How much is it for the good luck?

Two days on a boat, one day on a bus and finally Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai. Supposed to be one of the calmer cities in the country, it was a great chance to recoup and settle into the crazy world that is Thailand, quite the contrast from the calm and serenity that is exuded by Laos. Chiang Mai was also filled with a few more interviews for my research and soon enough I was on a flight down south to the islands.

I spent a few days at the islands (Ko Samui and Ko Tow) with the major highlight being the world famous full moon party on Koh Pahngan at Haad Yao beach. The first night on the islands was rough trying to save some money but I have to admit that I was eventually forced out of my first (very cheap) choice for accommodation after begging the manageress to remove the two (huge) screaming geckos from my room (the decision was made easier by the trickling cold water, the broken fan and slightly soiled sheets). I was also joined on the islands by my friend Paul from London.

Touring the islands was a lot of fun; the beaches are as beautiful as they say but you definitely pay the price for them. After a few days spent there, it felt a bit much like Brits abroad and I was ready to move on to Bangkok. I should mention at this point that I had met up again with the Scousers (or at least Scouser educated) I met in Vietnam and they bit my head off the last time for not mentioning their names in my previous blog, so hello to Andy, Johnny, Connor, Paul and of course, Tommy.

Paul and I took a boat to Chumpon (the mainland town), a town not frequented by travellers (a relief) and later that day we found ourselves watching a Scout Parade (just to add some more randomness to the trip). We decided to take the overnight train the next day from Chumpon to Bangkok and I must take this opportunity to commend Thailand on its train service. The bed on the train was clean and built for individuals of taller than 4 foot, I could actually lay down and enjoy a good night of sleep, not quite the same experience as the Vietnamese sleeper bus. That said, I definitely paid for the difference. The train was late (but I wouldn't expect anything different) and took approximately nine hours, a very bearable experience after some of the transport I have been on.

We arrived in Bangkok at 6am and made our way to the backpacker street; however after the realisation that everywhere along this street was way out of our price range, we settled in the slightly calmer (and cheaper) street down the road. Bangkok is as vibrant, crazy and unpredictable city as you can all expect and it is also a focal point for my research, with the reality of human trafficking so prevalent in the city.

Upon arriving in in the city, it immediately hits you that the Thais will attempt to sell you anything. At this stage, I've been sold luck, squares of toilet roll in a toilet and even a picture taken on my own camera. On the main tourist street, there are children selling roses, tailors pushing you to buy a suit next to street vendors encouraging you to try a new Thai taste. It can be exhausting constantly being approached but is part of what adds to the craziness and excitement of Bangkok. Not all is as cheap as I had expected and the cost of traveling in South East Asia is definitely on the rise (which can be possibly negative or positive).

The mode of transport for the week of Bangkok was the continent famous tuk-tuk, to which the standard starting price for a foreigner seemed to be 100THB , whether the journey was five minutes or 30 minutes. "Oi you, where you go"is a common sentence as one traverses the streets, a sentence the Thais have literally translated. Haggling often got us down to a much fairer (or so it seemed at first) 10-50THB with some consideration of the distance and time. However a cheaper tuk-tuk price in Bangkok usually meant a quick visit (or three) to the driver's sponsor(s); that being some kind of travel agent, tailor or other establishment that provides him with coupons for petrol. We were instructed on how to act inside these shops for the short visit, with the driver ensuring we maintained the facade of being genuine visitors, a ploy most business owners are aware of and one for which the foreigner usually takes the most grief (for the tuk-tuk driver, it always seems to be worth a go). Although it started off bearable, as one can imagine, this made it impossible to use a tuk-tuk when in a rush as multiple unplanned visits were a necessity, adding a ridiculous amount of time to our journeys, with night trip usually meaning visits to some less wholesome establishments.

It appeared these coupons were more important to them than our fares and if we did one of these visits, we could get a highly reduced fare for the rest of the day (a fact discovered when one of the drivers offered Paul 50THB to visit a shop). Trying to stay ahead of the game, we made friends with a driver 'Wee,' whose local knowledge really made the remaining days in Bangkok that much better. We even agreed to do a daily coupon visit for Wee and in return he invited us into his home to watch the World Cup and became our guide for the city. He even offered us some lessons driving the tuk-tuk, which is actually a lot harder than first appears, even for a driving pro like me.

We also made the decision to get haircuts in Bangkok, an experience that trumped the fear of bungy jumping last summer. Trying to explain to somebody how you want your hair done when neither of you speaks the same language could become a British A Level, definitely one of the biggest challenges of the trip so far. The "barber"was as terrified as me, had never cut hair like mine before and the end result was not phenomenal, but a definite 'A' for effort. Luckily, she did not cut it that short and I have plenty of time before I get home for it to grow back (for all those who were hoping for a laugh).

There was quite a large work component to my time in Bangkok, with visits to a number of organisations that work in the area of victim assistance and rehabilitation with regards to human trafficking. The most memorable being the home for former sex workers run by NightLight on the other side of Bangkok. NightLight encourages the women to apply for jobs with the organisation, learning to make jewellery as part of the charity's business and offering them an alternative life (about 10% of the women the organisation works with are trafficking victims). I would encourage buying some jewellery online: http://www.nightlightinternational.com/

It wasn't just through interviews that I learned of the trafficking and huge sex tourism issue that encompasses Thailand and the rest of South East Asia. It rarely takes long on the streets of Bangkok before you are offered a massage with some extras or just some straight out "boom boom" from a man/woman/both for the evening. That's in addition to everything else you are being sold as you walk the streets (e.g. ping pong shows, tuk-tuk, accomodation, some pointless good or pad thai). This was not only my experience in Bangkok however and was also the case other parts of the country and some of the other places I have visited on this trip.

My time in Thailand also involved a day trip to the outskirts of Bangkok, where we visited the Floating Market, the famous bridge and Tiger Temple. Tiger Temple was probably the biggest disappointment; it was an opportunity to take some pictures and play with tigers, although we arrived two hours late and were taking pictures with some of the most lifeless animals I have ever encountered (definitely not worth the ridiculous price we were charged for it all). Oh well, I guess it's another lesson learned.

We spent a lot of time looking for the cheapest way to get to Cambodia for the next part of the journey. Travel agents fed us the same rubbish about how dangerous it would be for us to organise the individual legs of the journey alone, explaining how we would be dodging bullets to get past the border at Poi Pet. Sadly the journey was not that exciting or story filled, it involved a just about bearable 5am train for 5 hours in third class with minimal ventilation. That said, after the game the night before, 5am would have just been bed time so I had no trouble sleeping sitting up and in these conditions (apparently not so much the case for the people around me). Following the train was a simple border crossing and a three hour bus to Siem Reap, for a fraction of the price of the buses offered by agents in Bangkok (paid for in some slight discomfort and uncertainty). I had no choice but to leave Thailand on the 7th as this was the last day on my visa and the 500 THB per day for overstaying did not look very appealing. Lucky Paul did this journey on his birthday (as some kind coming of age experience I guess, he turned 20).

Thailand was great and I would definitely return. Despite a few negative experiences with people changing prices after agreeing a service for a certain price, the Thais are a really hospitable and friendly group of people (I do miss Wee). This is as many stories as I could possibly expect you to read and there are far more from this part of my journey those that are interested.

Time for Cambodia.