No more Fran falang

• Franglitter's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Napton

Trip Start Mar 26, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Nov 11, 2006

  Napton, United Kingdom
Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Time to wrap this thing up! I've braved the smog and heat of Delhi, trekked the Himalayas, explored India, taught all around Thailand, hopped over to Laos and Cambodia, all without getting too ill, or slapping any Indian men (lucky..) - and that's just for starters... The most miraculous thing however, is that I found my way all the way back to little old Napton, especially with my sense of direction.

After leaving Koh Chang with a little tear in my eye, I bussed up to the big BKK for a few days before my flight home. Had some ideas about sightseeing, but I didn't even manage the Grand Palace - oops... No good excuses - I was just all wat-ted out. Enough of being a tourist! So, I spent my day in Bangkok shopping. This isn't as self indulgently lazy as it sounds though - the big malls are immense, and the array of stuff they stock is just overwhelming. Of course, I didn't let this defeat me, and passed the day browsing around, and crossing between the malls via futuristic skytrain and walkways - very convenient.

I was relieved to get the hell out of Khao San road though and to the new airport to fly home. It was a bit too tourist tacky after spending so much time out of big cities and away from crowds of falang. The nastiest shock on arriving to the backpacker strip was the realisation that I am in fact 100% white falang and not Thai. Yes, really. I think spending more than a month hanging out with mostly Thais fooled me subconsciously into thinking I was one of them (like Ice Age 2, where the possum is convinced it's a woolly mammouth).

The flight home was long but problem free, for a change. I was just glad to be allowed on the plane after a mini ticket debacle, involving faded ink, an unexpected rain shower in Laos, and a hot iron... Two hours after landing back on English earth, I was standing in the chippy queue with the chavs of Southam - back to Blighty with a bang. The first thing I noticed about home was how pristine everything is. England's just like a perfect little model country compared to some of the dirty dirty landscapes I've seen, and I was practically blinded by our super white bathroom at home.

So all in all it's been just fantastic, and I'm so lucky to have had the chance to get away and back again safe and sound. There's just a few scars and a seriously unhealthy bank balance to see to now. No plans to go anywhere anytime soon - for now, the wanderlust's definitely been replaced by duvetlust.

Hope you've enjoyed all my blogs - I might even go back and read some one of these days - maybe the bad bits will seem funny in retrospect..?

Really look forward to catching up with everyone soon! Until next time...

Stansted hotels Share

Previous Entry