Feburary 14: Valentines in the Air

When we arrived in Bangkok our first thought was "this could be New York". It looked like an American city: the skyline a high rise buildings, the glowing Siemans tower, wide, smooth roads and lots of cars.
But we were not headed for the tall buildings and westernized shops: we were heading for the backpacker-ghetto, albeit the tame side of this urban jungle.
When you arrive on the Kho San Road, the major street for backpackers, its a culture shock. There are stalls everywhere, crowds stumble around avoiding motor-bike people carriers, everyone is bargaining and shouting their wares and such rarities as street vendors cooking insects are common place: everyone wants to sell you food, beer, massages and tuc-tuc driver s are eager to take you anywhere. Its hot, even at night and you just want to explore this strange world which could be a fairy tail albeit for the sex shops and the totes asking you in to see what I found out wasn't a ping pong competition. Being Paddy and Laura, we just wanted to admire this madness for a little while, avoid buying too much junk and find a nice pub.
Our hotel/hostel was covered in plants, its the strangest sight when you arrive, its overgrown like a little jungle, there is a small fountain inside, the ground is made of patterned tiles and no-one wears shoes inside. The food was organic, additive-free and mostly veggie, so we ate healthy and started to detox. When we entered our hotel room I spied a lizard crawling past the window. In the morning the rooster outside our window woke us at six in the morning. We got bitten in the feet by mosquitoes, didn't even notice until it was too late. All in all bangkok is like another world rather than another country.