Bangkok - Thailand!

I arrived at the Northern Bus Station in Bangkok, about 7:30pm. After haggling with a couple of taxi drivers, I caught a taxi to the Atlanta Hotel on Soi 2, just off Sukhumvit Road. I had ran out of Thai Baht, so I had to pay for the taxi fare with Thai Baht and US Dollars. The Atlanta Hotel was built in 1954 and was one of the first modern hotels to be built in Bangkok. The Atlanta has a travel service, a coffee shop and a swimming pool. The only rooms available, were the expensive air-con rooms at 450 Baht per night. I took one of these rooms for three nights and after having a shower, I went to the coffee shop to have some dinner. I was very hungry as I hadn't eaten all day, but I didn't have any Thai Baht. All of the money exchanges on Sukhumvit Road were closed and the head waitress in the coffee shop wouldn't accept US dollars. After arguing with her for five minutes, she agreed to let me pay for dinner using US dollars, but at a bad exchange rate!  A word of warning, if you are going to arrive in Thailand outside of normal business hours, make sure you have sufficient Thai Baht to pay for transport, accommodation and meals!

The Atlanta Hotel off Sukhumvit Road.

The next morning after I exchanged some travelers cheques, I had a leisurely breakfast, then I went to a barber to have a shave. There is a good internet cafe on the corner of Soi 2 and Sukhumvit Road, so I decided to send a email to my family and friends. I thought this internet cafe was excellent, but bloody expensive! It cost me 400Baht for a coke and for one hour on the internet! I was starting to get the impression that Bangkok, had gotten very expensive! I spent the rest of my time in Bangkok shopping and sightseeing.

Khao San Road - the Backpackers Ghetto!

On the way to the Royal Palace, I went to Khao San Road to do some shopping and for a look around. Some people like Khao San Road - I hate it! True it has everything a traveler could want; accommodation, restaurants, travel agents, souvenir shops etc. I have found it to full of con men and rip off artists! In the two hours, I spent on Khao San Road, I was offered a shopping tour of Bangkok for 20Baht - four times!

The Royal Palace!

Hualamphong Railway Station - Bangkok.

Hualamphong is the main railway station in Bangkok. The majority of the rail services depart from this station. An exception is the train to Kanchanburi and Nam Tok, which departs from the Thonburi Station on the other side of the Chao Phraya River. When I was booking my train/bus/boat ticket to Ko Samui, there were signs up everywhere, warning about touts from bus companies. Sure enough, as I was waiting to purchase my train ticket, I was approached by a tout, who tried to tell me that all the rail services to Southern Thailand, had been cancelled! I told him politely to piss off! The next day I left for Kanchanburi and the River Kwai by train from the Thonburi Station.