On our first day in Bangkok we got up bright and early and took a Tuk tuk over to the Khao San Rd to look for a cheaper room. It took us about 20 minutes to find a dorm room for 250THB each. We dropped our bags off and headed out. We got another tuk tuk  to Lumpini park. Whilst on the bridge over the river leading up to the entrance, Dave spotted something that looked like a crocodile, it wasn't, it was a large lizard swimming in the river. We took a few photos then watched it catch a turtle for lunch. 

As we went into the park we realised we had arrived at the perfect time - all the plants were being watered, and the sprinklers/hoses with holes in them were a welcome relief to the heat. We headed for the lake and rented a pedal boat for 40THB for half an hour. Whilst pedalling around the lake we saw more lizards - that we're much smaller than the first - and turtles and a small bird that looked and moved like a heron. 

After this we took a wander around the park. There was an outdoor gym where a load of muscular men were lifting weights. Why you'd want to do that in the heat, I don't know, but they weren't the worst, there were people running too! We sat down under a tree to cool off but there were hundreds of large red and black ants everywhere, so we headed for the exit. At the exit, there was a tuk tuk driver waiting for customers. He offered to take us to a couple of temples for an hour for 50THB each. We agreed since we thought it would be good to get a few put the way. The temples he took us to were not very famous ones, but they were still spectacular. 

The roofs of the temples were particularly impressive. In the first one (I think it was called Wat Kalarlum Po) there was amazing air conditioning so we stood in front the unit and watched the monks praying.

The second one was a bit boring really, apart from the paintings on the wall. 

After we'd had a quick look we went back to the tuk tuk and he took us to a tailors so he could get paid for bringing customers. We reluctantly agreed and spent 5 minutes in a shop with men pestering us to buy a suit, and then left. The driver wasn't willing to take us to the Khao San Rd afterwards, but he did take us to the Marine Dept and told us to get a boat taxi to near KSR. The ride cost us 14THB each, not bad really.

We stopped at a restaurant en route to KSR and got some dinner, proper noodle soup. Tasty.

Afterwards we headed back to our hostel to grab a shower and get ready for the night out. It felt so good to be clean, but with ten minutes the sweat beads were forming once again. We found a bar that did very strong Long Island Ice teas for 100THB a glass and set us up perfectly for the rest of the night. We moved to another bar where we met a lovely Canadian couple and got chatting about travelling in Asia. We tried a bit of scorpion, which was quite crunchy but not too disgusting, then moved to another bar on KSR. We ordered some drinks and laughing gas, which wasn't really all that, but at least I can say I've tried it. After this the night becomes a bit of a blur - most likely due to the bucket of vodka red bull - but I'm confident it was a good night, and an excellent birthday.

In the morning I woke up and experienced what true dehydration is like. Every muscle began to ache. We both had showers an then lay on Dave's top bunk bed which was right in the path of an oscillating fan.

 I'm not sure if this made it worse though, as the ten seconds it took for the fan to come back around felt like an eternity in the fires of hell. We eventually got our stuff together and headed to the Lomprayah office to leave our bags during the day. Then we went and bought water and coke, and chugged the lot. Water has never tasted so good.

Once we'd brought ourselves back to life, we got a tuk tuk over to Jim Thompsons house. The house was built by Jim himself, using traditional Thai methods. Some of the buildings were brought from other areas of Thailand and reconstructed. Jim became a silk merchant when he moved to Bangkok, so whilst here we saw traditional silk making in practice, which is fascinating. 

We also learnt that Thai people believe spirits travel along the floor, so all the thresholds in the house are raised to keep spirits out and provide entertainment in the form of people tripping over them. Once we'd finished here, we went back to KSR to waste the rest of the day waiting for our bus to Koh Tao.