(David) We have just spent 2 days in Bangkok and, with the greatest respect to those who love this city and acknowledging that we have only scratched the surface, we are keen to get out. After a hearty but indifferent breakfast, Wednesday morning was spend re-building the bikes. They came through transit remarkably well and, a couple of hours after I started, I had 2 empty boxes, a large pile of bubblewrap and 2 more or less functioning bikes. Bernie’s dynamo took a little adjusting but otherwise it was all straightforward.

We had both missed a night’s sleep (more or less) and so dozed, went for a swim in the pool on the 9th (and top) floor of the hotel and then I used the gym for a workout. I got the impression that visitors used the Bar and the pool more than the gym. We ventured out to find phones and provisions for the road. We were 2kg overweight coming over (but not charged) but brought no provisions with us at all. We needed tea, coffee, milk powder and a few things to keep us going. We found a supermarket in a shopping centre. This was one of hundreds of shopping plazas across the city. Mr Google told us that there is 25 sq km of shopping plazas indowntown Bangkok. This appears to be true.
Then we battled to find Sim cards and the old Apple phone I brought from home turned out to be SO old that it would not accept a modern Sim card. That will teach me to be parsimonious!
We then found a little Thai restaurant down an alley that had an excellent ambiance and great food. We then ambled back to the hotel whereupon I fell straight asleep – waking at half-past midnight, still tired but with part of my brain telling me to wake even though the other half was saying “don’t do it – you need SLEEP!!” So the tussle went on until the sleep part of the brain won and morning came too quickly.