Back to Bangkok

Up at 6:30, showered, paid for our room, had breakfast, went to the road and waited for a songtheaw to pick us up. Got to the pier and bought mini-bus ticket to Bangkok from a woman selling them on the pier, for 200 baht each, cheaper than the guest houses were selling them for.

Once back on the mainland, a songtheaw took us to the tour company, I ate some breakfast, and we waited for the minibus to leave. We left about 10:45.

The guy sitting next to us on the bus, Chris, was from Toronto as was just finishing up 4 years of travelling.

Minibus ride was about 5 hours long, and the bus dropped us off on Khao San Road, the main backpacker haunt, and the area we stayed at last time.

We decided on the way up to Bangkok that we needed to have air conditioning in the room, so we started our trek for a guest house with A/C, that was also cheap. We had some picked out from Lonely Planet, and checked out the first one, too expensive, checked out the second one, price ok, but we decided to check one place, right next door to the place we were at. They had A/C rooms dirt cheap, only 250 baht! It's called Peachy Guest House, for anyone that's following our journeys. It's a very big room, big bed, A/C (that works wonderfully, BTW), ensuite shower and sink, but no toilet, we have use the shared toilets just down the hall. Not a problem.

It's very strange being back in Bangkok, it's kind of like coming home, because Khao San Road is so familiar to us. But it's changed a lot in the past 3 months. Burger King has a joint on Khao San Road now, a new shell went up, lots of other places have changed, and it's dead! It's sooo much less busy now, being the hot season, which is also the low season. Not nearly as many street vendors and tourists walking the streets. Don't get me wrong, it's not a ghost town by any stretch, but it's not jammed packed and crazy either. It's actually bearable!

We showered and went walking and did an internet stop, had Pad Thai from a street vendor, Court went window shopping for clothes, and we ran into Nigel again, the guy we originally met on the Halong Bay tour, then again in Sihanoukville for a minute, and now here.

We had a little bit of rain this evening, to help keep things cool.

We went back to the guest house and went to sleep about 10:30.

During the minibus trip to Bangkok, the bus stopped a couple of times at convenience stores for toilet and refreshment breaks. I had a bottle of ice cold milk today, it was sooo good, the first milk I've drank in 3 months. Yumm!! Being back in Thailand is soo nice. When I was buying my milk (and chocolate cake!), the cashier girl was very attractive. She rang up the total, then said in a very low, man's voice, "40 baht, please." I nearly choked for a second...it was a Thai lady-boy!!!!! I tried not to act shocked, and didn't want to stare, but I think I maybe was staring, as it was a shock to here that voice come out of that body.

We decided to do our Advanced Open Water course in Koh Tao. It's the most popular dive spot in Thailand, and we can do it very cheap there.