Finally

Well greetings from khao san road, bangkok. I arrived yesterday lunch time - after a 4 hour delay in bahrain so your quite lucky that i am writing this already. The main reason I write this is that it is raining and i mean 'proper' raining outside and although its nice to get wet and cool down the novelty soon wore off. so i sit here beer in hand looking out onto khao san road.

it took me ages to find the hotel, i took the lonely planets advice and saved meself a few quid by getting a cheap taxi from outside the airport and not inside. dispite this the guy didnt know where it was and just dropped me off on the main strip of khao san - figuring that i looked like a 'newie' and he could get away with it. i wander around for a bit before i saw the sign, which led me down a small alley into another world completly. all the little alleys branch off into numerous side streets and markets, which have less hussle and bussle then the main strip. the main strip is best described as crazy - every turn people attempt to sell you things from trainers and hats to massages and women. none of which i have taken up (yet)

the hotel itself the sawasdee bangulumpu inn is what i pretty much what i expected - no windows but thankfully a fan, small box like room but it is pretty quite compared to the main strip, apart from the fact that the love the boy band blue and constantly seem to play them over the tannoy.

after i got in and attempted to make myself feel human again by showering and shaving i had an intended 'little' kip to get over the travelling - reckon i had roughly 4 hours sleep within a 45 hour period. needless to say i woke about 5 hours later, not feeling any more awake. but the explorer in me thought i better make tracks and a little look round. i went for a wander along the main backpacker street and tried to get myself used to life on the road again.

after that i went back to the hotel and promptly fell alseep straight away, waking at roughly 3 o'clock this afternoon feeling normal again.

havent done much this afternoon but was wandering round the stalls looking for the things i forgot - a watch, a pen and paper and an adaptor - when the storm hit and the lightening started so i ducked in here to update you all.

over the next few days i am planning on exploring the places of interest in and around bangkok, whilst attempting to sort out which route to take north and where to enter laos. think i will stay in bangkok till the weekend and make tracks to the less touristy areas further north.

i will attempt to keep this as upto date as possible.