In March Hannah was sent to work in Bangkok for a couple of weeks so we though it would be a good idea if she took a few days off and I came out for a little break. The first, and blindingly obvious, thing to note about Bangkok is the weather. When I left Beijing, the weather was still cold, a nasty wind cutting the skin to the bone, but it couldn't have been more different on arrival in Bangkok. I stepped out of the airport and was greeted by a warm wind and an outside temperature of about 30 degrees Celsius at about 6pm. Being that Thailand is in the Northern hemisphere (just) this therefore made it what the locals called the "cold season"; That time of year where in Beijing winter begins to transform into spring but the days are still cold and the wind still stings. It was a very welcome change!

Aside from the weather, the first impression of Bangkok is that it is a huge, dusty and polluted sprawling mass with bad traffic problems, much like the city I had just travelled from - though with a population of only 7 million people (compared to over 16 million people in Beijing) it is not quite so big. The roads are always completely jammed, horns constantly blaring and what would be a 20 minute ride on the Sky train will often take over an hour on the congested streets.

The Thai people are what really makes Thailand such a great place to visit. They are renowned for their tolerance and open-mindedness of other cultures and are supremely friendly to visitors, wanting them to go away with the best possible opinion of Thailand. They find any race different to theirs exotic and beautiful, not something to be feared and will often go out of their way to help a seemingly lost traveller. I was wandering aimlessly through Bangkok one afternoon while Hannah was at work and was stopped in the street by an early middle aged man on his way to prayer. I'm ashamed to say that my first thought was that he was a beggar and wanted me to pass him some money, so I began rooting through my pockets to see what change I had (I suppose life in the west has taught us to be scared of people - witness tube travel in London, God forbid that you should ever attempt to converse with someone you don't know. I blame the media). Instead, he asked me, in very good English, where I was going and what I was going to do. I replied that I had no real destination, I was just walking around enjoying the city. He then looked at a map I had and gave me directions to places he believed I should see and advised me of the best way to travel around the city and what to avoid. He then made his farewells and went off on his merry way. I've since spoken to some other westerners who've been to Bangkok and each has a similar story to tell. Why isn't it like this elsewhere? Perhaps it's down to the philosophy of the Thai people. They believe in something called "sanuk" - literally meaning fun. Thai's look for fun in everything they do, whether it's going for a gentle stroll, eating with friends or even in the work place. They don't believe in confrontation (indeed they will actively go out of their way to avoid it - sometimes to their detriment) and respond best to smiles and laughter. If you're looking for a laid back atmosphere with friendly people then you could probably do no better than go to Thailand.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and roses. As most westerners will be fully aware, Bangkok has a reputation for its thriving sex industry. It's located pretty much in one area, known as Patpong, and to those that have never been there, it can take you by surprise. When I arrived in Bangkok, I got a taxi immediately to the hotel and discovered that Hannah was still at work. I decided that I'd go for a drink in a bar while I waited and set off to find a suitable location. I found a nice place on a bustling street and sat down with beer in hand to read my book and watch the world go by. For the first few minutes my brain wasn't quite registering what my eyes were seeing. Most of the bars (the one I was sitting at included) contained a large-ish group of women calling out to passing men (all western). Every so often one of the men would walk over to a group of women, chat briefly and then they'd disappear together. Sometimes these Thai women would have a distinctly masculine look about them (I stopped short of actively searching for Adam's Apples), but that didn't seem to put any of the tourists off. Being that I was male, of western orientation and alone, it wasn't long before I started eliciting some attention from the locals and I noticed that both barmen seemed highly interested in me. I decided that it would be best if I were to finish my drink and continue on before I gave them the wrong impression. Being that I’m a fairly curious fellow, I decided to see what the rest of Patpong was like. I had read an intriguing article in my travel guide that ended thus - “Many visitors come to Patpong out of curiosity rather than to indulge in the flesh trade: most leave feeling disturbed”. I couldn’t very well not have a look for myself after reading that, so, pushing to the back of my mind what curiosity did to the cat (or what it might do to the Matt), I walked on. Almost immediately I was confronted my several men, some offering me the chance to buy DVD porn, some trying to tempt me to watch a ping-pong show (use your imagination) and others soliciting on behalf of their girls. Most of the women are absolutely stunning and they left me wondering if there wasn’t anything else they could have done instead to make a living (not that beauty should automatically be the key to unlock potential but it’s definitely a good start). It’s also very tricky to spot those that aren’t technically women, providing those men shopping for lust a chance to play a different kind of roulette. All around shops and stores are advertising that they stock the best products, that they put on the best shows and that they provide the best women. And in every case there were people walking into these shops, buying their products, watching their shows and leaving to go somewhere private with their women. I discovered that the women do it because it’s an easy way to get good money (easy? Really?). Outside Bangkok, many Thai people are enormously poor and any woman can make a lot of money on the streets of Bangkok by selling their body (I was going to write that they could make a very good living, but I think that would be incorrect). It does become quite harrowing watching people haggling and bartering with their bodies (and some seem so young) and so I turned around and made my way back to the hotel feeling quite disturbed (perhaps I should have paid more attention to the guide book).

