Lopburi is a town of small Khmer ruins and packs of confident monkeys, who can be seen as at home picking fleas off a friend about the old temples (that are separated into small parks), as they are strutting past mobile phone shops and then chasing foes up telephone poles. Some of the first monkeys we saw on leaving the train were thieving food from an open shop front. For us, this was novel seeing monkeys all about, hanging, even banditting and probably watching Netflix by evening. If you looked around you'd keep seeing more, say up on a roof or sat out on a car or swinging from the city's cable creepers. For those who lived here, I suspected the macaques (all 3,000 of them!) were a nuisance - of seeing familiar faces about the ... read more

Sangkhlaburi really has charmed me. It's beautiful and there's no over stating how much I have enjoyed actually seeing, walking and moving through the village, bridge and rivers that I had read of. I've found the people to be kind, quieter with me than in those in Kanchanaburi, enjoying of a slow pace; and its a place that's culturally diverse and harmonious. The status of many of the minorities from old Burma means that some do not get education or health care access, however there are a few important school programmes & community hubs here. An example of the overall harmony and care is from when the Mon Bridge partly collapsed in 2013 - the communities both sides (the Thai, the Mon and the Karen) worked together to very quickly build a floating bamboo walkway over ... read more

One of the things I am going to try to do on my travels is to see and enjoy festivals and events - the local and specific, the national and mass attended.. The good, the fun and the 'hmm I'm not sure about this' ones. Loy krathong (and 'loy kra-tung' out loud as I learnt*) was a regions wide festival I was looking forward to before I arrived in Thailand - knowing it would be when I was starting all this, and that I'd likely be in a place that partakes. I wasn't in one of the hotspots, like Sukhothai, but Kanchanaburi and I enjoyed a colourful, chilled and fun time. The festival goes a long way back, with Hindu origins, though its exact beginnings are a little unclear. It was likely started as a way ... read more

. Today it was time for a little quest. I'd made a note of a hill cave temple - Kaopoon - before I'd left the UK, which was a little out the town and a good chance to enjoy a cycle. I hired a bike and okay, to be honest bicycle, I did judge you a little with your basket and strange frame - but you turned into the perfect trip accomplice. We rode through the town, taking diversions from my vague mental map as my eyes caught something. So we rode down Song Kwai road and Pak Praek, where we found the Wat Chaichumpon temple complex, bustling with Theravada monks, and containing the Jeath war museum and various statue tributes. The roads were decorated with thai and yellow flags above (yellow for the king - ... read more

20/11/2015. Day 2 AM - Another very satisfying sleep. So, a quick note on day 1! - After arriving in Wongwian Yai, using the sky train from the airport to the west of the river; I had spent my time sleeping, napping, imagining getting up, and napping some more. That was a lot of winks! There was some time to have a walk through the local markets and meet the river; to head more central, wander and pop my head into a rock bar in Siam; and to stumble across a car park maze of food stalls, where my eyes were drawn in by the lights and colored sauce tubes of 'bread zone!' - my choice was cinammon, very nice! So, take two. Once sleep was shaken off (and damn it had felt good!) I jumped ... read more