While I don't usually book accommodation in advance, I had booked a hostel since I was going to be getting in quite late. The place I stayed at was quite nice, but it wasn't in the Khaosan Road area, which is where the vast majority of the other hostels are located and is probably the backpacker hub of the world. In retrospect, I would probably have bunked there just because of the action in that area.

I had big plans to explore the city and take lots of photos, but it turns out I had ended up arriving in Thailand on the day the Songkran festival began. This was 2 parts annoying and 8 parts awesome. The terrible part was that Songkran is a water festival, where everyone is contantly spraying or dousing you with water. From buckets, hoses, water-guns - really, whatever is available. This made taking my camera with me next to impossible, so I didn't get to take half of the photos I wanted. The awesome part is that Songkran in Bangkok is AMAZINGLY FUN. Everyone is out and having a good time, massive city-wide water-gun fights are way too fun for words, and it is so hot that you really do want to be sprayed. The festival is commonly listed as a top 10 worldwide party, so you know it is good. :) And, despite all the festival related activities, I made time to see all the important historical sites, palaces, and temples.