As we drove through the streets of Chiang Mai, the second city of Thailand, we were surprised at how smoggy it was. I don't really understand why it is like this although probably it's a combination of pollution, heat haze, and the continuous fire setting in surrounding forests. Still, the city was lovely, we based ourselves inside the old moated area which seemed to be a maze of nice back lanes filled with beautiful temples, tasty restaurants, and friendly faces. The first hotel we stayed at was called Ping Buri and was spacious, stylish and conveniently close to the main hospital. Lewi and I took the opportunity to have our persistently upset stomachs looked at. At our follow up examination the next day the hospital staff were preparing for an afternoon Songkran party: dressed in their ... read more

We returned excitedly to Bangkok, driving through big rainstorms on the way and settled back into our home-from-home the lovely River Guest House. Mum, Gordon, Harri, Jess and Flo would be arriving in a couple of days, it was mind blowing to think that 6 months had passed since we left home and so very shortly they would be here, with us, in Bangkok! Lew and I had some jobs to sort out before everyone arrived, applying for Vietnamese visas, extending our Thai ones, and checking up on the political situation between the Government and the democracy fighters the 'Red Shirts'. Until recently the protests had been non violent and negotiations had been taking place between the two sides, but pressure has been increased on the military controlled government to step down before New Year (15th ... read more

The southern seaside town of Sihanoukville was not what we expected. Named after Cambodia's former king, Sihanouk, it seemed to be more a town of people getting royally drunk. Bars, restaurants and tourists reigned supreme here, like coming back into Goa with every stretch of land being used. We had a hard time finding a room as most were full or overpiced but managed to get a bed at 'Cool Banana' guesthouse where after a ten hour journey from Kratie via Phnom Penh we were ready to dip in to some of the towns regal pursuits ourselves. The resort-like atmosphere was slightly disorientating having come from the peaceful town of Kratie. The disparity between normal Cambodia and beachside Sihanoukville was palpable not least because there were no Cambodians living there. Even the bars used English staff. ... read more

Another month and another country. Cambodia was in our sights on the six hour journey from Bangkok to the border. Once there we were greeted by a whole host of scam artists. "come with me for visa", "you have to have visa before you go passport control". This although not entirely wrong was a scam as they were charging about $5 more for a visa than at the actual checkpoint. The problem was that there was no signs explaining this so we just had to stay strong and push our way through to the correct visa point. Relieved to be through we then had to find a bus to Siem Reap which is a further three hours from the border. All tourists coming through were met by smartly dressed 'government officials' who supposedly were there to ... read more

Having enjoyed our time in the serene jungle setting of Khao Sok it was now that time of month for a party. The party happened to be none other than the infamous Koh Pha Ngan Full Moon Party (FMP) on Haad Rin beach. Due to very high accommodation prices on the island around party time, we decided to do an all-nighter and just not sleep. So having reached Surat Thani (our base for Koh Pha Ngan ferries) we left around lunchtime equipped with nothing more than some suncream and UV face paint. No camera, bag or any belongings as that would just be asking for trouble. Due to unforeseen journey times we didn't reach the party island until sunset but that was perfect as the party was just getting started. On the long ferry crossing we ... read more