Back in 2005, the group email was the way to communicate to folks back home of how you were doing. So I’ve cut and pasted the email I sent back then (for continuity of my story and for a bit of nostaglia for me!)

Looking back on it, with travellers hindsight I realise the tuktuk driver ripped us off and just fabricated the story about everything being shut so we would go to the shops where he got commission.  Maybe it was better for all of us that I didn’t realise that at the time 🙂

Here it is: written in a thunderstorm in a little “internet shack” by a guest house in Bangkok.

“Got here alright, was met by a nice lady who helped me easily find my way to the hotel and that has so far been my impression of the thai people-they are all so friendly and helpful, it’s lovely! People keep coming up to me and
welcoming me to their country and thanking me for coming (have also been thanked on behalf of the English people for their donations to the Tsunami appeal-so I pass that on if you donated-if not, do it now!) Went around Bangkok yesterday, visited lots of buddhas – the standing one, the sitting one, the happy one and the reclining one (the sleeping one was unavailable due to a monks ceromony and the emerald one was being restored) and lots of other smaller ones that didn’t have names! Went to the grand palace and Wat Po, both of which were great- lots of gold and pretty little details.  Have had a couple of drinks on the Koh San Road (where most backpackers hang out), but haven’t really been up for a big drinking session-still a bit jet lagged and just getting used to the humidity! Haven’t really got used to the money yet.  It cost us 30p to take a Tuk-tuk tour all around Bangkok yesterday! Went out to dinner at a posh restaurant on the river last night with another traveller Becky, and it cost us less than the ice cream we had at the Grand palace!!
It’s midday thursday now and we’re in the middle of a thunderstorm, so I’ll take it easy today and not do much.  Was planning to go on a riverboat tour, but depends on when the rain stops! Tomorrow will be in Bangkok still, but
then taking an overnight train to Chiang Mai, where I’m going on a hilltribe trek with Elephants and rafting, sleeping in village tribal huts for 2 nights. If anyone wants to look up the details of what I’m doing, look at intrepid.com and my tour is LTR (saffron dreaming)”