At long last I finally have my credit card back! I feel I can do things again now, which is both great and a little risky. The temptation to spend money now is much greater than what it was when it wasn't technically my money I was spending. I say this because I have just bought a flight ticket to Hong Kong for pretty much 3 times the price that it was a few days ago. Ah well. At least I am moving on once again now and there's no doubt that I have time to make up for. I best get my cross-continental skates on.

My arrival in Bangkok after a full day of buses was surreal to say the least. Me and a guy I had met on the bus, Andy, headed to our hostel that I had incredibly briefly researched and booked the day before. We looked at each other in suspicion as a boy claiming to work for the hostel led us down a pretty dodgy-looking alleyway towards the hostel. That was just the beginning of the wierdness to come. We finally made it to the hostel after a short while, whereupon we were greated by an incredibly camp man (the owner) who told us on our introductory talk that he could arrange anything we wanted "food, alcohol, sex..." So this was Bangkok, I thought. Shortly afterwards we went round to the communal area of the hostel where a ladyboy was sat, along with the boy who had directed us to the hostel. We later found out that 'Boy', as was his name, was a ladyboy in training. Well, you've got to have career aspirations I guess.

The next day I journeyed with wide eyes and a sense of adventure down to the park where it had all been kicking off just a few weeks earlier. Much to my disappointment, there was very little out of the ordinary going on here, with the exception of a few shop windows with bullet-holes and a battered gate here and there. Also, the burnt-down shopping centre that the protesters torched during their retreat was quite something. This was quite a large place, and as I passed the area was barricaded and being prepped for demolition. Generally speaking though, Bangkok was eerily back to normal with very little going on considering that it had essentially been a battleground just a couple of weeks earlier.

After a couple of days in Bangkok I realised that my credit card was going to take a little longer to reach me as was originally thought (the same situation as the last three weeks). So upon finding out that there was a possibility of visiting the 'Bridge Over the River Kwai' for a couple of days, I lept at the chance. The hostel I was staying at offered a two day tour for what I wanted to do for a ridiculous amount of money, so I decided instead just to play it by ear and head out there. This was a much wiser choice, as it turned out. Kanchanaburi, much like any other city/attraction in Thailand was built on tourism - which somewhat disappointed me. It was a bit of a shame to see a place like the River Kwai dotted with speed boats, bars and restaurants. They even had a little mini tourist train that went back and forth over the bridge, but there was no chance of me getting on that. Instead, I walked over it and took a few pictures (trying to leave the floating restaurants and every other eye-sore out of shot).

If there was one picturesc (if not amusing) sight in Kanchanaburi, it was at the hostel that I was staying in. The hostel pretty much consisted entirely of backpackers, such as myself, and the pathetically lovable series of 50+ men - some with 'Thai brides', some without. These guys can be seen pretty much throughout the area either trying to pick up young Thai girls, or they have already done so. This was opitomised in one instance where I was walking out of a shop, turned to my left and stood there, cackling was an elderly English man 'pimpin' with a young Thai girl in each arm. Hats off to that man - he's either got enough charm to nullify his wrinkly old bald head or very deep pockets. I'm guessing it's the second of the two but you come to your own conclusions. Either which way he's clearly a keen advocate of www.thaibride.com.

This sitution was again replicated on my final day in Bangkok, whilst sat in the British Embassy waiting room. The only reason I was sat there for so long was because of these men either extending their own visas or applying for one for their new beloveds to come back home and meet the family. Surely when they look at mirror images of themselves all sat in the same room together they realise just how pathetic it is. It is a bit of a mystery to me though I guess, maybe they are just charming, kind men and not scrabbling around desperately like I first thought. Maybe, just maybe.

Above anything else Thailand has been amusing. True, there are a lot of wierdos here, but where aren't there? Throw in a handful of wierdos, a bucket-load of tourists, a couple of temples and high-rises and the occasional ladyboy, and you pretty much have Bangkok right there!