~thailand/bangkok/no_mates/

So i arrived in Bangkok all by myself, after many failed attempts to try and make english speaking contacts on the plane. I was met at the airport by someone who got me a taxi and a very nice hotel for the night. Although cheap, i'm sure they added a few Baht extra to the price. I was in no mood to haggle though, i slept about 2 hours in the last 36 hours.. i just wanted food and sleep (no change there!).
Initial impressions on Bangkok were that it was busy! Tonnes of motorbike taxis, tuk tuks and cars... And the streets are covered with dogs! All lying on their backs drained with the heat and himidity. They look like they are dead, but every so often they blink at me as if saying "kill me now". Well, at least that's how i interpretted it!

Some people spoke broken english, so communication wasnt so bad. When i got to my air conditioned hotel, i decided in my only night in Bangkok (before my flight to Laos the next day), i would not spend it sleeping, i would at least try and make contact with some Thais. So i went out to the local food market (now 9pm), and endeavoured to get myself some grub. Everyone stared at me, as i was dressed in white, and about 2 feet taller than anyone else, but people were ver friendly. I was feeling quite intimidated at first, being alone, but then as soon as i bit the bullet and asked for some food, i felt much better. I casually pointed to a pile of food at a market stall and uttered the words "give me noodles and stuff". To my delight, they understood, and cooked me a wonderful noodle thingy. I made the mistake of asking it for take away, coz they them proceeded to put all the different foods into bags and tied them up like fish from the fish shop. Got back to the hotel and realised i had no cuttlery, so somehow managed to scoop all the piping hot noodles and sauces into my mouth with my fingers. After washing it all down with a Blueberry Yop and watching an hour of Thai Fame Academy on tv, i went to bed.

Got a phone call in the night from my good friend Tory, which was nice. Chatted for a bit, half asleep, and then went back to bed. Probably cost me a fortune to recieve the call, but at 2am, i wasnt thinking straight!

The following day, i left for Laos. Caught the flight fine. Flew with Bangkok airways, and it was slightly less luxurious than Emirates. The plane had propellers for starters... but smooth flight none the less. I am in Laos now, waiting for my dear friend Sara to join me. She should be arriving by ferry in a few minutes. I should go now. Just a quick word about Laos, it is beautiful!! Never seen so much nature in one place, palm trees everywhere, rivers, mountains... just fantastic. This is 1million times better than Bangkok... i will save the details for my next post. I will go meet sara now...