DAY 61 - BANGKOK

I had to arise at about 8 in order to catch a tuk tuk to the hospital across town to acquire a replacement anti-maleria medication (I had had a reaction to the type I was currently taking), so left James sleeping and made my way over. As we had to check out of our room by 12 and there was no luggage storage facility at the hostel, I had to lug my bag with me which was a bit of a hassle but luckily didn't really pose too much of a problem. The hospital itself was stunning. It had the decor of a five star hotel - plush polished floors, sculptures, water features, mood lighting, all imaculately cleaned and stylishly designed. Once I had had my registration card produced for me, a process which was incredibly efficient, I grabbed a muffin from the hospital's Starbucks which I painfully swallowed down (chest pains/heart burn being one of my symptoms), before being called up for my appointment. After being wizzed through a preliminary series of checks, I was taken to the doctor - an enthusiastic, energetic man - with whom I chatted for a while, before he prescribed me Lariam, an alternative medication. After an invoice was forwarded to my insurance company, I made my way back to Khao San. This time, however, I was keen to get a better price for the journey back after learning how much the locals paid at the hospital. Whenever I proposed the fair amount though, the driver was utterly reluctant to concede and offer me the price I quoted. After a few minutes, I started talking with a local, originally from the Philippines, who invited me to his birthday bash the next day (I obviously had to refuse), before walking me a good few minutes to a public bus stop and showing me which bus to get on. His helpfulness meant that my journey back cost me only 7 baht as opposed to 150 or so, and for that I was very grateful. Upon arriving back at the hostel, I met James who was reading on the cushions in its restaurant/bar area, and joined him for a drink. Suddenly, a tropical storm started, with thunder and lightning crashing around and rain pouring heavily over the city. It continued for a long while and we amused ourselves by watching people drag their feet along the road in about 6 or 7 inches of water, utterly drenched. Eventually, however, it was time for us to move to our next residence (the meeting point for our tour), so we had to brace it ourselves. Luckily, it wasn't raining so hard and we actually quite enjoyed the oddly surreal experience. Either way, the warm tropical rain beat that of England's any day. Once we arrived, we read the notice that had been pinned up by our guide-to-be and signed into our room. Compared to the places we had stayed at over the past two months, the hotel was absolute luxury, with large, clean rooms, complimentary water, towels, a mini bar, artwork, cable tv, a gym, a good restaurant and more. It was a great relief to be able to afford ourselves a break from frugality, our expenses pretty much already paid for. After a few hours, we met our group in the lobby and listened to a talk from our guide about our tour through Cambodia (our 40 day tour is compromised of three smaller ones, this being the first). The group were all pretty cool, quite an eclectic mix, from gap-year students like ourselves, to graduates in their early twenties and couples (one pair on their honeymoon), as well as one slightly older guy. Most people were from England, although out of the 15 we also had people from Australia and New Zealand. During the brief meeting, we all seemed to get along and it was clear everyone was excited about the trip ahead. After establishing that we were to meet the rest of the group at about 7 the next morning, we grabbed some dinner at a great nearby street restaurant and had a couple of drinks, before heading back to our room to get a decent night's sleep in preparation for our journey into Cambodia the next day.