Date: 2008-01-28
To: Bangkok Airport
Miles today: 0.0

Had a lovely last 2 days in Pattaya, the place started to really grow on me. Thailand is a place of real poverty like a third world nation, but it has also seen dramatic change over the last 10 years. I am told by some that the changes over the last 10 years almost make the place unrecognizable. A massvie amount of money has poured into the place. Bangkok and surrounding areas like Pattaya would represent about 1 in 7 or 8 of the countries population. I think if you go out beyond these areas life would not have changed that much. Well this may come as a suprise to many who have been reading my journal enties, but looking back on things I did rather enjoy Thaliand, it certainly was an adventure.In the last 2 days I really began to interact with the locals. I had a good long talk with my cleaner of my room, only problem is that she would not leave my room. In the end I gave her 100 baht and thanked her kindly for the great work she has done. She seemed to be wanting something else, not hard to guess what. It is just their way, almost all people I start talking with there is some suggestion of coming back to your room. This happened again down on the beach when I asked one of the girls bringing around food about the tattoo on her arm. She had many more and wanted me to take her back to my room so she could show me.The massage girls have been relentless, and so funny, over the last few days I have sat on their step out the front of their establishment which is jsut over the road from my motel and talked with them. As each man comes past I yell out "Hello! Welcome! Massage!" The girls fall about laughing, it is one thing about the Thai people, once you get to know them they sure love to have a good time, and have a wonderful sense of humor. The last few days I have meet many people from overseas, but the conversation always gets back to the ladies and what they have done with them. So many of the guys all have wives, it really makes me laugh. I am at the Bangkok airport caught my minivan at 430pm and it was the usual scenario. They dropped us off at a spot, made us wait about 40 mins, and then another minivan picked us all up and took us back to the aiprot. I was with a man from Israel and he was a little concerned that they had dumped us in the middle of nowhere, but I assured him it was just the Thai way. Arrived at the airport at about 730, and find out that my flight has been delayed to 300am. Not having a great deal of luck with the flying Kangaroo thus far. So I have another 4 hours to wait and I have already been here a few hours. Will get into London about 9am and start seeing as much as I can. I have 3 nights in London, and then next Friday afternoon I shall head upto Bermingham to catch up with Gill, someone whom I met in Freemantle. Then I am going to catch up with Nick in Oxford. There is so much of Thailand that I missed out on, I really should have read a book or guide first. There are some great things to see in Bangkok, and well it is now a pretty major airport, so I am sure on another trip I will be commuting through and will get the chance to do some of the stuff I should have done on this trip. When i fiirst arrived in this country I must admitt I felt so unsafe, but the Thai people really are so polite and passive. It seems like complete chaos, but it is always safe. I did not notice the smell so much today and yesterday. The food was getting better and better, as I got more confident to try different things. Many of the westerners that I ran into were complaining of being a bit ill, but then you ask them what they have been upto. They tell you of the amount they have drunk, and you just say stop there, the problem is obvious, can't blame the food. This may sound rediculous, but I would really like to come back now, I can't beleive I am saying that myself. I have seen stuff that it is impossible to describe, and can only really be experienced. So do not let any thing that I have written put you off this place, I encourage you all to come and have a look, except my mother, it really would be far too much for her...LOLThank you for all of those of you that have written to me and have kept up with my journals. It has been a real great sense of homeliness hearing from you all. Congratulations to Captain Vicki, thanks for the history lesson Nick, Gilo Thailand looking back was not so bad as I was describing, hope all is going well with your love interest (could you maybe write an email giving a blow by blow description to Ryan Jones about how to access my trail journal. He was having some troubles last time I saw him).This Bangkok airport is so huge, it took me so long to find computer terminal, and it is rather expensive. About an hour ago I did see the Mufti, the one tht referred to woman in Australia as uncovered meat, and something about a cat eating it. I got tongue tied so was not able to get any words out, so I just tilted my hat towards him, but his stern look on his face did not alter much.