Back in Bangkok

So leaving Koh Chang we got up early enough, and strolled up to the village to get a songthaw to the ferry. After all the usual connections to and from the ferry and Trat (much quicker and coordinated this time though), we arrived in Bangkok Eastern Bus terminal around 5pm. A quick ride on the SkyTrain, a wee wait for a number 15 bus, and then getting seriously stuck in traffic (one set of traffic lights held the bus up for nearly an hour, so it was lucky I had resisted Sarah's demands to get a taxi from the bus station). After taking so long we were both pretty hungry, so we popped into a recommended vegetarian place for dinner (Arawy). I thought the food was fantastic, although Sarah didn't like it much, which has been unusual for us.

Anyway, then it was a stroll back to the Merry V Guesthouse near Koh Shan Road (Sarah getting worried it might be full - but of course it was practically empty!), and then we used the Internet for a bit before bed.

Next day I got up and got a bus out to the Southern Bus Terminal to check out buses to Malaysia (and getting a bit of a shock at the high prices - so I only booked as far as Hat Yai, as you have to change bus there for KL anyway), and then after heading back to Sarah I headed out to Siam Square for the day while Sarah used the Internet.

I was very impressed with the Siam Paragon centre. Although being the Buddhist I am(!), I wasn't impressed with all the consumerism, flash lambourghinis and designer clothes shops, I was more impressed with all the free taster's they were offering in the Gourmet market on the ground floor (and the cool orchid exhibition they had). The Gourmet market is a seriously huge supermarket of very upmarket (i.e. heavily pre-packaged) food goods, and the nearby food stalls and counters were just irresistable. So I just spent the whole afternoon just pottering around and exploring, and for the first time in my life I think I might have gotten a small insight into why Americans seem to be so entralled by the idea of a shopping mall.

Anyway, by late afternoon I had to head back to Sarah at the hotel, where we ordered a bite to eat and then I used the Internet some more to try and catch up on this blog. We had a leisurely day the next day, as the bus to Hat Yai is an overnight bus leaving Bangkok at 5pm. So after a nice lie-in and a Western breakfast in a cafe we checked-out, and used up all our remaining internet credit before getting a local bus to the bus terminal (it feels a bit weird as I come towards the end of this trip after being on the road now for over 2 years, but getting another overnight long-distance bus seems like a new beginning for some reason...).