Yet another night in Bangkok

I think this is my seventh night in Bangkok. 

We got in yesterday, after spending a nauseating 3 hours on a third class train on our way in from Lopburi.  The train itself was 2 hours late, but that seems to be a pretty common thing here in Thailand.  Oh Thailand, why must you be so tardy?

Yesterday was long, but fun.  We woke up early, at sunrise, and using our rented motorbike, which we rented the night before, we drove out (driving on the highways of Thailand, oh my god) to a little place called Khao Chin Lae, where there were massive rock climbing buttresses, and fields of sunflowers.  It was a pretty awesome way to spend the morning, and I think we gave the locals a bit of a show.  Everyone in the little village who saw us, did a full 360 every time we passed.  The stares we got!  I think they have never seen tourists out that far, which is strange, because they're situated directly under some pretty famous rock climbing cliffs.  It was gorgeous, and I took a few photos - but they're on my camera right now and I'm on very limited wifi right now (stealing it from someone else)

When we got into Bangkok yesterday afternoon, we went to our hostel - which is way cooler than our previous one, in Sukhumvit, the trendy international area of Bangkok.  We went for some positively stellar Indian food last night, though my stomach is paying for it this morning - I'm apparently used to Thai spices, not Indian ones - and we finally managed to do some real laundry.  Not really blog worthy of mentioning, except that I've only done laundry in a machine twice in 4 weeks.  I'm so sick of washing in the sink! 

We then got changed into the fanciest things we could, and headed off to a swank nightclub called the Bed Supperclub.  It was crazy expensive to get in, but included two drinks, and it looks like a spaceship on the inside!  We were the first people there, as apparently nightclubs don't pick up in Bangkok until much later than in Vancouver, and we just chilled out on this couch thing with some scotch.  It was pretty rad though - very juxtaposed against our experiences for the last two days in monkey-filled, dirty Lopburi.  There was a live DJ - and he was my main source of entertainment, as he was rockin' out like nobody's business. 

I wanted to dance a bit, but no one else was, even by 11PM when we left, so we wandered around on the streets for a bit, getting propositions of sex shows, and prostitutes asking us for 'massages' ...it was a bit unnerving.  It really saddened me to come out of the nightclub and be assaulted by the sights of mothers with babies sitting on the street asking for change, and the lifeless look in the prostitutes eyes as they offered people themselves for the night.  I was having a bit of a hard time coping with it. 

Our hostel is amazing here, however - and this whole area gives a very unreal feel to Bangkok - this isn't the Bangkok I've come to know.  This isn't really Bangkok.  This is farangs walking around, with their money, enjoying the western niceties of life.  This just isn't really Bangkok.

Tonight we're off to Chiang Mai for five nights.  We need to be in one place for a bit, and there is a ton of things we plan on doing in our time there.  Bicycles, and cooking school.  Muay Thai and elephants.  Maybe we'll rent motorbikes again - Tim's as bad as I am with bicycles when it comes to the need to ride.

Anyhow, we're running a bit late this morning, as I was a smidge hungover this morning, but I'm feeling better now, and we're off to explore for the day.  We've found a restaurant that apparently serves proper British fish n' chips, so I think after we go see a temple, we're going to attempt to go find it.  And Tim wants to get a suit tailored at some point.

Busy day today!

PS:  No photos, I have four minutes of wifi left and they didn't load in time.  Oh well!