Kate will leave tomorrow after a lovely holiday with us. We've been in Bangkok, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. Tuk-tuks, taxis, sleeper trains, river and sea ferries, buses, mini-buses and a hire car have been our means of transportation.

We have now been in Chiang Mai for three days. To get here, we travelled on sleeper trains for two consecutive nights. Each journey took about 12 hours! So the first day was a rest day! Yesterday we spent the afternoon exploring Chiang Mai Zoo. It was very hot and humid, but we enjoyed being in close proximity to all the animals. To see small children handing handfulls of greens to Pigmy Hippos was very nerve wracking! It's as close as it looks in the photo...

We have been in Ko Samui for five days. The journey here started in Bangkok and involved a Tuk-Tuk, a sleeper train, a bus, a ferry and a mini bus. However we didn't break our journey time record because it only took 18 hours! Although the weather isn't cold, the monsoon season means that we have rain everyday but it doesn't last long. Jungle Park resort has a lovely swimming pool and well established grounds in which to relax. Tomorrow we will take the fr...

Going by bus and train from Laos to Vietnam, then all the way down Vietnam, then from Saigon [the name used on the ticket] to Cambodia is great for breaking journey-time records. You get a sore bottom and an aching back as well. The black market in tickets is a world you have to enter sometimes, but if you don't mind a soft seat with air con. for the night go to the ticket booth. Go there well in advance! The map is showing Phnom Penh where we stayed for one n...

Still no new photos, sorry, but we are now in Saigon.How we got here is a long story - 39 hours by train!! Not all in one journey. We split it 21 and 18 hours, and both sleeper trains so we managed at least 10 hours' sleep! The train pulled into Saigon Station at 05.45 this morning. Coffee in the 5-Star check-in [naughty, naughty!] then a taxi to the hotel. The 'Wotif.com' site is great for last minute bargains in four star hotels [20-25 pounds], ...