wake @ 6am to go to the airport and head to thailand. the flight to bangkok was less than an hour. staying in the royal hotel near the khao san road, and it's ok, but the price is very good for bangkok. most decent hotels over here cost a lot more than what you'd expect - i guess it's all the tourism they get.
wrecked after the last few early mornings, so we had a little cat nap before heading out to the weekend market - the largest market by far, so we didn't want to miss it. we were told that the taxi drivers in the hotels are more reliable and won't overcharge or try to bring you to places you don't want to go or didn't request [so they can earn commission from sellers]. we had quite the opposite experience. he charged us 5 euro to get to the market and wanted us to visit different shops instead. on the way back we got a regular taxi on a meter and paid 2 euro. lesson learned.
the market was excellent. better than ANY other we have been to in asia. we started stocking up on clothes in preparation for the journey home. i bought a couple of t-shirts, jeans, and some runners. very reasonable proces and they are pretty trendy stuff aswell; not just printed t-shirts you see in all other markets. heading off to try find a tailor tomorrow to get a fitted suit made up. should be fun!
unlike other countries, so far everything is pretty cheap here. [sometimes drink / transport / food / accommodation can cost inproportionately to cost of living].
