Journey South

Sunday 12 October
Bangkok - Kho Pha Ngan

So I woke up fairly late but just at the right time to watch the Japanese Grand Prix and the second win for Alonso this year, and Lewis get another unfair penalty. He really needs a Ferrari drive.

After that I quickly squeeze in a trip to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, which are both awesome in their over-the-top style-clash, and I love it. I was even given some nice powder blue elastic trousers to fit over my shorts, as yur clothing is meant to be respectful.

In the taxi on the train back we become stuck in a traffic jam and as a result time is tight, so I'm not able to buy the noise-reduction headphones I'd been thinking of buying, and barely enough time to shower, pack and grab a bit to eat for supper.

I had about 45 minutes until my train and the only thing stopping me was a tube journey of most of the entire single line in Bangkok's metro system. Neither Pete (who's not a public transport kind of guy) nor I knew how long it would take, so it was all a bit touch and go.

Luckily the ride was only 30 minutes and I had time to spare. The train journey was always going to be interesting, as there were no first class tickets available when I tried to book, so second class it was. Frist class is two people in a lockable cabin, second was one whole carriage of people with separate beds. It was an overnight train and luckily the carriage I was in had air conditioning. But it wasn't a problem. Once they'd sorted all the beds you had a curtained-off space to yourself that was pretty comfortable. At first I thought it would be too hot, even with the air con but thankfully that wasn't the case. As I'd had not too much sleep the night before and a hectic day that day, I was soon fast asleep.