Bangkok.

I arrived in Bangkok two days ago, but yesterday definitely had to be a rest day as it took a total of 26 hours to get from my hostel at Otres Beach to Will's place in downtown Bangkok, a distance of what should have been just over 400 miles. I assumed (assumption being the mother of all fuck ups) that we'd be taking the direct way to Thailand, following the coast line. And at the time of buying the ticket I got all the "yes, yes, Mr. Parkin" about the route. But no! We had to stop in nearly every effing place in Cambodia, which took a bafflingly long time on a cramped bus with no toilet "yes, yes Mr. Parkin, it has a toilet" with some of the shittest tour operators who's desire for lack of communication seemed to be their one and only gift on the way to one of Thailand's busiest land borders. It took two hours of waiting in a zig-zagging queue to get our passports stamped. Apparently only four people are adequate to do this for the hundreds of people waiting in line. It wasn't the best introduction to bus travel in Southeast Asia. I'm so glad I've been travelling on my own set of wheels! Although, everybody - actually everybody I spoke to on that journey said it was the worst coach ride they had been on, so maybe it was beginners luck and all that.

 I seemed to have picked up a weird sort of stomach bug at Otres too. I ate a lot of seafood there; mainly barbecued barracuda, but I can't feel what gave me it. I felt sick for literally one minute or so, and then I had just a complete loss of appetite; which was quite handy for the bus ride here as there really wasn't many chances to grab something to eat. Yesterday was the first time I'd eaten for 48 hours, which is I think the longest time I've ever gone without food in my life. I praise probiotic drinkable yoghurts though! I used to detest them back in England, but in Asia I've become quite addicted!

 But all is well now. It's great seeing Will again. It's quite a strange feeling meeting up with a friend you made thousands of miles away from home, and then seeing them again thousands of miles away from both respective abodes. I've never done that before. There's also a strange sense of deja vu being here. It's quite similar to his place in Accra; same trinkets on the shelves, same books, and same photo's and paintings on the walls. It's also very luxurious. It's a world away from sleeping on the floor of a barn with three other farm workers and shitting in holes in the ground; but I like these extremes. It's good to experience everything, mostly.