Here I am in the liveliest place I've ever been in Bangkok, Thailand. I've never had so much spicy food, sweated so much or been asked to buy so many suits in my life!
I flew in from Bangkok and saw a sunrise over the East coast of Malaysia that would rival Mindil Beach in Darwin, Australia. I was very jet-lagged and knew only to tell the taxi driver to head to the famous Khaosan Road. This place is truly unbelievable at night time. I roughly knew what to expect but it exceeded all expectations on arrival. I don't think I've ever smelt as many smells or been offered to buy as many things as that night.
The food and beer is really cheap and you're never short for entertainment. Every bar the whole way down was showing Premier League football. Within a stone's throw at any one time you could see stands offering fish massages, fake ID's and ping pong shows. Definitely something to see if you ever come to Thailand.
I then went to the black buddha however being a buddhist holiday there was a ceremony taking place and I felt bad enough being there let alone taking pictures and getting in the way. Then I went and saw the standing buddha, a huge golden statue rising over 45m high into the Bangkok skyline. There was a lot of Thai locals praying here and was beautiful to sit down and watch them pray.
After this I saw Golden Mount, a temple on top of hill with 750 steps, which in this humidity is no easy task. The trek up is worth it though, with some beautiful scenery, praying bells and a skyline view of Bangkok that is hard to beat.
Getting around these places needs a form of transport, and what is better in Bangkok than the tuk-tuk. It's slightly hair raising getting a tuk-tuk but at the same time you've never felt more alive. My driver was the friendliest chap ever, he knew all the best places to go and where the nicest parts where, although he was a Liverpool fan.
One thing I still can't fathom is how cheap everything is over here. To hire a tuk-tuk all day cost 40 Baht which is only 80p! My meal tonight along with 4 Singha beers cost only 150 Baht which is under £3! It's the done thing over here to barter down prices but I feel really bad at the same time. Since being here I've bartered tuk-tuk drivers down to a ridiculously low price then gave them a bit extra on arrival because I feel like I'm ripping them off.
One thing I won't miss is being asked to visit jewellery stores and tailors while travelling on a tuk-tuk, I'm running out of ways to say 'I don't need a suit thank you' before walking away.
As the sun set I went to see the main shopping district and the the Siam Paragon. This place is more like how I imagine Tokyo or Beijing, the total opposite of Khaosan Road. There were all the modern shops you would expect in England like Sony and Apple, all in one huge, modern, air conditioned shopping centre. We spent that night in Pat Pong, Bangkok's red light district. It's manic down there and you cant walk two steps without being offered to see a ping pong show or some other act.
My last day travelling and I was pretty shattered so I headed to the famous Golden Palace and the reclining buddha by the river. The place looked fantastic at sunset, a great way to see off Thailand and Indochina.