This is a shock anouncement - I'm loving Bangkok! But you should know that this only occured in the last hour or so.

I spent the last day or two hanging around Sukhumvit, wandering side streets, ignoring vendors (I think I have it down to a fine art now - not sure if I should be proud of that or not though), reading, drinking heaps of water, and thinking that I've lost weight (my trousers are bigger on me than when I left home - I really am melting away!).

Yesterday I booked my ticket to Chaing Mai. Leaving Hua Lamphong station at 7.40 tonight.

I was slowly getting used to Bangkok but not too sure. Today I went to an Aussie pub to watch Bathurst - which was great fun. Sitting in a bar with 5 40+ Aussie men, 3 of whom had gorgeous Thai women hanging off their arms, and for most of the time I had my own gorgeous Thai woman hanging off my arm. I think because I was young, Australian and female, she just wanted to practice her English - which was fine by me during the ads (Si can tell you what I'm like when I'm watching the V8s, I show my bogan colours! I think 2 years at Ouse was way too much for me Mum!). I shocked the men by explaining to new comers what was happening, correcting people when they were talking about who drove with who last season, and random stuff that my mind remembers. For example, I was told once that Dick Johnson had a rock dropped on him during one Bathurst, and one of the guys was asking another who it was. So I pipped up "Oh that was Dick Johnson, not sure what year it was though" to which I received an incredulous look :) Si and Steve have trained me well!

I wandered around a bit more this arvo, then headed back to the hostel to read in the garden (which is bloody gorgeous, it's so relaxing I want a house just like it), part of my "ease myself in to Bangkok" program. Yeah right, more like hide from Bangkok! So I read, examined a map, then packed up my bags and headed off in search of Sukhumvit station. How easy is the Bangkok rail systems! After I got over the skyrail and subway differences, I was on my way!

So now I'm at the station, waiting for my train. My impressions of non-Sukhumvit Bangkok:
* The people are so friendly and helpful. I got to Hua Lamphong and asked at their help desk about where my platform would be and where I could wander while I waited. So I pottered off and have a look around, then it got dark so I headed back into the station, walking past the help desk one of the guys there stopped me asked if I found what I wanted ok and where my friends were, and a couple of other convo making comments. It was my first convo with a non-hostel, vendor, 7-11 person, so I walked away grinning thinking "I've arrived!"
* If you touch the emergency button on the train, you get one month in prison, or a 1000baht (about $32AUS) fine.
* I saw my first monks, 2 of them, would have been early 20's.
* In Singapore, I was blown away with the colour coded train system. Here, it's colour coded AND numerical :) Hows that for tourist friendly! And I thought it was some big scary place! I've been laughing at myself ever since I got off the train!!
* For those in the know, are nuns dressed like monks, but in white? I saw a lady dressed the same way as the monks I saw, but she was in white from head to toe (including a gorgeous white bag, can someone PLEASE make me stop noticing bags!!)

Anyway, I'm headed off to get some food and catch my train. Hope you are all well, miss you all, but I'm finally having a blast (reall, I am now, not just saying that I am!).

Mabs