Well, it’s one night of several really, but the old Murray Head song sprung to mind as I was thinking about a title for todays blog!

After travelling all this way I’ve given myself a day off today and just enjoyed being back in the city. There’s certainly been some changes due to Covid but what I realised today is that a lot of it has been a shuffle, Places I knew are (mostly) still here, they’ve just moved around the area a bit! A bit like me today. I moved hotel this morning, but literally just moved next door. There was nothing wrong with the old place – it’s somewhere I’ve stayed many times under its different names but the crucial factor for me was the fact the wifi was so slow it didn’t allow me to do what I needed to. This place is far better. That I had to move was another reason for giving myself a day off, along with the fact that I’ve been so busy it’s been really nice just to chill, drink a few beers and reacquaint myself with Bangkok after all this time. Oh, and enjoy the food. There’s a wonderful street food vendor at the for end of Rambutri which is still here, despite everything. Rice and two main dishes costs 50 baht (£1.25), the demon chili pickle is free – and not for the faint-hearted!

Anyway, here’s a couple of pictures that show the changing face of the railways which I took when I first arrived. Here’s how Hualamphong station looked yesterday now that it’s lost most of its long-distance services. Just the other week this place would have been buzzing.

However, the new station at Bang Sue, with the catchy name of Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, opened on the 19th January. It’s impressive – and vast, but also quite empty and it lacks the character of the original. However, it’s far more suited to the future of rail transport in Thailand.

Tomorrow I’ll have all the pictures I took on the way up here edited and online. Plus some new ones. I’m probably going to have another easy day tomorrow (well, it is the weekend after all) as I’ve lots of stuff to catch up on now I’m sort of stationary again. Even so, there’s plenty to blog about!

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