Our arrival in Bangkok was extremely sedate and certainly not the crazy reception we had been warned to expect. Managing to get straight off the plane and through immigration without even a sniff of a tout. We had one night and day in Bangkok before catching a night train north. Khao San Road aka backpacker mecca is the area of town where you can find budget accommodation so that is where we were headed. We didn't have anywhere booked however as soon as we got off the bus there were hotels and guest houses everywhere so after getting prices for a few we finally settled on an 8 quid a night room on the nearby Rambutri road. After a quick shower to freshen up we headed out to explore the area and have a well deserved beer. The street was filled with travelers but with giant beers for a pound we could definitely see the attraction. We found the first bar and settled in for a few beers to relax watching an array of strange travelers wearing all manner of weird traveling attire. I don't think I have ever seen so much tie-dye in a single sitting! After a few beers we then went to check out some of the carts selling dinner in the hope of having our first ever authentic thai green curry. For less than 2 quid we had the most amazing curry cooked right in front of us while we waited and then consumed it on plastic chairs Vietnam stylee. After dinner we went to check out the Khao San Market filled with shops and stalls selling every kind of t shirt and vest top you could ever want. There were also a few other stalls selling jewellery, bags and plenty of the funky traveling gear I mentioned earlier! Our small backpack that had served us well for the last 11 months coming with us on all our days out and organised trips was starting to look a little worse for wear so when we spotted a shop selling loads of hookie north face bags it was time to get our haggling heads on and try to get a replacement. Ten minutes later we had a lovely new lowe alpine day sack for the bargain price of 12 pounds. Feeling pretty pleased with myself I couldn't resist some of the lovely vest tops and so I ended up treating myself to a couple of those too. After walking around the rest of the market we stopped at one of the many bar/stalls along the road side. These are basically little carts run by dudes with getto blasters who will make you a cocktail for 2 pounds and you can consume your drink at the roadside on a plastic stool with another stool as your table. The streets are literally lined with these setups all competing with each other to see who can play the loudest music. After our cocktails we decided to make our way back to the hotel as it had been a long day however on route we stumbled past a drink cart that had a live music set from a couple of guys who on listening to them weren't half bad so we decided to have a nightcap and ordered a bucket of some random cocktail that we still have no idea what it was but it tasted good nonetheless.
We were able to spend the next morning and afternoon taking in some of Bangkok as our night train wasn't until 7.30pm so with slightly boozy heads we headed out to have a wander around the nearby sights hoping to end up at the famous grand palace. We hadn't got far before we were accosted by a seemingly friendly thai man who was interested in where we were from and what we wanted to do while in Bangkok. He recommended that we take a tuk tuk around town to visit some Buddha's including the giant Buddha and the lucky Buddha. We had been warned to watch out for tuk tuk tour touts but when he was offering to take us to the sights and then to the grand palace we didn't see what harm it could do! If we weren't happy at any point we could always just get out and get another tuk tuk back to the hotel so for the bargain price of 40 baht (less than a pound) we were off to visit multiple Buddha's. The tour started well with us visiting a giant Buddha that towered above all the surrounding buildings as well as the grand and impressive temples in the vicinity. After that it was back in the tuk tuk across town where we were met by a guide and taken to see the lucky Buddha a large reclining shiny gold statue then it was on to the smiling Buddha and after that a little talk on the attached temple before it was time to move on. The next stop on the itinerary was the Grand Palace however when we confirmed this with our driver he wanted to take us to the tourist information office? It didn't matter how much we said we didn't want to go there, he was insistent that was going to be our next stop. We realised that the tuk tuk drivers must get money from the tourist information for bringing in new customers and this must have been why the ride was so cheap it was to be supplemented by the tourist info. After a few minutes of gentle argument with our driver he very grumpily sped across town in the direction of the grand palace. I can only imagine how upset he must have been because what had started out as their scam to get us to the tourist info had turned into us getting a ride all over town for 40 baht. On arrival at the grand palace we settled our bill and battled the tourist frenzy outside to purchase our entrance tickets. The whole place is absolutely out of this world, it is like Disney on speed with each building competing with its neighbour to see who can display the most gold and sparkle. There must be at least 10 different buildings all different in style and each grander than the last, it is a fantastic place to walk around and taking photographs is addictive however no photograph can capture how truly spectacular this place is. You really have to see it to believe it and by the time we had walked around all the buildings we both had sore necks from walking around with our eyes in the air not wanting to miss a single detail. By the time we had filled our memory card with photos and seen all there was to see it was time to head back to the hotel, freshen up and then make our way across town to the train station for our first ever night train experience