Last days in Bangkok

I'm missing my travel buddies already. Is it possible to miss people who were complete strangers to you a month ago? I decided to spend a couple of extra days in Bangkok to unwind before flying to Malaysia and Singapore tomorrow to see the relatives. I'm spending 7 days in total there...I think....

After the tranquility and serenity of Laos, Bangkok is a blast of unexpected adrenaline to the senses. I was planning on visiting the Grand Palace yesterday but after being defeated by the heat and losing the motivation to find the entrance to the palace, I spent an hour in the beautiful public park opposite the palace. The hustle and bustle of Bangkok disappeared and all I could hear was the rustle of the leaves. I strolled to the back of the park and discovered an open air free-weights gym where scary looking men were pumping iron. How random is that? I also saw a man jogging round the park, completely covered up from head to toe, wearing a balaclava, hat, gloves and boots too. Military-style training maybe? Who knows? I then wandered to Chinatown where they sold tat and stuff that I have not seen the likes of since my pre-teens. And just round the corner from there was Little India. Amazing how these two nations have succeeded in establishing a presence in practically every country in the world. It's all down to their entrepreneurial nature I suppose.

I was supposed to go to kickboxing today. Instead I had lunch. I'm going to try to go tomorrow morning. So I spent my day practising my bargaining skills and trying to buy as many gifts as possible for my cousins with the little money I have left. I have a very strong feeling that I am going to be terminally broke for the rest of the year. I then went and had a traditional Thai massage to get rid of the kinks I still had from my kickboxing session 2 days ago. The Thai massage was INTENSE. There were definite cracking sounds during my session. I feel fine. Now. As for tomorrow? I'll let you know.