HI BANGKOK, BYE BANGKOK

As I publish this post almost a month after writing it, I'm in a much happier place right now. So please excuse the bad vibes! And sorry for the delay on my travel blogging - I've been so busy and have hardly found a moment to sit down and write. So I'll be completely honest, I really didn't enjoy Bangkok. I'm used to, and I love big cities, but in 40 degree heat it really was unbearable. It made me not want to do anything, so the 4 days I spent there were a bit of a drag! I felt so emotional after such a long flight, I have never felt such a feeling before. I instantly felt so alone, missed my family and missed my boyfriend. It didn't really settle in that I wouldn't see them for so long until I checked in, got into my tiny little room and just burst out in tears. All I wanted to do was get on the next flight home. I spoke to some friends who said they'd felt the exact same, and that in a few days this feeling will pass. Looking back now, I wish I'd taken people's advice and stayed in a hostel from day 1. Having a private room in a hotel meant I was not only £58 down as soon as I arrived, but I didn't meet ANYONE where I was staying! I was pretty much just paying for the nice rooftop pool (which I didn't even use).

I know there is tonnes to do in Bangkok but I barely explored at all. The first day and night I was in such a sad mood that I didn't leave my room all day. The next day I finally plucked up the courage to go out for a drink on my own - I must have walked up and down Khao San Road (backpacker central) at least 4 times before finally deciding on a bar to go and sit in. I hadn't physically had a conversation with someone for at least 36 hours, and I knew I'd tear up as soon as someone started speaking to me! I was in the weirdest mood. Luckily I wasn't alone for long, a waiter put a guy on the table next to me and when he saw I was alone too we got chatting. When I first saw him I thought he was foreign so I was like "dammit' we won't be able to speak!" but turns out he lives about 40 minutes from my house back home! Small world. His name was Josh and he was super lovely, so easy to talk to - we had a really fun night bar crawling and ended up in a really cheesy little club drinking "sperm" shots (sounds gross, was gross.) I spent the next couple of days with him - thankfully he was eager to explore the city so it means I got out of my hotel a bit more than I would have on my own. He was the perfect person I could have bumped into!

We tuk-tuk'ed to China town, visited some temples, spent another night on crazy Khao San Road and ended up at a ping pong show! If you know, you know. A must see, crazy but actually pretty cool LOL.

By Friday I was more than ready to leave Bangkok. I regret booking 3 nights there as it wasn't really my kind of vibe - not how I imagined Thailand to be at all. I would recommend only staying a maximum of 1-2 nights in Bangkok, unless cheesy night life and bad pop music is your thang. I know there is much more to do in Bangkok I'm terms of good night life, but I really was too hot to bother looking. I was so eager to get up to North Thailand, meet some friends from home and chill out in Pai. The overnight train was interesting - I'm really glad I experienced it, I wanted to try it out and I did end up getting a good nights sleep. You get your own flat bed, with curtain for privacy, clean sheets and can even have dinner delivered to your seat. Now that I've done it, I probably wouldn't use the night train again unless I am really on a budget. The 15 hour journey compared to a 1 hour flight really doesn't make up for the £20ish saved on going by train. I arrived in Chiang Mai around 10am and hopped on a minibus to Pai straight away. I can officially say Pai is the cutest place I've ever been. I became so much happier here than I was in Bangkok. But I'll speak about that in my next post...