33 hours of travelling is a long time. A really long time. Even when (or maybe especially when) 12 hours of it is spent in an airport terminal. Though to their credit, the folks at Heathrow did a really good job with Terminal 3.
We arrived after a fairly uneventful flight from Toronto and made it to T3 at Heathrow, where our flight to Bangkok departed from 12 hours later. Walking into T3 for the first time was overwhelming. It was jammed with people, arriving or departing or waiting. A lot of them were waiting. And knowing that, the good folks at Heathrow International have made sure that you have ample opportunity to spend your money while you wait.
It’s the first airport terminal I’ve seen with stores like Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Tiffany, Cartier and Mont Blanc. It was that last one that almost got me, but I resisted. We ended up spending many hours on a quiet bench near a gate at the back, sleeping and reading and killing time.
12 hours later we were on our way. 21 hours later, we arrived in Bangkok.
Holy moly.
After getting rooked an extra 80 bhat by the cab driver for tolls he hadn’t mentioned when quoting us a price, we finally arrived at Khao San Road around 6pm. We got our of the cab, turned the corner, and then my mind exploded.
I had heard so much about KSR, but nothing prepared me for the reality of it. Wall to wall people. Stalls selling food, clothing, electronics and all manner of stuff lining the road on both sides, shoulder to shoulder. Guest houses and Inns and currency exchanges and cars and scooters and tuk tuks and restaurants and bars (including my favourite which had a sign out front stating: “Very Strong Drinks. We Don’t Check ID.”) all packed onto a street that is only 1km long. It’s madness.
Arriving on a Friday night during peak season without a reservation turned out not to be the best idea. It took us about half an hour to find a place to stay that wasn’t full (with the help of a very nice local Thai gentleman). Stu was hesitant to stay at a place with two twins beds, while I insisted it was fine. I then had the genius idea to push them together – a king-sized bed after all! Lots of space for each of us to stretch out, and Stu could still roll over and crowd me out if the felt like it.
We made it back out to KSR for some dinner and an early nighttime walk, but eventually, 33 hours of travelling kicks in, and whether two beds or one, you just need to lie down for a while.
2 Sides 1 Story 