Calum and Kate

On Monday, we were up bright and early to go on a Thai cooking course. The head chef pulled up in front of our guesthouse at 9am in a pick-up truck converted into a sort of minivan, and we headed off to get our shopping from the local food ,market. The market really was an experience. It was pretty huge, with a selection of fresh meat and vegetables that put our local supermarkets at home to shame. Our chef, Pam, showed us some of the ingredients they use most often in her school, such as galangal (similar to ginger), huge string beans, tiny dried shrimps and, or course, lots of varieties of chillies and chilli-paste. We also got to see some of the more obscure foods on offer (that we weren't using), like whole baby squid, ... read more

On Friday we decided to journey a bit further out from the touristy areas of Bang Lampoo and head out east to see a few of the sights. However, no sooner had we left the area when we got caught in a torrential downpour! Luckily, the doorway we ducked into for cover was a local tea shop, so we took a seat and passed the time over a drink. Strangely, only iced tea was on the menu - all very sweet. We still haven't managed to get a cup of old-fashioned Thai tea. After a good long sit in the shop, it was still raining outside, so we bit the bullet, stuck our raincoats on and ventured out. We walked through a few streets all full of very similar shops: one street was full of shops ... read more

If ever there was a synonym for "completely useless" it would have to be: EasyHotel. I've never stayed anywhere that was that basic and tight-fisted. I suppose the 30quid price tag should have warned me, but having to pay for a remote just to use the TV in your room? If you're on a budget like we are then it makes sense, but otherwise avoid! Got up before dawn to get the bus back to Heathrow and our 9:30am flight to Mumbai. Everything went pretty smoothly and we didn't have much of a wait before jetting off for the 9+ hours it took to get there. I have to say, Jet Airways are probably the nicest airline I've flown with yet. Curries for every meal = awesome. Landed in Mumbai to some SERIOUS heat at 11pm. ... read more