The bus journey proved quite pleasant - free water, chocolate biscuits, blankets and a friendly hostess on board. At night, the journey time was reduced, so we arrived at Bangkok east bus terminal at 4am (an hour earlier than expected). The bonus for such as city is that there was not too much traffic and the temperature was bearable!
A few kms later, we dropped in to McDonald's to waste some time before a cycle shop that we wanted to visit opened. The experience was not your normal fast food cafe experience. Outside, the remains of the night before were still finding their last drinks, their most attractive prostitutes, or just a taxi willing to take a drunk home. Several lady boys (not the most convincing types) set up camp outside the hotel and McDo's with bottles of spirit and cokes and did not move much in the 3 hours that we were there. Older European men took their pick of the numerous available young Thai women and negotiated the end to their evenings out. Several splashed out on their dates in the lovely café that we were in! What generous soles they were.
At 04:30, the cafe started to fill up with immaculately dressed, coiffured and made up, beautiful young ladies with the most amazing hair do's, suits and shoes. By 5:30, the place was almost full. Tadek's curiosity got the better of him and he finally had to ask what the event was. Qatar airlines were interviewing in the hotel next door. By 07:00 there had been 350 application ticketed as attending - what a day for the interviewers.
Having to leave space for more incoming candidates, we left to find the cycle shop, passing the rather ostentatious residence of the US ambassador and their extremely well-guarded embassy on the way. By 8am the temperature had rocketed as we stopped to rest in a small 'central park' in downtown Bangkok.
The bike shop was well equipped, but rather on the expensive side, so we left empty handed. Another surprisingly easy trip across town to check into a guest house for the night. Tadek had really got his bearings of the mad city. Checked into the Bamboo Guest House who boast on their website about the lovely friendly, family welcome and experience at their hotel. Checked-in by a miserable old man who told us that we could leave our bikes out in the street and snapped at us to take off our shoes. So friendly!
Everything dropped off, we set off to leave our bikes at Velo Thailand (near to the Khao San Road) for a full service, chain changes and any other items needed.
Bike-less, we wandered around town browsing shops and looking out for good eateries. Spotted quite a few things to buy, and ate noodles and drank real coffee - quite a treat after the 3-in-1 Nescafe that we'd had until then - shite coffee, lots of sweetener and powdered milk - lovely.
Showered and siesta'd to try to get us back in the land of the living, then collected our all singing, all dancing bikes. They gleamed in the evening sun and rode so smoothly, that we wondered why we had not had them done before we had left on the trip. Off to Patpong (once the seedier side of Bangkok, but now really just a night-market selling counterfeit sunglasses, watches and tourist tack. Again, we sailed through the traffic with ease - Bangkok is so much easier on a bike than in a taxi or a tuk-tuk!
Headed back for a few beers before returning to our not so welcoming guest house while asking ourselves why we had subjected ourselves to such a miserable place (for the second time!)
A few kms later, we dropped in to McDonald's to waste some time before a cycle shop that we wanted to visit opened. The experience was not your normal fast food cafe experience. Outside, the remains of the night before were still finding their last drinks, their most attractive prostitutes, or just a taxi willing to take a drunk home. Several lady boys (not the most convincing types) set up camp outside the hotel and McDo's with bottles of spirit and cokes and did not move much in the 3 hours that we were there. Older European men took their pick of the numerous available young Thai women and negotiated the end to their evenings out. Several splashed out on their dates in the lovely café that we were in! What generous soles they were.
At 04:30, the cafe started to fill up with immaculately dressed, coiffured and made up, beautiful young ladies with the most amazing hair do's, suits and shoes. By 5:30, the place was almost full. Tadek's curiosity got the better of him and he finally had to ask what the event was. Qatar airlines were interviewing in the hotel next door. By 07:00 there had been 350 application ticketed as attending - what a day for the interviewers.
Having to leave space for more incoming candidates, we left to find the cycle shop, passing the rather ostentatious residence of the US ambassador and their extremely well-guarded embassy on the way. By 8am the temperature had rocketed as we stopped to rest in a small 'central park' in downtown Bangkok.
The bike shop was well equipped, but rather on the expensive side, so we left empty handed. Another surprisingly easy trip across town to check into a guest house for the night. Tadek had really got his bearings of the mad city. Checked into the Bamboo Guest House who boast on their website about the lovely friendly, family welcome and experience at their hotel. Checked-in by a miserable old man who told us that we could leave our bikes out in the street and snapped at us to take off our shoes. So friendly!
Everything dropped off, we set off to leave our bikes at Velo Thailand (near to the Khao San Road) for a full service, chain changes and any other items needed.
Bike-less, we wandered around town browsing shops and looking out for good eateries. Spotted quite a few things to buy, and ate noodles and drank real coffee - quite a treat after the 3-in-1 Nescafe that we'd had until then - shite coffee, lots of sweetener and powdered milk - lovely.
Showered and siesta'd to try to get us back in the land of the living, then collected our all singing, all dancing bikes. They gleamed in the evening sun and rode so smoothly, that we wondered why we had not had them done before we had left on the trip. Off to Patpong (once the seedier side of Bangkok, but now really just a night-market selling counterfeit sunglasses, watches and tourist tack. Again, we sailed through the traffic with ease - Bangkok is so much easier on a bike than in a taxi or a tuk-tuk!
Headed back for a few beers before returning to our not so welcoming guest house while asking ourselves why we had subjected ourselves to such a miserable place (for the second time!)