Ode to Bangkok

I returned to Bangkok on Wednesday 24 after about 10 days of island hopping. The islands were nice - but I'm a city boy at heart - and found myself brimming with excitement at being back in the thronged and grimy streets.

I didn't have any expectations for Bangkok at all before I got to Thailand. I even thought I might dislike it and want to travel straight on through to the South. But I have to say I LOVE the place. It's right up there with New York, London and Rome as one of my top cities.

In some ways it's kind of like London in terms of the vibrant hum and the population of 7 million (to London's 8 million). But it's all eastern and mixed up and different. And everything is DIRT cheap, and the street food's great, and there are tuk tuks zipping everywhere, and you take your life in your hands crossing the street, and there's a garish and beautiful temple every few blocks, and the river boat system is an awesome way to get about, and a cab right across the city costs less than a single tube journey in London... I could go on, but I won't.

I left to head on to Sydney about 36 hours later, feeling warm inside for the amazing time I'd had in Thailand, and with a firm conviction to return to Southeast Asia to do a much longer stint of backpacking in a couple of years time.

Fingers crossed I'll be able to stop in Bangkok again for a night on my way back to London in May - and stock up on cheap clothing and hour-long Thai massages at £1.50 a shot!--J