Bangkok

Bangkok

We flew into Bangkok from Kathmandu on the same flight as the bikes. Unfortunately it was a Sunday which meant that the cargo and custom offices were closed, so we headed straight into Bangkok to the famous Khao San Road. We'd been to Bangkok before and weren't surprised to find nothing much had changed in this part of town!

Khao San Road is a backpacker ghetto at its best (or worst - depending how you look at things!) You could arrive here with nothing but your passport and money if you wanted to - there are rows of stalls selling every bit of clothing you could ever need. In fact you can buy anything from local handicrafts to computer software! There is also a whole assortment of food carts, VW camper vans converted into mobile cocktail bars, open-sided neon signed restaurants, bars, nightclubs and video/cinemas. A constant stream of travellers means that the road is always crowded and you will never see the same face twice. We sat in one of the cafés and watched the world go by. If people-watching is your thing then this is the place to do it!

Getting the bikes back

First thing next day we returned to the airport to unpack the bikes. Having fought off the expected paperwork 'touts' - many of whom were demanding up to $100 for their services (and seemed to have no more idea of the system than we did!) - we located and opened up our crates. The next couple of hours was spent re-assembling the bikes - the freighting agency in Kathmandu had asked us to remove the wheels and handle bars in order to lower the height (and the cost) of the crates.

Our ride back into Bangkok took us up onto the city's elevated tollway. Approaching the toll booths the price signs didn't list motorbikes - must be free, I told myself, suspecting that motorbikes probably weren't permitted. I received a somewhat bewildered look from the cashier as I sailed past with Dave and George in tow. Ten or so K's down the road the same stunt had whistles blowing and staff shouting after us. But we pressed on hoping to get away with it - no such luck. As we took the slip road back down into the city, three traffic cops had organised a small reception for us, a fourth actually rode alongside Dave and flicked his ignition off. Fortunately the language barrier and our well practised 'dumb tourist' act saved us from any real strife. Within fifteen minutes - having relieved us of a few Baht of course - the same cops were directing us (avoiding the tollway) back to Khao San Rd, cheers guys!

Back to the UK

We spent the next few days doing the tourist thing and started planning our next move. We needed to return to the UK for a wedding and had originally planned to fly from Singapore. Taking advantage of the numerous travel agencies at hand in Khao San Road, we started looking into the possibilities. Unfortunately, being the end of the summer season, all the flights from Singapore were fully booked. Eventually we managed to find a flight from Bangkok to London which meant leaving the bike in Bangkok and arriving in the UK earlier than we had planned but we didn't have much choice.

Having booked the flights and said our farewells to Dave and George - who were heading off on their bikes to Laos and Cambodia - we took a short trip down to one of the Thailand's east coast islands - Koh Samet - which is only a couple of hours drive from the city. A previous visit had found this island with a small cluster of huts and bars and lots of half empty beaches. Although not as developed as some of the other islands, Koh Samet had certainly changed. The beaches were now full, with restaurants and bars spilling over onto the sand. But for the most part, the place had kept its beauty - if not its tranquillity!

Back in Bangkok, we holed the bike up at Barcelona BMW and flew back to sunny Heathrow. The next few weeks were spent doing the rounds of friends and family. It was good to catch up with everybody having been on the road for so long. The wedding went off very well and before we knew it we were on our way back to South East Asia!

Photographs

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