20th Stop: Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, Southern Thailand

Temperature – 30 degrees C

This stop is slightly obscure, but we wanted to have another taste of a more ‘real Thailand after Bangkok, so we head to the only part of Southern Thailand that seems not to revolve around tourism. Hat Yai has a population of around 160,000 people and is close to the border of Malaysia. Much of our time was spent in search of good food (we heard it would be good) but like the street cockroaches, we walked the pavements for hours without success!

Hat Yai from our hotel room



Finally we think we find a cafe, but on closer inspection it turns out to be a shop that sells signs!



Very late at night we settle for a street cafe.



Aside from Kangaroo there is a lot of wildlife in Hat Yai. We see an elephant in the street, many cats, geckos, rats, frogs, etc.



The following day we eat at a small cafe...



... which, according to a photo on the wall had recently been flooded.



Chloé and Kangaroo look on in horror as our dinner is spoilt by karaoke. One man kept getting up and we had to leave during his 9th song.



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The Journey to Hat Yai, Southern Thailand

All trains going South from Bangkok are booked out until 2012 and we are forced to board another bus to escape the migration to Koh Samui where everyone is heading for full moon parties.
We take a taxi to get to the bus station 3km out of town. The journey should cost 80-100 Thai Baht but when the driver pulls away he turns off the meter and demands 200 baht. For his bad behaviour we tell him ‘where to go’ (so to speak!) and leave him with just 60 baht and a bad mood. After that we disregard the tourist buses after the previous experience and get on a super efficient government bus – they arrive faster because they barely stop! At the end of the journey we are stuck in the middle of nowhere, dropped off at a completely different bus station than we anticipated. We ask a young couple for directions and they point us in the right direction but tell us that it is a very long walk. Just a minute down the road they come past in their pick up truck and are so sweet that they offer us a lift to town!

12 and a half hours is a long time on a bus!



Large temples seem to be dotted around the countryside



Somewhere behind the flowers is the drivers rear view mirror!



We are extremely fortunate to meet such kind people who drive us into towdespite it being out of their way at night time in Hat Yai.



19th Stop: Bangkok, (Capital of) Thailand

Temperature – 31 degrees C

An unlikely Christmas location, we arrive in Bangkok on the night of Christmas Eve. Bangkok is Thailand’s most populated and dense city with around 9 million people, who know Bangkok by the name ‘Krung Thep’, which translates as ‘City of Angels’. So, a bit like Los Angeles but with more cross-dressers…

Beyond the more well-known party streets are genuine neighbourhoods.



But on the party streets just about anything goes. Notice the man on the right selling fake IDs and University degrees - very cheap!



It is actually hard to find authentic Thai food in the tourist areas. This was a nice photo but the Pad Thai was bland.



The Chao Phraya River used to be the heart of the city, and we board a boat as it is the quickest way to get around.



The many monks somehow live in amongst the sleaze.



Christmas with new friends - from left to right: Wan, Sheryna, Jayne, and us! We find the tallest tower with a bar in Bangkok but the drinks are so expensive we take pictures then leave!



We find a place with cheaper drinks. So cheap that we drink by the jug for better value.



The Journey into Thailand

We leave Cambodia two days earlier than anticipated and take the bus into Thailand as there is no train network in Cambodia. The Thai bus company is appalling but luckily we meet some nice people on the bus to reduce the irritation caused by the bus journey taking 12 hours instead of 6, making all the heartache worthwhile!

There is no boot space whatsoever on the bus to the border and therefore the luggage takes up seats. The view is not good

In one case we stop at a building with a sign on it saying 'International Border Terminal for Foreigners', which actually turned out to be a crap cafe.

This sign should deter drug trafficking, but could easily be mistaken for a theme park advertisement - maybe something like the Vampire Ride in Chessington. We consider starting a heavy metal band called 'Death Penalty', but decide that heavy metal is a bit 90's.

No mans' land between Cambodia and Thailand is a strange street with a number of casinos - as apparently gambling is illegal in both countries.

We have definitely arrived in Thailand.

The shambolic bus company packs our second bus after the border with too many people. Their luggage takes up our two seats, meaning we have to wait another hour and get delivered to a different location, having to sit in the back of a pick up truck probably normally used for transporting pigs.

Just before getting to Bangkok the bus stops for petrol and we have a chance to buy deep fried insects. Suddenly everyone joins Stephen and becomes vegetarian.