Bangkok, Wednesday. Unlike Taipei, where I never saw an internet cafe, Bangkok has about half a dozen in this laneway near my hotel. It is such a switched-on country and accelerating like mad. It can take 15-20 minutes to cross a road here, with thousands of motor scooters and cars descending on the traveller from every direction.

I have picked up the usual sore throat in Bangkok. Every time I come here, I get this raging hot throat with a swollen uvula. I brought some antibiotics with me from Australia so have started on them this morning. Janet is laid low, arriving in Bangkok yesterday with me and immediately wanting just to sleep. She didn't join me for dinner last night and left straight after breakfast to return to her room. She says she's exhausted, nothing more, and needs a lot of sleep. So, I'll wander off into the city and regain my confidence in using the public transport system and language again.

The taxi ride from the airport yesterday was in an illegal taxi and much more than I am used to paying. I still can't work out why, except that Janet was insisting on getting a bus into the city and it felt like I was being nagged a bit, so when some tout said 1000 baht, I argued down to 700 B and he accepted. The real taxi fare is about 300 B so god knows why I said yes. The driver was hitting about 125 kph on the 80 kph expressway and I was muttering "chi chi" which I thought was Thai for slow down, but my friend John says it is "cha cha" with a downward inflection. Anyway, the teenage driver took no notice of us huddled down on the back seat, fearful of a crash. Maybe the bus next time.

Breakfast was toast, bacon & eggs, tea, juice, etc, all for 90 B ($3) and taxi rides are 35 B for flag fall and that includes about 3-4 kms. Not bad for $1.20.

I went to Pantip Plaza yesterday where software is very cheap. The whole plaza is devoted to computers and phones, hundreds of stores selling the same things. I bought a small calculator with world times, etc, for 200 B but it doesn't work properly. Is it worth taking a taxi back into the city to get a new one?

24 sugar bananas for 20 B (60 cents) and other unbelievable prices for food - this is one cheap place to live. Three days' washing + shirts ironed for 40 B. The hotel is about 800 B a day but tomorrow we fly to Chiang Mai where accommodation is even cheaper.

Now, back to the hotel to check on Janet.