HE SAID... Thailand is a land of extremes - the rugged beauty and cultural richness of the north and the idyllic beauty and tourist-induced madness of the south. I loved trekking in the hills of Chiang Rai; I loved the Yunnan style beef curry with steamed dumplings that we shared at Doi Mae Salong; I loved the juxtaposition of a monk blessing a woman while taking a call on his mobile in Ayuthaya; I loved the peaceful seclusion of Koh Yao Noi; I loved the bohemian and creative lifestyle of old Phuket Town; I loved (eventually) the bustle and excitement of Bangkok - it took me a while to warm to the city, but when I did, it become a second home. I loved the open and embracing values and mindset of Buddhism; I loved the ... read more

HE SAID... We checked out of our Bangkok hotel and jumped into an air conditioned minibus at 7.45am for the four hour trip to the Ban Phe ferry terminal. We picked up an elderly French couple from another Bangkok hotel who were also travelling to Koh Samet. The traffic was very heavy in the morning rush hour. It was strange seeing an ambulance stranded in traffic, its emergency lights were flashing but it was unable to move. I couldn’t help but wonder where it was going and how long it’s intended patients would have to wait before it arrived. We eventually emerged from the bustling Bangkok traffic at 9am. It was a great way to see this huge city come to life. We had driven through the CBD and watched people as they made their way ... read more

HE SAID... We arrived at one of Phuket’s eastern ferry terminals at 10.30am, jumped into a songthaew (small pickup truck/ute with seats in the tray) and headed to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre (where gibbons are rescued from captivity and carefully reintroduced into a nearby forest after they find a mate). We arrived at 11am and found ourselves mesmerised by the 15 or so gibbons that were on show for the public because they could not - for various reasons - be rehabilitated into the wild. I was particularly taken with Bo (or Rambo). He had been a pet since he was a baby and his teeth had been filed down by his owner to stop him biting. The owner surrendered him to the Centre when he matured and became too much to handle. He eventually found ... read more

HE SAID... I woke at 6am to watch the morning unfold through my lower bunk bed train window. The southern Thai landscape seems very different from the north. Large vertical hills rising out of nowhere, then flat fields full of palm, coconut, rubber and fig trees. This train was a little less steady on its tracks than the northern trains, so my sleep had been broken during the night. However, it didn’t make any difference as I felt completely refreshed, and the prospect of lazing on the beach this afternoon was very welcoming. Arriving at Surat Thani had its problems - Ren and I misjudged Pun Pin Station and jumped off the train a little too early when it stopped temporarily at traffic lights. We found ourselves alone on an empty platform in the middle of ... read more

HE SAID... We arrived at Chiang Mai at 11am and headed straight for the hotel in a songthaew (small pickup truck/ute with seats in the tray). We re-packed and then headed straight for Wat Chedi Luang. We sat at the Monk Chat Program area until a young monk (Ton Udom) arrived around 12.30pm. The three of us chatted for about an hour about Buddhism, Thai life, monk life and religion in general. Ton promised to email me a few PDF files about Buddhism (which he did the very next day). We jumped into a tuk tuk at 12.30pm and headed back to a local restaurant near the hotel where we shared a pad thai goong sod (rice noodles stir fried with prawns, dried shrimp, egg, bean sprouts, tofu, chillies, fish sauce and peanuts) and a khao ... read more