Bangkok

Bangkok is amazing!! After living in the wild for the last month it's drastically different being in the middle of a buzzing city. I'm staying just off the Khao San Road, which is a famous popular street with lots going on, full of bars, restaurants and people. I prefer Rambuttri Alley just around the corner which is a bit more chilled out. There are street food carts everywhere with people selling delicious food. My first night I just headed out and got really excited.

Started with the spring rolls, fresh passionfruit juice and then pad thai. It's so cheap and easy to get, there's so many choices!! It's great to munch just wandering and watching people passing by.

My hostel, NapPark is brilliant. They have a giant mattress in the lobby with lots of cushions so you can just lay down and chill. You're not allowed to wear shoes inside which really gives it a homely feel. There's either music or a movie on in the background, and giant bookshelves too. Rooms are really nice too. I'm sad to leave here. It's luxury, for only a few £s a night.

I've spent 2 days in Bangkok and I've explored a lot. Started out with the Grand Palace, home of the Emerald Buddah and Wat Pho, home to the enormous Reclining Buddah. Everywhere the temples and buildings are so intricately decorative it's incredible. Not just the temples, but shrines in every little nook and cranny. I went to Chuckachak Market, the biggest weekend market in Thailand that completely blew my mind. I'm buying a new wardrobe here, all the clothes are so beautiful and so cheap! Just got to be careful of luggage allowances for my flights!!

 Everywhere I've gone I've met people and we've ended up adventuring together. It's such a friendly place. I know pretty much everyone in the hostel now and I've been here for 3 days...

I love the Thai food so much that on my first day I did a cooking class. I was the only one so just me, the clef and a trainee chef. It was AMAZING! I learnt to cook red curry paste from scratch, tom yum soup (my new favourite thing EVER!), massaman curry and pad thai. I had to eat every dish too so I got crazy full!

For my last day in Bangkok I went to Ayutthaya, an ancient city that was the second capital city of Thailand. It was destroyed in the Thai Burmese war in the 1700s. Now the ruins of the giant temple complexes remain. It's stunning in it's tumbled-down-ness. The Burmese burnt the entire city to the ground and chopped off the heads of all of the Buddahs. Mostly it's all ruins but some parts have been saved.

This Buddah head was chopped off and left on the ground. This tree grew up around it and have lifted it higher as it has grown.