for starters?!), chaotic, swarming amorphous mass of concrete and crazy drivers. Apparently it has 9 million people living in it which is surely an underestimate. It has no real centre and no charm unless you count living in something approaching the cities you see in si-fi movies like The Fifth Element. There are hundreds of ornate temples nestling amongst 8 lane super highways....and crossing one of those is a lfe afirming experience! Talking of being glad to be alive...I took a Tuk Tuk ride last night. Mr Chidwick, sir, I now understand how you described it in India. The image of being in a motised lawnmower as it crossed three lanes of traffic whilst a taxi tried to go in to us from the side is, well, quite exciting actually! What else. Ok, Bangkok has one vice and one industry...and they're the same thing! The sex industry is exactly that. An industry. You can't move for stumbling on it. There are a few stories I could explain more but maybe a circular e-mail is not the best place for them, ask me some time! It's enough to say that Alan Partridge is scarily close to the mark....and a lot of 'gentlemen' in the vicinity look like him. Ah, that's it, I remember now. I went to see some Thai boxing last night. It's a bit like American Football in that it's the national sport and only Thai's really seem to play it. Also, it's called "boxing" but most of it's kicking which is a bit like the relationship between "American" and "FOOTball". Wasn't too interesting really and as foreigners our tickets were ten times as much as for the locals for the same seats! I still don't really know what time it is. Don't know why I said that but it's an indication of my state of mind. So, yes, Bangkok. Maybe i'm a bit tought on it. An experience to see but three to four days is definetly enough. Glad to see it but happy to move on in a day and a bit. Right, hope you're all well and throughy jealous. That is of course the aim. No comedy moments yet. I wouldn't dare here! Don't forget to log in to my online travel journal / Track-a-Mullens (copyright M.Webb) (can't remember the address off hand) for pictures yet to appear and a flashing got in a map. Apologies for the length of this e-mail (it seems long),