After almost two and a half years of travelling it was all but over! From Hanoi we flew to Bangkok in the morning. From the airport we took the new train line to Phaya Thai which is the end of the line. We have been to Bangkok previously so will only be here for one day before our flight to Melbourne. For this reason we wanted to stay close to the train line for our return to the airport. 
First thing we did, as is so often the case, is we ate! Just under the train station and across a main road were a couple of food stall come lunch restraints for the locals in big marquee tents. The rule is, it may be hot, but if the locals are eating there, the food is probably good, fresh and cheap! We looked at the first tent, but when we asked about pad thai they sent us up to the next tent, each stall only serves one or two dishes. As expected the food was delicious, pad thai and a roast pork stew dish for about $2 each. 
Damien then hit the street in search of accommodation which proved more difficult than anticipated, partially due to walking in the wrong direction. Once off in the right direction we found “15 Petchburi Road”, My Hotel. This was reasonably cheap and ok for a night. The best part was its right in the shopping district close to heaps of markets and shopping centre’s.
So with an afternoon and best part of one day (our flight is at 10pm) we had some shopping to do! We also had hoped to have a massage and Christine a Manicure. As always once we got going, we kept thinking of other things we should look for so the shopping list kept ex
panding. For dinner we had another amazing Bangkok experience. We at with the locals in a road side stall and had the hottest dish we have had for a long time. It was a minced pork dish with spices and flavours, very tasty, very hot. After eating some of it Christine said, “I think I can see sesame seeds in it”, but no, those were chilli seeds. Luckily the other dishes, BBQ chicken and a vegetable plate were not too spicy. After dinner we retreated back to our room, burning, exhausted and looking forward to a good night sleep.
The hotel provided a simple breakfast which was a bonus. After this we checked out, stored our bags, grabbed a fresh mango smoothie and headed out to the shops to continue our express shopping. By the time we sat down for a late lunch we were almost finished, but were running out of time to enjoy a massage or manicure. As we ate, yet more pad thai, we received a text message from Jetstar telling us our flight had been delayed from 10pm until 4am. A blessing in disguise? We cruised our way around the markets at a more leisurely pace before returning to our bags, to try and fit everything into our bags.
The delay meant that we had another evening so we headed down to the tourist hotspot, Khao San Road. We had planned on taking the bus, but as time was running out we tried to grab a taxi. After 3 attempts, with drivers refusing to take us there, we got a reasonable price on a Tuk Tuk and away we went. We finally got our massage which we had been saying we should have for 4-5 days. Relaxed we had dinner in a nice little restraint and were joined by Christine’s friend Tunde. After dinner the girls had their nails done, before we grabbed a taxi and headed to the hotel. The driver proceeded to get lost and it cost us the same as the tuk tuk in traffic.
Our plan of staying near the train line has slightly backfired, as the train finishes at midnight. Instead we took a taxi to the airport to wait for our 4am flight which was further delayed until about 5am.
First thing we did, as is so often the case, is we ate! Just under the train station and across a main road were a couple of food stall come lunch restraints for the locals in big marquee tents. The rule is, it may be hot, but if the locals are eating there, the food is probably good, fresh and cheap! We looked at the first tent, but when we asked about pad thai they sent us up to the next tent, each stall only serves one or two dishes. As expected the food was delicious, pad thai and a roast pork stew dish for about $2 each. Damien then hit the street in search of accommodation which proved more difficult than anticipated, partially due to walking in the wrong direction. Once off in the right direction we found “15 Petchburi Road”, My Hotel. This was reasonably cheap and ok for a night. The best part was its right in the shopping district close to heaps of markets and shopping centre’s.So with an afternoon and best part of one day (our flight is at 10pm) we had some shopping to do! We also had hoped to have a massage and Christine a Manicure. As always once we got going, we kept thinking of other things we should look for so the shopping list kept ex
panding. For dinner we had another amazing Bangkok experience. We at with the locals in a road side stall and had the hottest dish we have had for a long time. It was a minced pork dish with spices and flavours, very tasty, very hot. After eating some of it Christine said, “I think I can see sesame seeds in it”, but no, those were chilli seeds. Luckily the other dishes, BBQ chicken and a vegetable plate were not too spicy. After dinner we retreated back to our room, burning, exhausted and looking forward to a good night sleep.The hotel provided a simple breakfast which was a bonus. After this we checked out, stored our bags, grabbed a fresh mango smoothie and headed out to the shops to continue our express shopping. By the time we sat down for a late lunch we were almost finished, but were running out of time to enjoy a massage or manicure. As we ate, yet more pad thai, we received a text message from Jetstar telling us our flight had been delayed from 10pm until 4am. A blessing in disguise? We cruised our way around the markets at a more leisurely pace before returning to our bags, to try and fit everything into our bags.
The delay meant that we had another evening so we headed down to the tourist hotspot, Khao San Road. We had planned on taking the bus, but as time was running out we tried to grab a taxi. After 3 attempts, with drivers refusing to take us there, we got a reasonable price on a Tuk Tuk and away we went. We finally got our massage which we had been saying we should have for 4-5 days. Relaxed we had dinner in a nice little restraint and were joined by Christine’s friend Tunde. After dinner the girls had their nails done, before we grabbed a taxi and headed to the hotel. The driver proceeded to get lost and it cost us the same as the tuk tuk in traffic.Our plan of staying near the train line has slightly backfired, as the train finishes at midnight. Instead we took a taxi to the airport to wait for our 4am flight which was further delayed until about 5am.