Aside from the seedy part of town, there are plenty of things to see in Bangkok (and they won’t cause offence or disturb). Being that the population is something like 98% Buddhist, there are a variety of excellent temples and Buddhas to see, all of which are grand or spectacular or both. First and foremost is the Grand Palace, built to mark the new capital, house the Emerald Buddha and provide a residence for the king. Construction started in 1782 and (aside from restorative work) the final piece of the palace as it is now was laid in 1880, showing how laid back the Thai’s really are. Wat Arun (Wat meaning “temple” and Arun after the Indian God Aruna), across the Chao Phraya river, is decorated with broken pieces of porcelain and is unique in Thailand. It’s possible to climb to the top of this Wat, which I did, and the steepness and difficulty of doing so is said to be a metaphor reflecting the process of attaining enlightenment. Whether this means that I will ascend to nirvana one day remains to be seen.

The amount of bars and restaurants are also a huge draw for westerners. Everywhere you go there will be small street side eateries with mis-matched tables and chairs and food being prepared in make shift kitchens on the pavement. These are tremendously popular and are always heaving with locals and sprinkled with the occasional westerner. For those less adventurous, more traditional style restaurants can be easily found and let me now say that the food in these places is generally sublime. The seafood is gloriously tasty and everyone should be familiar with Thai green, yellow and red curries but they are on a different level out here. My favourite dish, by a country mile, was soft shell crab in yellow curry sauce, something I simply couldn’t get enough of. I’m going to scour Beijing for a Thai restaurant (surely there must be one) and gorge myself on the food they cook. Incidentally, the word for crab in Thai is “pu” (pronounced “poo”). This meant that I could finally fulfil a dream I’ve harboured since the age of about five and tell all and sundry that I had poo for dinner (all and sundry means Hannah so she got the same joke repeated to her for the rest of our stay). The bars are also plentiful and range from your typical dive bars right the way up to the more exclusive wine bars. The best we experienced was the utterly amazing Banyan Tree - a bar that sits on the roof of a 60 storey building providing phenomenal panoramic views of Bangkok and serving a wide selection of most excellent cocktails.

It’s also worth travelling a bit further out of Bangkok to see what things are like elsewhere in Thailand. Being that we were only there for a short space of time and because we only knew we were going at the last minute we didn’t have the chance to book many trips but we did get to go to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand. The main attraction here are the ruins of the old city - all that is left of the old Kingdom of Ayutthaya after the invasion of the Burmese in 1767. Within these ruins of old Wats lies the head of a Buddha that has been overgrown by a fig tree, a very obscure sight. There is also a huge reclining Buddha in nearby Wat Lokayasutharam, measuring about 29 metres from head to foot, just to emphasise how seriously they take Buddhism here.

Because of its huge tourist trade, Bangkok is more geared up towards catering for westerners and we enjoyed the chance to visit another country in Asia, particularly one with the climate of Thailand; we were getting a little tired of the cold weather in Beijing and so a winter break was just what we needed. I wonder what the summer months would be like, though; apparently it gets incredibly hot and really wet, which might be a little too much to take. Anyway, the summer months in Beijing are gearing up to be very warm and sunny and what better city to be in than the one hosting the Olympic games this year?