Thailand

Chiang Rai
Chiang Mai
Pai
Bangkok
Koh Tao
Chumphon

From the Laos-Thai border we took a bus to Chiang Rai. Moving into Thailand felt like stepping into the future. We did a little bit of sightseeing and the draw of a 'brit bar' with a pool table pulled us in! The bar was run by two brothers from Bolton. They were aged about 60 and one of them was proud to tell us that he was in the process of becoming a pimp. The weather gods were against us again and torrential rain started to pour, which meant that we were stranded in the bar for the rest of the night. One of the brother's (not the pimp) was cooking a Sunday roast and we could not resist! With a beer in the boys hands and a cup of tea in mine, it was just like being at home ... well nearly as the roast was not quite up to our mams standards.

The next day (after two bakery breakfasts) we visited the White Temple, a modern temple made with mirror's and painted white so that it looked like an ice palace. Inside the art was amazing, really modern with Star Wars characters, Neo and Superman amidst a world of evil. It really was brilliant and the best temple we have visited. We then took the bus to Chiang Mai, where we said goodbye to Peter for a few days (as he had a nice Italian lady to catch up with!) We spent a couple of days mooching around, visited the night market and had a meal in an American burger bar (to satisfy the craving for proper western grub).

From Chiang Mai we hired another chicken chaser and set off on a 160k ride to Pai. We were a quarter of the way there, when Olly spotted in the mirror a bearded Austrian on a Harley, with an Italian chic on the back. Peter and Simo had easily caught up with us and we spent the rest of the day chasing them to Pai.

On arrival in Pai we found some bungalow's to stay in and no sooner had we unpacked old eagle eye had spotted ... yes you have guessed it ... another massive brown hairy spider inside the room ,,, ahhhhhh! (I am sure we had already had our fair share of the hairy beasts). After a bit of a spider tantrum and a few more spider tears, Olly packed the bags and we moved to a spider free haven. We spent two days in Pai (really relaxed little town in Northern Thailand) eating good food, relaxing and going on moped trips. On the final night, we went to a bar with the following advertisment ... 'We f*****g hate Bob Marley, we will get you drunk and free shots if you wear a mini-skirt or get nude' ... how could we resist. After almost being eaten by a pack of wild dogs we arrived at the bar and Olly tried to win the 'speed shot' contest. He managed to down a cocktail in record time, meanwhile Simo and I were given the pleasure of a nude man thrusting his bits around for a free shot.

After a very hungover breakfast the next day (well for the boys anyway) we said goodbye to Peter and Simo and completed the monster drive back to Chiang Mai. That night we caught the sleeper train to Bangkok. My bunk buddy was Sanne from Holland, who spent the evening trying to teach us some basic dutch ... ik kan heil goed nederlands spreken (I can speak dutch very well). After a good nights sleep we arrived in Bangkok early, took a stroll down Kho San Road (which was the same as ever) and visited Chatuchak market. After a hard day of shopping we decided to treat ourselves to a fish feet massage ... two pools of fish (of different sizes) which you put your tootsie's in and the fish eat all the dead skin from your feet ... nice. Olly has decided that this is what the Trafford Centre is missing and so don't be surprised if we arrive home with a few aquariums.

The next day we met up with Wesley and Jo, at the Marriott Spa Resort, for the most expensive brunch we have ever eaten .. but the raspberry champagne cocktails, amazing food and delicious handmade chocolates made it worth every penny. And who said we aren't' flashpackers'! It was great to catch up with Wes and after a lovely afternoon we boarded the night bus to Kho Toa. One sleeping tablet later and we had arrived at Chumphon port ready to catch the ferry to the island.

We were met at the pier in Koh Tao by Kate and Lee Lee, which was really nice. We spent five days together lazing around the beaches (when the sun decided to come out) and Lee did his open water dive course. On the last night we decided that a good night out was deserved by all. It started off very respectfully with a mexican meal and a jug of sangria ... however it very quickly went down hill when we hit the SangSom and Margarita buckets. Oh dear! We woke the next day feeling very sorry for ourselves and facing a mamma of a journey to Malaysia. First we had to get back to the mainland, so we boarded the slow ferry with Kate and Lee. We then spent the next three hours on the choppiest sea, wondering whether we would ever survive the boat of death. Back on dry land we said goodbye to Kate and Lee, and watched them cycle off into the sunset to continue their mammoth cycle of Asia. We then caught the night train to Malaysia.

After a much needed sleep on the train, we arrived at the Malaysian border around 7am. After getting through customs (a round of questioning about the bag of tea I was carrying - given to us by the hill tribe in Laos) and passing the swine flu temperature test, we were allowed to get back on the train and we crossed into Malaysia!

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