Well here we are in Bangkok ("Krung Thep" in Thai). One could forgive oneself for nicknaming the nations capital the 'City of Escort girls' in lieu of the multitude of overweight, western, 40-something men confidently strutting their stuff accompanied by petite and very pretty 20-something Thai girls (The Adventures of Stevie V and "Money Talks" certainly rings true). However even though, this is the city that has it's own little Tenerife in Khao San Road, and where women that have mastered the art of projecting non-descript missiles (such as ping pong balls and darts) from the least discussed areas of the female anatomy (and it has to be said, with a fair degree of accuracy, which must be applauded whatever your persuasion on such 'talent'), Bangkok however is an exciting city, which exuberates headlong pace and flawed modernity which, I can imagine, matches few people's vision of the capital of exotic Siam. With it's scores of high-rise buildings of concrete and glass, it's a vast flatness that hold a population of 9 million, and it feels even bigger. But under the shadow of the skyscrapers, Belle and yours truly (who is currently in a poetic mood if you haven't noticed already!) managed to discover the heady mix of frenetic markets, hushed golden temples, and great nightlife. So without going into much detail (as a lot of our avid readers have been to Bangkok already), we attacked Bangkok culturally first of all by visiting the dazzling Royal Palace (home of the emerald Buddha and the scene still of many state functions) and neighboring Wat Pho (home of the reclining Buddha). Then it was onto the Golden Buddha (which is the largest golden Buddha in the world worth about $14million) and then got involved in the sprawl of narrow alleyways and shop-houses of Chinatown. Away from the "culture-vulturing activities" (yes Mother before you write back and pick me up on the fact that there is no such word as 'Vulturing" in the English language, I am aware of this, I'm using 'License'. Let it be said, I think it should be in the Dictionary as well as another word I invented "Appendicise: To extract the text from the main literature, and place in the Appendix") …I'm getting sidetracked….Ah yes, we did manage to get pretty drunk on the aforementioned Khao San Road (well you just have to don't you), but the highlight was our visit to the Lumphini Thai boxing stadium. After paying quite a hefty price to obtain our ringside seats (we weren't even going to bother when we saw it was around 25 quid each), it turned out to be a quality night which saw us sink copious amounts of beers (delivered to our seats of course), become highly knowledgeable in the art of Muay Thai (shouting to the boxers what they should and shouldn't be doing - it's amazing what beer does to you), culminating in us going back to the change area afterwards and Belle meeting the Champ! A top quality spectacle though, just like off the movies, hot, sweaty and an electrifying atmosphere. Just needed Jean Claude Van Dame to come in and get his ass whipped by the crazy Thai dude with glass on the back of his hands! So, we've booked our [first class] seats on the overnight train to Chaing Mai in northern Thailand, so off to the cinema before that to catch a flick……… Over and Out