Crossing the road in Bangkok

Surprisingly, crossing the road in Thailand is more hair raising than India. Crossings are few and far between and when you do find one just because you see the little green walking man, it doesn't mean anyone is actually going to stop for you. I'm sure the average "farang" (the Thai word for Westerners meaning we have big eyes, big bodies, we are taller than Thai people and we eat toast for breakfast - Jon told me this word originated from Thai people's inability to pronounce "Francais" when referring to French tourists and it came out sounding like "farang"...or something like that) is a bit of fun for local drivers and motorcyclists to play chicken with in Thailand. And why not.

Making an effort to learn a few basic words (hello, thank you or the equivalent thereof) goes a long way to making a good impression. And with Thai people being so welcoming and likeable there's a good chance you'll make this effort. It's worth being aware of the cultural "dos and don'ts" of any country you visit, and in Thailand you need to be aware of things like attitudes towards feet (you don't point your feet at religious figures or people of high standing such as the King) and things like how rustling a Thai person's hair is considered incredibly rude.

More than once I experienced Westerners showing no awareness of some of these things. One lady was sat in the temple at the Grand Palace pointing her feet at the buddha image, and when she was told not to do this began to laugh. It was embarrassing to witness and does not give a good image of tourists.

So, Bangkok in brief. The food here is amazing. You can buy street food for anywhere between THB 40/80 which roughly translates as 1 - 1.50 British pounds (no pound signs on these computers). The food is so tasty and you can risk not liking what you order (lots of the menus are in Thai so you for the most part guess at what you are ordering) because it's so cheap. This does mean that street food is not vegetarian friendly, and whilst I've tried the odd bit of meat I mostly end up leaving the meat. I'm sure this was probably very confusing to these sellers, because why on earth would someone neglect the meat?

The area that we were staying in, off Silom and very close to the metro and sky train, was very conveniently located and was not Khao San which I really wanted to avoid and did so successfully. It helped to know exactly where we wanted to go each day - straight to the train...perfect.

You could also take the sky train to Saphon Taksin central pier, where you can catch a water taxi for about THB 20 (not a fancy tourist boat for about 200 times the price, you have to watch this as the tourist boats are happy to let you think they are the water taxi - the clue is in the price). This water taxi goes right along the river and up to the Grand Palace and the sleeping buddha so is incredibly handy. You also get a ride along the river which is peppered with many temples and sights. It's actually a lot of fun and there are lots of interest street food sellers and market stalls around this area.

We were also near an area called Patpong, notorious so I'm told, for it's strip bars and gogo dancers; hence every 10 steps you are likely to be propositioned with the offer of "ping pong pussy show" or "DVD sex". It's very easy to ignore these, so do. We heard many stories of Westerners being ripped off in these bars and I'd been ripped off enough already.

Just walking around Bangkok was incomparable to Delhi. There were so many Westerners on Silom that you are far more inconspicuous - in Delhi you were something to stare and wonder at, take photos and video of.

It's almost impossible not to go shopping in Bangkok, everywhere you look clothes, nick-nacks, trinkets and various penis shaped offerings greet you. I spent majority of my time and money at the Suan Lum night bazaar right on the edge of Lumpini Park - a mind spinning maze of hundreds of small stalls, bright lights and colours. There is also a great area for street food just right as you exit the metro; not however the large area in the middle of the bazaar with the stage. We found this too much geared towards Westerners with promises of "not too spicy" and offerings of kebab and burgers. The little darkened food area was far cheaper and far better in my opinion.

We also spent a fair bit of time at Lumpini park itself which offers all kinds of freebies: from aerobics at 5pm to open air gyms to the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra playing a free concert we stumbled upon. At all times of day there are people running, stretching and generally keeping fit. I spent a lot of time watching these people thinking how I don't keep fit. It put things in perspective so I went and got a beer. There is also a great food court on the edge of Lumpini Park that is definitely worth checking out.

Overall, the first part of my stay in Bangkok had been relaxing and hassle free.