To get from Nan to the border town of Chiang Khong required one bus journey to Chiang Kham, which was extremely crowded with the aisle completely full as well as the seats, then another to Chiang Khong. I had absolutely no idea what the procedure would be there, so I asked the tuk tuk driver to take me to the jetty from which boats departed for Houayxai in Laos. He asked if I had a visa then, when I said no, took me to a travel company. They said they could arrange a 30 day visa in 1 hour for the same price I'd pay at the border, but in the meantime I could use their free Internet and drink their free coffee. This sounded acceptable so I filled in the form, handed over THB 1,700, ... read more

I'd been advised by several people to check out Mae Hong Son, as its mountainous countryside had turned it into a less crowded trekking option than Chiang Mai. Though I'd already decided that Nan would be my trekking site, I figured Mae Hong Son would be worth a visit regardless. It's certainly a tortuous place to access - the 300km trip via Mae Seriang was accomplished in 8 hours, with the return journey via Pai in a positively zippy 5. This snail-like pace was due to the serpentine road, rising and falling in steep curves as it wound its way up into the mountains. At the designated lunch stopping spot on the way there, I was patting myself on the back at having ordered a chicken dish entirely in Thai, only to find it was actually ... read more

A brief comment about Thai transport. The rail network is not extensive and is slow. There is a national bus network (also not exactly rapid) serving many destinations, but within towns and in more rural districts this is supplemented by fleets of songthaews (pronounced "song tao"). Though these come in different sizes, the standard one consists of 2 facing benches in the back of a vehicle (the name means something like "2 rows"). Some ply fixed routes, but most operate on the principles of i) picking up people going roughly in the same direction, and ii) not going anywhere until a financially viable number of passengers has clambered in. I took my first songthaew to Ayutthaya bus station in order to catch a bus to Sukhothai. In hindsight, I think the driver kicked out his existing ... read more

It seems as though train travel in Thailand has some similarities to that in India, being not the fastest way of getting around but pleasant nonetheless. The ~110km journey to Kanchanaburi took 2.5 hours, representing a leisurely ~45km/h, for ~$3. The only class of travel on this train was 3rd, but with hardly any other passengers and the windows open to let in the breeze, sounds and smells of the Thai countryside, it seemed infinitely preferable to the 2 hour jam-packed minibus journeys offered along Khao San Road. My bum probably won't be voting the hard wooden seats as Most Comfortable 2007 but the alternatives were little better. Kanchanaburi had never registered on my brain before, but it's the home of the bridge over the river Kwai, as famously depicted in David Lean's film. Though a ... read more

So the 2nd trip of my career break is now over. Christmas at home will be followed by a wander through Southeast Asia, starting mid-January. Feel free to join me again then.... read more