Chaing Mai to Bangkok

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Post Laos we are now back in Thailand and are off to Chaing Mai for the day where we head to a Tiger sanctuary, getting cuddles from the baby tigers before taking in the big cats and then onto an Elephant sanctuary. The highlight of this visit is an elephant ride (not as comfortable as you would think!) but we also have a fab time visiting the nursery to see the baby elephants, watching the elephants bathe in the river (the cheeky ones kept spraying us with water) as well as watching them take part in some of the enrichment activities organised by the keepers including, football, basketball, log rolling and painting...... Yes painting...... and the pictures are brilliant including landscapes, and portraits!

It's then off to the train station for an overnight train to Bangkok. The sleeper train is excellent. We have a 3 course meal on board, which is brought to our seats and we wash down with a few beers and vodkas (we bought a bottle before boarding), before the bunks are turned down and I head to bed and Mark heads to the Dining cart for a couple more beers with the boys. The next thing we know we are woken up just before we arrive in Bangkok........ now that's the way to travel!

We have now gone full circle and are back in the hotel we started at when we first arrived in Bangkok from the UK. After 1000's of miles travelling we decide that a chilled day round the pool wouldn't go amiss before we head to the Khao San Road for our last night out with the guys we have been travelling with through Laos.

It's amazing what can happen in just a few hours..... by the time we meet up with the others in the evening, 2 of the girls have got tattoos and Joel now has a full head of dreads! We have a great night of live music, sheesha and beer towers before saying our goodbyes and heading back to the hotel.

We spend the next 3 days in Bangkok, shopping, drinking on the Khao San Road, arranging our transport to the islands (which was more difficult than expected as we are travelling the day before the Buddhist New Year celebrations commence) and visiting the sights. Wow, the Bangkok Grand Palace is impressive....... you would have thought that by now we would be all palaced and templed out but this place is in another league! All the buildings are highly decorated and sparkle in the sun, it even has a full blown scale replica of Anchor Wat and the Emerald Buddah is very beautiful (and he has a different outfit for each season, as we found out in the on site museum).

It's now time for us to move on from Bangkok though, as there are only so many wooden frog sellers (and the annoying noises they make) that any 2 people can handle and besides that, the islands are beckoning, so we head off on the 12 hour overbooked coach journey (we have to travel in the TV lounge with 6 others which is ever so slightly cramped!) to Koh Tao via Surithani, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan (we have to travel the long way as ferries still aren't running straight to Koh Tao from Chumpong due to the floods and high waters).

So tune in for our next installment, which is all about the Thai islands (we manage to visit 6 in the end) which will be coming your way shortly!

And for those of you who have been "encouraging" us to post some photos, check out Mark's Facebook, we have finally got on the case........boy did that take some time!

Lots of love xxxx

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