Day 6 ...in which we found the food, fruit and flower market, spent a few hours in an optometrist, ate some dodgy tofu, got another massage and wandered for hours in the Saturday Walking market... Pretty close to our hotel was the fruit and flower market (which also contained lotsa food, and some clothes). Some more jackfruit was purchased, as well as some snacks, and some clothes. The flowers were pretty amazing, with a huge range of species and colours. oh, on the flight over to Thailand, Chris watched a documentary about Thai herbs, and one of the ones mentioned was "Pigeon Wing Flower" which is bright blue and supposedly very good for blurry eyes. The flower appeared to be called "Butterfly Pea" in stores here. A bit of searching, has suggested it was Clitoria ternatea ... read more

...in which we climbed a pile of rubble, wandered through little India, got on a boat, saw some things noone should see, got rained on, and left Bangkok on a "first class" train... We went to the nearby temple which you can climb to the top to get a good view of the city. Most temples required you to remove your shoes before entry, and have signs making that request. This temple had signs telling you to NOT remove your shoes. It was very confusing - like seeing a sign saying "Dry Paint" stuck on a park bench. A few tourists were milling around the door holding their shoes and looking confused. After the temple, we went down through little India, and then caught one of the boats that travel up and down the river. We ... read more

Just over a week to go and it's time to get things packing. This photo pretty well covers everything except what I'll be wearing, my bike pedals, and a few carry on objects (passport, Kindle, mp3 player, water bottle, etc.). Here's a rough list starting top left: Towel (gotta know where that is at all times!), facewasher (30+ year old Santa Claus one!), and other toiletries. USB charger with multiple wall plug adaptors for different countries, head torch and two cameras (waterproof, and normal). Fold up plates and mugs (love these). Acer Netbook (so we can do our taxes, keep this blog up to date and watch Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones). Fuel bottle, medications (Probiotica to reduce likelihood of gastro), Andrographis tablets (to give the immune system a boost), Travel Calm (so I don't ... read more