A reunion with my old friend, Bangkok

The journey into the land of Pad Thai, wooden frogs, skin whiteners and Chang beer began Wednesday afternoon when I left for the Darwin airport. I knew I would have 10 hours in the Singapore airport overnight, and although I had heard it's one of the best airports to be stuck in, I still had low expectations for my ability to enjoy it, as I would likely prefer to be in bed than in a noisy airport. Waiting in the Darwin airport, I met Jeremy from France. I began to feel a bit more optimistic about my situation when I found out he had 17 hours in Singapore! So we decided to meet in Singapore and pass our time together. We got ourselves a map and narrowed in on all the things we wanted to see. We also asked about the free 2 hour bus tour the airport provides for anyone who wants to tour the city! Sadly, they don’t run overnight. Such a great idea for anyone who finds themselves killing time in the Singapore airport during the day! We walked through the butterfly gardens, found the ‘Entertainment Zone’ complete with giant touch screens with games, passed by the rooftop pool and bar, used the computers at one of the many ‘free internet’ stations and ended off our journey with a movie at the free movie theater. It was approximately 3am when we finally decided we should get some rest so we went to the ‘sleeping lounge’ which sounds lovely, when in fact the ‘S’ shaped lounge chairs are not as conducive to sleep as they appear to be. Maybe I was too tall for them, not sure, but the bends in my body didn’t seem to match the curves of the lounge. However, I did manage to get a bit of shut-eye. At one point I awoke to a man talking nearby and saw it was a security guard with a large gun at his side, asking a sleeping man for his passport. I looked around and standing at all 5 entrances were guards with equally large guns. Not a terribly comforting way to wake up. I eventually was asked for my passport as well, and they went on their way. I eventually arrived in Bangkok and as I was in my taxi, making my way for the hostel I felt much more at home and less culture shocked by this extreme change in surroundings than I did last summer. I spent the day roaming around Koh San area and refusing cheap tuc-tucs to see the Buddha statues. While eating dinner at a small restaurant, I exchanged a few words with this lovely English couple, David and Alice, sitting next to me who then invited me to their table which turned into an all evening exploration of all that Koh San has to offer at night. After several Chang, Pad Thai, Spring rolls, fresh crepes, scorpions on a stick, break dancing in the street (watching, not doing), and observing the many Thai lady/white male interactions, I decided to call it a night since I had barely slept the night before. I was very excited to see Jennifer and Michelle at the hostel door the next night, and to meet Danae and her tour group for eating, shopping and more shopping.