Bangkok-Khosan road

I left Nong Khai at 6.30pm on the overnight sleeper train. It is such a good service and run with exact precision. The carriages are like any other, each with their own assistant to change the seats into beds. The bottom bunk is made up from the two facing seats pulled towards one another and a mattress placed on top  complete with a clean white sheet, pillow case and blanket. The top bunk is affixed to the ceiling and pulls down.

luThe journey took 12 hours, the bed was very comfortable ( I booked the bottom bunk) I slept fairly well, all too soon the sun was up and the train was arriving in Bangkok station. I shared a tuk tuk with a couple who were going to the same area as I was, the infamous Khosan road, a place frequented by backpackers from all over the world. I walked a couple of roads away to a pre booked guest house and was at the reception desk attempting to check in at 7.20am. I was told by a very rude girl that the room would not be ready until 12pm and to leave my rucksack in the luggage room. And so, I walked back to the Khosan road and sat at one of the many cafes and ordered  a bowl of fresh fruit with yogurt and a cup of coffee and watched as shops and street vendors opened their businesses for another crazy day. Originally Khosan road was like many others in Bangkok, lined with homes and the odd shop, but, one year, there was a big affair at the Palace and it led to locals opening their homes to tourists who needed a bed.

From then on, a few turned their homes into guest houses, and then a few more until what it is today, a road that never sleeps. There is a constant turn around from the shops and cafes and street vendors during the day, giving way to the restaurants, street stalls and loud music bars that continue well into the night.

It's a melting pot for people watching, all roads lead to Bangkok, when travelling almost anywhere in Thailand or from one country to another in S.E Asia, and indeed as a stop over on route to Australia, people from all over the world stop here for at least one night.

I sat in one seat for quite some time and took some photos from the same spot...

Check out the girl in beige wearing fluffy slippers!

Having spent the past 5 weeks in the nondescript town of Nong Khai with very little to tantalise the camera, it was great to have my senses awoken with the sights, smells and colours of this part of the city. I decided to walk up one side and down the other side of the Khosan road and took some photos of many of things offered to the tourist...

It began with the Mother of scarf shops

How fab!

 Any thing you want can be bought here, maybe I needn't have bothered taking the TEFL course, I could have just got my certificate here, far easier

 This lady was on hand to repair and alter clothes and bags

 This old boy was trying to sell me a hammock, not quite sure where I would have tied it?

 I decided to give the Rasta hair do a miss

 There is nowhere better to make your coleslaw than the side of the road

 This block of flats is just inside the road, goodness knows how they ever sleep

 These 2 pooches were taking a nap and both had a fan to cool them, very impressive.

Sandbags were still evident as a reminder of the tremendous floods only recently receded.

It was very hot both day and night while I was there, luckily my pit of a room had a/c and it was  a relief to put it on when I was in it. I chose to stay in an area a little way from the madness of the Khosan road purposely thinking it would be quieter. No such luck, I had managed to get a room at the front directly opposite an outside bar that seemed to attract people who didn't want to go to bed.

There was a small sound system that despite being turned down at around 1pm still continued albeit at a lower level until 6.30am this morning. That, coupled with the sound of talking and laughter, and, can you believe, a bloody cockeral at 5am didn't do much for a restful  nights sleep.

By 8am I was on a mini bus being taken to the airport ready for my flight to Chiang Mai. I will stay in the old town until Sunday when I will go to my final guest house where I have a large room reserved for a month while I do my TEFL course. That is where the hard work begins...