18th Mar – Checking paperwork in BKK.

(Daniel) Today was spent emailing and relaxing, preparing myself for the adventure ahead. I checked and rechecked my paperwork, which is no mean feat on a round the world expedition. The Carnet de Passages is a fairly chunky book, which most customs and border control people don;t know how to complete properly. Then there are insurances, log books, roadworthiness docs, invoices and all sorts of copies and proofs which are required. Add to this the Bill of Lading and other important shipping docs, and I have a 3 inch thick folder which I carry around at all times. I then repacked all my filthy and tatty clothes, ready for my upcoming flight to Malaysia.

After this little session of organising, I took a taxi to the centre of my Bangkok, the MBK centre, for some comfort food, and to watch a movie. Thai cinemas are something special, with huge recliners and great snacks and drinks. The new film ‘300’ was showing, I have been looking forward to seeing it, not only because I loved Sin City, but also because my cousin Beckie works for the lead man Gerry. Gerrard lives in Hampstead Heath in London, and has a very special e-type Jaguar. For a year now, he has been paying me to keep it running, and I have often had the pleasure of driving it around the streets of London, whilst he has been off filming this latest film.

The movie was absolutely brilliant! The director, Zach Snyder makes films which all have an otherworldly feeling through his use of filters and saturation.

After returning from the cinema, I went back to Papillion, for a few beers before going to bed.