Made my first foray into Khaosan Road.

Lots of shops selling everything from carved ivory and silk shirts, to carved plastic and disposable farmers pants. Without the rope to hold them up (you have to bargain for that separately!). There is a story of an American who opened a firetrap guesthouse on Khao San Road and named it the Cherry Town Hotel, in the hope that confused tuk-tuk drivers would drop off tourists who had reservations in the Sheraton.

Funnily enough, the scene of this street in the movie "The Beach" wasn't shot here at all, but at Krabi, and they had to hire 300 backpackers as extras (to play the backpackers).

Among the trendy things to do in Bangkok (besides sitting around the guesthouses eating pancakes, watching second-rate movies and exchanging travel stories about the same islands that everybody and their aunt has been to) is to get a shirt or suit custom-made. A shirt will knock you back 10 Euros, a suit about 30. Or get some jewellery made up. I didn't indulge in any of this, being on a budget and having enough shirts and earrings to last me the rest of my life.