Finally the train came. A young Singaporean man and I shared a seat that converted into bunks later, his on the bottom, mine on top again. The Australian couple I had been stalking ever since he gave me money were across the aisle and a nice hyperactive young American was next door.
We arrived in Bangkok at 2 pm, two hours late. I said farewell to my friends and taxied to the Khao San Palace Hotel that I had chosen because I knew it would be near a travel agency where I could get a visa. It was an okay hotel but they don’t trust you not to skip out without paying the bill, so they made me pay up front plus a deposit in case I made off with the towels. Nice sort of people they must be accustomed to dealing with.
The Kao San Palace Hotel may have been okay but the street of Khao San outside it is a nightmare of repulsive tourist activity. I slept for ten hours. And washed!! Two nights on trains and no bathroom Yuk.
Map Of Burma And Thailand Photo Gallery
Before falling gratefully on to the bed, I bloged a return flight to Yangon with Thai Air International and arranged a Burmese visa application with a lovely girl in a travel agency at the entrance of the hotel. As the weekend was coming up, I had to pay sixty-six dollars for a fast visa. But it was painless and I had it two days later.
I spent four nights in Bangkok. The horrendous traffic makes it slow to get about but taxis are very cheap. And so is food. Drinks were cheap too but not in relation to the food. On Saturday I went to the Weekend Market. It is unbelievably big and crammed with tourist stuff, but also has other goods like fine furniture. It was much bigger than I remembered from the last time I visited, but that was a very long time ago.
I bloged the Khao San Palace Hotel for when I came back from Burma, as well as a sleeper on the train south to Hat Yai. Going to the railway station to do this, the bloging took a mere five minutes! Getting back took an hour and a half in the bedlam of finding a taxi and getting through the traffic.
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