Well, who would have thought a monsoon would be that WET?

One of the things i was nervous about in coming to Thailand was that it was monsoon season. I mean, i'm a Canberra boy, so i'm used to miserable cold and drought and wind and etc. so the prospect of 30 degree+ rain falling a lot wasn't terribly attractive. I kind of forgot about that aspect once i got here, because while it was very hot, it didn't really rain for the first few days.

So, yesterday i went out for a walk in the park. Once i find a place where i can post my pictures online this will be easier to explain, but i think i found Bangkok's 'Central Park'. It's a stretch of lush green parkland that stretches on past a large business district. It's only about 1 1/2 km wide, but from my wanderings yesterday i have to guess it's at least 10km long, possibly a lot longer.

So i'm wandering through the park, and i'm getting a real romantic vibe from the setting. You know those soppy romantic movies where couples take picnic rugs down by the river to have picnics and punt on the Thames and all that shamozzle? I thought that was by and large romantic claptrap (that's right, why don't i just say Christmas, humbug!) but it turns out that there were a lot of couples just sitting back and enjoying themselves by the river that runs through this park. I guess it's a little easier to do that here then in Canberra. The thing that i found particularly interesting was how many people were doing this at 4:30 in the afternoon. I'm not sure how Thai work hours line up with Australian hours, so i might be missing an obvious explanation.

Anyway, it was cloudy when i went out walking, but nothing threatening when i set out. Over the next 45 minutes, clouds kept gathering. So, eventually i figure i'd probably better set back to the hotel. Hoorah for long walks.

The onset of the monsoonal rain was like nothing i've seen before. The clouds suddenly darkened up, and the light went away so suddenly and totally it was like there was a change in air pressure. For all i know, there could of been. And then the rain comes.

I've been stuck in some pretty awesome rain storms, but this one is probably the 2nd most spectacular ever (the 1st was the New Years one in Canberra which felt like it was going to flood the place). I was lucky because it didn't fully hit until i was about 400 metres away from the hotel, but in that 400metres i was completely soaked. It was kind of nice, given it was so warm, but i felt thoroughly ridiculous. So, all these dignified hotel staff were confronted with a soaked hulking, unshaven and thoroughly bedraggled Australian dripping his way through the hotel lobby while giggling. Fun.

I got to try out the pegless washing line which Bob recommended, and it works very well. I'm not sure whether or not to go out on another excursion today, because it's looking threatening as hell. I think i might go browse the markets again, they're good fun.

Drama!

Well, i'm still in Bangkok as of today, in spite of having planned to be in Kanchanaburi province by now, and it looks like i'm likely to be here a few days longer as well. The reason? My bloody debit card got taken by an ATM. Sodding machines.

So, i panicked for about 20 minutes, and then got in touch with my dad, who found out the contacts for getting this all fixed. Some frantic phone calling ensued, and now i'm waiting for a replacement card to arrive. I've been told it will be 2-5 days, so i'm stuck in Bangkok for that period.

Still, other then that one setback, things are pretty nice. I'm having fun walking around Bangkok, even though it feels like I sweat about a litre every time i step out the door. I'll be looking to do some touristy stuff today, once i can actually be bothered going out and about.

Dogs lying on the road

When i was getting ready for this, Bob Harlow mentioned that Thailand has a very 'buddhist' mentality. The example he gave is that, if there are dogs lying on the road, people will just let them lie and... wait. I didn't really take that on board until a bit earlier, when i went out for a walk through the markets and saw... just that. So strange. But kind of nice.

Went out for a 3 or so hour walk. You'd better believe i was sweating like mad by the time i got back from that. I wandered through various markets, and tried a little bit of the local food (something that i think was pork, whatever it was it was nice but perhaps a little chewy to be comforting).

I think the high point of the day was getting a foot massage. That was another of Bob's excellent suggestions. He pointed out that i could get one from the hotel, but that it would be expensive. The hotel-supplied ones were ~1500 baht, which is ludicrous. The one i got in the market was 120 baht, and the premises were lovely, AND they gave me a couple of cups of lovely tea. So, definitely liking the markets.

The only drawback is, it is also becoming apparent how poor my communication is going to be on occasions. I tried to buy some extra mosquito repellant, just to be sure, but noone in any of the stores seemed to know what i was talking about. I even resorted to charades, but no luck. Ah well, try again later.

Made it!

This first post might be a bit haphazard, because the browser i'm using appears in Thai, so i'm pushing buttons from memory ;)

Anyway, got off to a lovely start yesterday when my parents and sister took me out to the airport. We had a nice lunch and they saw me off. The flight to Sydney was packed, but uneventful.

Took off from Sydney airport bound for Bangkok around 4:45 i think. The flight was quite cramped, especially for someone my size, but i had a nice Irish girl sitting next to me, so we chatted for most of the flight. She was just finishing up a tour of South East Asia and Aus/NZ, so she gave me some advice on what to do in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Pretty much all of it contradicted Bob Harlow's advice, except that they've both told me get the luxury buses. That i must try.

Cleared customs with no problems, but by that time it was about 2:30 Australian time (11:30 here), so i was absolutely zonked. I indulged by getting a luxury taxi, mainly to save time. It was a beautiful car, and the driver was very good. The Thais so far seem a bit maniacal on the road - we were dawdling at 120km/h.

The hotel i'm in is very nice - i'll post some pics later on when i get a chance. I feel so indulgent.

Can one of my fellow ALP members let me know what conference was like? I'm anxious to hear whether the SDA finally saved marriage.

Oh yeah - when i walked in to the hotel last night they had karaoke going, and this voice floated out of the bar - if i didn't know better, i swear i would of thought that Mandy had beaten me here.

Introductions and Preparations

Anyone reading this should really already know me, but for those who have stumbled across this blog randomly, my name is Patrick and i live in Canberra, Australia.

In slightly less then a week, i'm taking a fortnight's holiday, almost all of which will be spent in Thailand. That's the main thing i set this blog up for - to act as a bit of a travel diary, as well as hopefully to post some photos of the places i visit.

Today i did some reasonably serious shopping - i bought the backpack i will be using for the trip (which will hopefully carry everything i will need... fingers crossed), some heavy duty sandals, a digital camera, and a portable washing line (this thing is pretty clever - it's two pieces of elastic threaded around one another with hooks on either end. Rather then pegging clothes on, you slip them between the two pieces of threaded elastic). The camera is charging, so i don't have any photos to show off yet. Maybe tomorrow.

My itinary (looking at that i'm sure i spelled it wrong) is going to be something like - 2 days in Bangkok, catch the train out to the western province of Kanchanaburi, where i will spend 3 or so days exploring beautiful national parks and also checking out the historical sites of Hellfire Pass and the Bridge over the River Kwai (probably won't be whistling while i do that last one). After that, i'll then proceed up north to the Chiang Mai province, which i have been told acts as a very nice hub for the northern area of Thailand. Not entirely sure what i will do there, although i have been told that i should take the opportunity to visit Chiang Rai as it is less of a big city.

This last week before taking off for Thailand is going to be pretty frantic - there's a lot of preparation i still need to do for the trip, and i also need to make sure that everything is sorted out at my work so that they aren't cursing my name while i'm gone.