Ryan Matthew in Thailand

Last night around 2 a.m. I headed down to Sukhumvit Rd that is about 200 yards from my Hostel….It seems like it is always busy down there. I wandered the street for a little bit looking at the random stuff for sale at the vendors. I ended up getting some crappy copy of the terminator 3 movie to watch in my room when I am bored. And got some super amazing Pad Thai. Either its the best I ever had or I just forgot how much better it is over here…I think I am going to go with the memory loss theory. I ended up meeting one of the ladies that run the food cart Nom she was really nice and insisted that I go back there to eat there again tonight. Seeing how good it was and its only 300 yards from my room I am pretty sure that will be a stop tonight..

This morning I ran down stairs to finish checking in (they only had a security guard there when I came in last night to give me my key) and ended up sitting with one of the security guards eating doughnuts and getting tips on speaking thai…my thai has a long way to go.

Well I am going to go grab some free breakfast in the lobby and head towards MBK to get my phone turned on.

I made it back to Thailand in the last hour or two. After a tiny bit of excitement with the cab driver not really speaking english. I was able to just walk 3 blocks to where I am staying. I am all checked in and about to go eat some thai street food.

The flights over were pretty easy. My first one was delayed to I was a little worried that my bag would not have time to make the connection…but it came through just fine. Other than that I slept a good portion of the flight and feel great at the moment….lets wait till tomorrow when the sun comes up and the jet lag hits.

It is hard to believe but I am leaving Thailand already in about 10 hours. We went to China town yesterday and it was crazy!! I really can’t explain it but there was more shopping and people crushed into was was a street (with cars) but should not be than I could have ever imagined. Jill went crazy buying earrings 12 for 90 baht (about 3 dollars). Next we headed to what is called Bangkok’s Time Square, Siam Square. I really was not impressed at all.
This morning we headed back to the weekend market yet again. We got there a little late and had to deal with way too many people in an environment  that was way too hot. We got most of the shopping that we wanted/needed to get done so it was a good day. Then we moved from Suk 11 www.suk11.com to the Buddy www.buddylodge.com on Koh San Road. Buddy Lodge is with out a doubt the most plush place I have stayed on my trip. The pool on the roof is the best. Koh San Road is the heart of backpacker central for all of South East Asia. It is super cool and setup for backpackers. You can get some of the best Pad Thai and Chicken on a stick that I have had in Thailand for 30 baht (1 dollar).
My plans for the rest of my time here in Bangkok are to do a bit more shopping, eat one last dinner (I am going to miss the food here), and hopefully find a movie to watch on the cable in the hotel.

Here are some pictures from the boat ride to China Town and China Town.

I found a place that has a keyboard that is actually a bit functional. The computer is dog slow, but at least I can actually type at a decent rate here.

After my last post about arriving in Koh Pha-ngan Jill and I laid around on the beach all afternoon and then rented kayaks and kayaked for almost a hour just as the sun was setting. A great day just to say the least. That day we also found the best place that we have stayed at the whole time. It was this little bungalow place called Candle Hut Bungalow www.candlehutbungalow.com with the friendliest woman ever. We ended up staying there our last day in Koh Pha-ngan. We were right on the beach and it without a doubt was breathtaking to wake up and look out the glass doors and see the sunrise.

Our last day in Koh Pha-ngan we did a small trek through the jungle to see a waterfall. Well it turns out that right now there really is not much water cause it is the dry season so the waterfall was not all that impressive. After that we spent a few hours on the beach before we headed out to do some fishing. I caught two little fish both well under 6 or 7 inches. Jill didn’t end up catching anything. Our guide (who didn’t really speak much English) caught 3 fish and one of the was sorta big. He said in very broken English that the fish were not hungry.

Last night here in Bangkok we went out and had a really nice dinner and then headed back to the room to get some rest. It took almost 8 hours to get back to Bangkok including riding in the back of a truck, a ferry, a bus, a plane, and a taxi.

This morning we went to the weekend market for a little while and now we are getting ready to head to China Town and then Bangkok’s version of Time Square.

I am back in Bangkok now. We got back last night. I will write more about the last  bit of time in the Islands when I get to a proper internet station. The one I am using now is not very good  to say the least.

I started my morning by throwing Fatboy Slim – You come a long way baby CD in my iPod and heading for the sky train. Let me tell you I don’t think I could have planned a better way to see Bangkok in the daylight for the first time. It turned into a funky surreal experience. It is one that I know I am going to remember forever.

The Chatuchak weekend market is amazing. It really blew my mind how huge it was. I was prepared for it to be big but really it was on the next level. I threw a link to a picture I took of the outside portion. Then there is so much more inside, 11,000 stalls in all. I ended up getting lost for a little while. It is pretty easy to when you start wondering around inside. They really have everything there. I saw everything from shampoo to puppies for sale. I can say that it was an incredible experience that I will be more than happy to repeat in a couple weeks when I am back in Bangkok for the weekend. I was really glad that I went early because it started getting a lot more busy around noon.

After the weekend market I headed off to the MBK mall to get the cell phone situation taken care of. Turns out I didn’t un-lock it correctly. Thats ok they have people there that will do that for you too. I haggled with the guy a bit and got it for almost half of what he asked in the first place. MBK was a awesome mall I can say I never been to anything like it. I am sure that if I would not have just had my mind blown by the weekend market I would have thought it was even better.

I think that the jet lag is catching up with me a little bit tonight. I have just been hanging around in my room relaxing. I think I am going to go wonder around the neighborhood that I am staying in after I get done here. Bangkok’s time square is just a few blocks away so my plan is to take a walk and go see that. I leave for Koh Samui very early in the morning. So my next update will be from there.

Wow that was a really long trip to get here. Around 30 total hours from door to door. My flights all went well. Thank God I sat by a really nice girl and her 5 year old son for the 13 hour flight. Now I would have been the first to roll my eyes about sitting next to a 5 year old, but this kid was so cute and funny it didn’t even matter not to mention he was really good. We flew over Alaska here is a pic up of when we flew over a mountain range.

After I got into my room last night I went and walked around on the street for about 30 minutes. It was pretty crazy how many people out shopping and eating. Remember this was at 2:30am. The biggest thing that really stood out on my walk was the smell. Its not a bad smell but it is very different and sharp. I have to say I like it.

Here are some pics of Suk11 www.suk11.com where I stayed

I am heading off to the weekend market. I will try and get another update in tonight before I goto sleep.