Sawadee Kha!

Sawadee Kha!

After a delayed flight in Siem Reap and over an hour queuing to get through immigration in Bangkok (so many people!), I arrived in Bangkok.

After Cambodia, Bangkok is a shock, even though I've been here a few times already. I stayed in the Siam area, which is mecca for shopholics. I visited four massive temples of materialism that put Chadstone to shame. The largest and most exclusive, Siam Paragon, has every designer brand you can think of, including Porsche. I'm not sure how you test drive from the fifth floor of a shopping centre though. MBK is like an indoor market, with stalls of everything, packed with teenagers and tourists. The prices are still so much cheaper than home that I could spend serious money in a place like this. Especially when there is a whole level of shoe shops. On sale...

Sitting, drinking a caramel frappe in an overly airconditioned mall is a far cry from the dusty roadside internet cafes of Cambodia. I feel comfortable here, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing. It is so easy to slip into the consumerist world that I am familiar with. I understand more clearly why the Cambodian people are so ruthless in trying to get tourists to spend money - because we do it so easily. No wonder they think we have endless supplies of cash (which we I guess we do for their purposes, considering that cash advances from a credit card are only a few button presses away).

Today I begin my Intrepid tour, and I'm looking forward to not having to think about logistics and just enjoying the experiences. I hope the group is good. I'm sure it will be okay, and if not - it's only a week!