i left yesterday rather late... akiko and ryan very kindly escorted me to shinagawa station to catch an express train to the airport. I planned on taking regular transit to save money, but i would be quite late if i relied on this, so i paid 3000yen for the safe bet.

I arrived 1 and 3/4 hours early.... late in canadian terms, but easily on time for my flight. I was tempted by duty free, but remembered that i was going to thailand - the land of the cheap.

I saw fuji on teh flight, spectacular. not really so big as it seemed from the ground...
we fly over okinawa, saw taiwan, and looked at the lights of teh vietnam coast. there are no lights to speak of in vietnam or cambodia or loas... i gather that they shut the electricity off at night...

we landed a bit early at BKK.
i caught a bus, after much delay so i could try to figure out where to go and what to do...
i settled on the popular foreigner district and kind of followed the pack of tourists disembarking with me.
So here i was, on Khao san street, a crazy scene of partiers and shops and guesthouses and bars and nightclubs. dirty, messy, chaotic, crazy!

i found a rather expensive place for 13CAD and will likely stay here for another night to meet up with andrew, who flies in tonight.

Now i'm off to see the local sights...

first to find a toilet...

lauren, you want photos?