Flight TG 986, Christmas Day, 2000.
Spotted a supermullet at the checkin counter - big Elvisy bits in front, long straggley rat-tail tied in a pony tail at the back. Rach took a photo of him by pretending to take a photo of me.
I have the best shoes in the world.
2:30pm, Bangkok time.
Meals look good, don't know about the vegie. We asked how to say 'thank you' and got something that sounds nothing like the guidebook version - ka phun ka, or something. Rachel's already nearly lost an eye on the swizzle toothpick in her g&t.
3:40pm, Bangkok time.
I just realised how big the planes on those electonic maps are compared to the countries you're travelling over, and for some reason, this is very hilarious. Nothing at all to do with the many drinks we've been swilling. If wingspan is about as wide as Australia, why do I feel so cramped?
Some stupid movie about a chimp that does shit. Rach and I were trying to decide if it was a short (ok, we were hoping it was). Rach decided that it must be a feature movie on the basic of the credit music was still going on, which was a great theory, except that she was listening to the wrong channel.
5:10pm
The chimp in the stupid movie has a mullet too.
12:22am, Sawasdee Bangkok Inn.
The ride from the airport was cool - there's a strange beauty to things glimpsed from a freeway at night. Concrete pylons for a freeway extension look like temples to an alien god, farm machinery in a showyard are a line of praying mantis.
Looping around and above quiet flats, we pass utes with twelve men riding in the back; then we're down in the market street, stalls I can't imagine yet cover the footpath. It's the middle of the night but no-one seems to mind. Guys playing soccer in a side-street send their friend across four lane of traffic to retrieve the ball.
I can tell we're getting nearer the hotel when I see the first white couple, and the stalls are replaced by bars and net cafes. The 7ev has plastic cafe-style tables outside.
As it turns out, we're not so near the hotel but the taxi driver wasn't too fussed about his mistake and we did a big loop through the one-way streets to the top of Khao San Rd. The cabbie said he coudln't go down it so we got out and walked. We weren't really sure where we were going cos the hotel we'd found on the net (more on that later!) had two different locations on different maps, but the good old 'fuck off' vibes kept the touts away, despite the backpacks and the pallour of my skin.
So - the internet, and hotel bookings: my faith has been shaken. This place certainly isn't what we expected, the doof off the back street makes it as noisy as all the places I imagined we were avoiding would be, we could only get a room with a (teeny tiny) double bed, and the stairwell smells of urine - half human, half cat, but not really either. At least the air conditioner works and we have our own bathroom.
(Rachel's just told me now that her poos are always smelly! Maybe I can get a single room... )
We're in the bar downstairs, there's a net cafe and I keep obsessing about emailing Fraser.
A beer has taken the edge off my sting of disappointment over the hotel - we should just take this as a lesson in what good photo cropping can do.
The rest of the flight was ok, neverending as they tend to be, but the second movie was 'Bring it on' - woohoo! I had a feeling it would be, so I hadn't seen it at the cinema. I think I outed myself away by going 'woohoo' aloud when I realised what was playing.
It still seems weird that we're here, especially since Khao San Rd is more backpacker trap than Thai.
So we're off to find bottled water so we can brush our teeth.
2am, Khao San Rd
Family Mart chick playing guitar on the road with friends. Beers (140 baht!) at cafe, security guard who looks like a cop but just gets to carry chairs around and look tough.
Everyone in Thailand has a uniform!