#2 bangkok #3 koh chang

From a freak cold snap in Hong Kong which killed a few people on the mainland, we flew into the searing 33 degree heat of Bangkok - and it was still just 10am. Yep, we seem to have chosen the second hottest month of the year to travel in South East Asia, and from all accounts from other travellers, it's only going to get hotter and dustier when we hit Cambodia.
We only spent one night in Bangkok (and most of that was spent trying to cross the traffic-choked roads) - just enough time to soak up the seediness of Khao San Road. Actually, it wasn't nearly as grimy or smutty as I was expecting. Only one guy came up to Kris to offer him "ping pong show". After politely refusing several times, Kris finally grabbed onto my arm and pointed at me, smiling, saying, "I've got my..." Yes, I am Kris' very own ping pong show.
There are of course the unmistakable sex tourists roaming the streets of Bangkok. If you're a somewhat unattractive white guy who's going grey and travelling by yourself, it's hard to escape the stereotype - which is a shame for all those unattractive white guys who really do just want to travel Thailand by themselves to see the sights.
Now we're in Koh Chang (an island on the south eastern coast of Thailand) and the place is awash with flabby white guys frolicking with their pretty Thai girlfriends on the beach. Still, this place is gorgeous so it was worth the 7-hour coach drive to get here. After spending our first night in a crap bungalow we upgraded to a hillside one set among the palm trees - the view out our window is all verdant jungle and aquamarine ocean. Our biggest concern each day is what we're going to eat, and yesterday we hired scooters and spent the day whizzing around the island's 64km circumference. Last night I had a bit of a 90s bush doof flashback when we were eating dinner at a beachfront restaurant and some Thai guys cracked open their fire sticks and started a fire twirling performance for us. But it was pretty cool - all hippie flashbacks aside.
On the bus to Koh Chang we met this funny German dude and spent the night shooting pool with him on a table that had a 1cm-thick coating of dead bugs. It made for a pretty challenging game.
Unfortunately we're soon leaving this idyllic lifestyle to rough it overland. Tomorrow, a gruelling 14-hour journey awaits us as we head into Cambodia. We're staying a couple of nights in Phnom Penh then heading up to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat. I've heard mixed reports about Siem Reap so far. People either seem to love the city or hate its tourism-driven crassness. We're going to try to book into a nice hotel for my birthday... so tourist overindulgence here we come!