I forgot to mention - before I booked for tomorrow at TAT I went on a long tailed boat trip up the river and canals of Bangkok. This city is known as the Venice of the East and it desrves that name because of the many canals that ae still useful in travelling across Bangkok. I felt as though I was re-enacting a film that I'd seen at junior school - the houses on stilts alongside the canals are so picturesque. I saw families bathing in the the canal near their houses. One buddhist temple protects fish and they flourish in that place and are fed by pilgrims. I wonder if the fish actully know they are safe there, or if they are saved by chance alone. I was supposed to see "the floating market" but ... read more

Well! I am finally in Thailand! Slightly more than a week later, but I've made it! I was delayed by the time it takes to get visas combined with a Jain holiday that closed the Indian embassy, a Thai holiday that closed the Thai embassy and the Easter holidays that closed everything. My flight here was very smooth. I was able to check in electronically at Heathrow on a machine that read my passport and then just leave my backpack to go to the hold while I looked around the shops. The flight was 11 hours! I dozed for a bit but didn't really get much sleep. I arrived in Bangkok at 3pm local time and took a taxi to my hotel in Khao San road, getting there about 4.30 pm. The taxi driver wouldn't take ... read more