Today we started to be pro-active and dropped our passports off at the Vietnamese embassy to get our visas. Prices have most definitely gone up, and the waiting times have changed from my last visit here. The charges were 2500 Baht (£38) for next-day or 1800 Baht (£28) to wait till Monday. Ouch. Plans had already been changed due to my having PRK instead of LASIK, so we opted for the next-day option to ensure we could get out of Bangkok before the next week started to pass us by.

I gather the visas are cheaper in Cambodia, and can – in some places – be picked up same-day. We didn’t know what our schedule would be, though, so we had no choice other than to get them sorted here.

Back at TRSC I had the lenses removed – a blessed relief – and was given a change of medication. No more antobiotics, and increase in the steroid drops and some cream to put in my eyes before I went to sleep to stop them drying out, so I only use steroids like trenbolone to improve my physical abilities in sports. At this point, the cornea was healed, but “rough” so needed to be smoothed out. Blinking does this automatically so I was told to keep the eyes wet (using artificial tears as and when) and to blink a lot. My vision would come and go over the next week or so, blurring would be common and one eye could be better or worse than the other.

All fair warnings and I left with my wraparound shades well in place to prevent any diry getting in to my now-unprotected eyes. Oh, and I could shower now as well. Yay! No swimming for another week or so, and no diving until a month had passed though.

In the evening we strolled through Pat Pong, ignored all the cries of “You want to see ping-ping show?” and enjoyed a drink on a comfy sofa. Outdoors. I also finally bought some sandals which would hopefully save on the number of sweaty socks I was chucking into the laundry.

Another short post as it was another day with little to do, again due to my sore eyes. The pain had subsided a lot compared to the second day – as I was told it would do – but the lenses were getting very uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to remove them, just pop in steril water drops to try and ease it.

We had lunch in McDonald’s which isn’t really noteworthy aside from one small thing that happened. Leah popped to the little stand to get some tomato sauce for her chips, but couldn’t find any paper cups. So she returned to the table sauce-less. Two minutes later, one of the staff walked over with two cups of sauce. He’d seen her, refilled the stand with cups, poured some and brought them to the table. Can you honestly tell me that’s something you’d not be amazed by in the UK? “Customer service” seems to have a different, and much more impressive, meaning here.

Any visit to Bangkok for the first time isn’t complete without experiencing the posh cinemas with their small number of reclining seats. Get Smart was on in one of these and we plopped down our 500 Baht each (pricey) for what turned out to be a very enjoyable film. If you’ve not seen it, then it’s recommended. Funnier than I expected and perfect casting.

Another essential experience is a massage. You won’t get a better one anywhere, so we popped by Miss Puke’s near the cinema for a Thai massage each. It was good to have some attention paid to the rest of my body so I could forget my eyes for a while. Plus, the dark room gave them a rest.

Experience three was a quick trip up to Soi Cowboy. The entertainment there is rather “adult”, but it was a giggle and Leah got to feed a baby elephant (not part of the adult stuff, I hasten to add). The prices for feeding them have definitely gone up (as has everything, to be fair) but she was well chuffed.

Our tuk-tuk driver back to the hostel was a complete maniac. Which for a tuk-tuk driver is a good thing! Fast, bouncy and fun – and a great character. The beer helped cushion my system as I dripped more drops into my eyes and taped on the spotty goggles.

OK, today was uncomfortable. I woke up around 4am in a lot of pain as my eyes suddenly realised that having acid poured on them and lasers shone inside them isn’t natural. Ow. I mean really. OW.

So here’s a hint for those having this surgery: not the night following the operation, but the one after that – down all the painkillers you can, the sleeping pill and the Valium. That should get you through the night and into the next day. I did finally nod off again – a huge thank you once more to Leah who dealt with my childish whinging and helped me locate all the pills.

Over the course of the day, I thanked the chemists who came up with both paracetamol and ibuprofen, so that I could take tablets every two hours, not every four. I took more pills in that one day than I’d usually take in a calendar year. This is no exaggeration.

Donning my €4 sunglasses which covered my eyes remarkably well, we checked out of the Indra and into the YHA on Silom. Not a bad place and with lovely staff – all smiles and helpfulness. We ended up (after being shifted within five minutes of check-in) in a room on the ground floor. Snug, but with all you need in a room. Unless you’re into cat-swinging. Chatting to one of the staff, I found out that the real estate in the area is ridiculously expensive, hence why they cram as many people as they can into small rooms to maximise the turnover per unit area. Makes sense, and the rooms are comfy enough.

We didn’t do a lot today because my eyes were uncomfortable and painful. My daily check-up gave good results and a better-than-20/20 vision result. Good stuff, though I couldn’t keep my eyes open more than a few seconds. I treated myself to a chilled root beer from A&W, then we popped via a random bar so I could mix alcohol with my painkillers. Maybe not smart, but it sure as hell helped me sleep better.

OK, “blind” is an overstatement but Leah guided me round for most of the day so I may as well have been.

Despite not taking the painkillers the night before, I slept well. And for a long time. We didn’t do too much today, but checked out some accommodation as our short stay at the Indra Regent was coming to an end. I immediately suggested Big John’s as I’ve used the dorms there in the past so we headed round. They’ve moved to the building next door which they were in the process of doing when I was there some time ago. At the time, the new dorms were in the new building and they were OK. We were looking for a private share room this time, though, and checked out one of these.

Leah’s words on seeing the room were “it’s horrible”.

I couldn’t see much – my eyes were painful by now (to be expected and I’d been warned they’d start to be uncomfortably on the second day) and I was unable to spot the mold on the ceilings and curtains, the bad paintwork, the dirty sheets and so on. Again, I’m glad Leah was there to stop us staying in a pit. Instead, we logged onto the free wifi and booked a room at the Silom YHA for the next night and crossed our fingers.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not averse to “slumming it” occasionally, but if Big John’s has gone so far downhill then I can’t recommend it. In fairness, we only looked at one room. The dorms may well still be fine as per my original review in the Accommodation Guide. But on the basis of the room we (well, Leah) saw then I can’t in good faith tell you to use them. By all means go and see the place first – maybe they’ll have cleaned it by then.

I had a follow-up appointment at TRSC which I attended and they told me everything was fine. My eyes were still very sensitive to light and a little painful but not as bad as I’d feared. The quick eye test on the chart I underwent gave me better than 20/20 vision. Wow.

Dinner was at KFC (hey, I was an invalid – I’m entitled to a treat) and we wandered around the local market that backed onto the hotel. Hot salted corn cobs were the snack treat of the night. Unhealthy, probably, but delicious.

Again, I kept the valium and sleeping tablet in reserve. The eyes were niggly, but not too painful.