The journey north was easliy the bumpiest we've ever had. The suspension on the bus seemed to be made from elastic bands. I could make the whole bus bounce up and down just by moving around in my seat (no jokes about too many Thai curries please).

We had to stop over in Chiang Khong to cross the border into Laos the next day. Our guesthouse had a really nice seating area that looked across the river into our next destination. We spent a while getting a few bits and bobs in town (Including a full size Snickers. They only have snack-size and fun-size in Thailand, costing about 50p and 30p respectively. Ragin'. No wonder the Thai's are so thin!)

I also stayed up to watch the football in a little Thai bar not far from the guesthouse. It was on at 1.45am local time. The bar appeared to be segregated into Chelsea (Thailand) and Man Utd (England and one Scot. Isn't it funny how Man Utd fans don't seem to come from Manchester...?!). It was good fun until the rain came on (in Thailand, not Moscow) and the leaky roof meant that all the Man Utd supporters had to go and sit beside the Chelsea Thai's! And at least the game offered the chance to have a good chuckle at poor John Terry, and that "slapper" Drogba.

-B