From Krabi, I set off for Phuket. Was slightly disappointed with it. Much more touristy than I expected, and very expensive. Stayed at a beach on the west coast of the Island.Had a really comfortable dorm room in a new hostel. My first morning I was woken up by chanting monks, who i thought might be on a procession through the street, however when I went downstairs there was 8 chanting monks in a line and the entire room was decorated. The was a yearly house blessing. I though Phuket was very westernised and even difficult to get some local food. However I did enjoy 2 days of relaxing by the beach which was very nice, warm water and golden sand. And not overly crowded. Next off was a full travel day to Bangkok. Had to catch a bus to the train station 41/2 hours and then catch the night train to bangkok. Even though I had bought the cheapest sleeper bed available,(top bunk with no air con) it was really comfortable and I actually had a few hours of great sleep. Arrived in Bangkok at 6.30 am had had a tasty brekkie of Hainese Chicken rice with broth.
A tale of two cities was the best way to sum up my first taste of Bangkok. I had expected something in between Jakarta and Manila, however I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the city really is. I mean it is still a city but not half as hectic, built up or polluted as I had expected. Didn`t come across any of the touts or the usual horror stories that you here. The transport is great, but nearly always empty, didn`t see it during rush hour though and pretty cheap. The food was great. The sights were easy to see but the Grand Palace was a bit too expensive. Went to a local food market which was super clean and had top notch produce. So overall had a great experience of Bangkok and it was good to get a dose of city life after all of the little towns and villages. So 1 last stop in Chaing Khong to finish my Thailand tour and then off to Laos.
