So what's it like in Southern Thailand? Well refreshingly different from the Asia we have travelled through so far, but still with the street food vendors and open air kitchens on every street. The area is mountainous and lush, the clouds roll around the hills that surround us, always threatening rain and sometimes delivering it in vast quantities. When the sun gains a hold it beats down fiercely and the temperature rises quickly, but when the cloud rolls down an...

Yesterday we said goodbye to our friends in Uttaradit and took the train to Bangkok. We left at 8.45 am and arrived at 5pm, so it was a long trip but oh so lovely. We passed through the Thai countryside which was a mixture of vast rice fields and low hills, with a sprinkling of small towns and temples. We stopped at many stations during the day and they all had a different charm of their own. The wonderful part of the journey was the train, which was made up ...

Our trip to Uttaradit by bus nearly went without a hitch. We arrived at the bus station in time, but our bus was cancelled so we had a 2 hour wait for the next one which set off at 11.15 and arrived just after 3 pm. It was one of the oldest buses we have been on and one window had been replaced by a board but at least it reached its destination! Sira was there to meet us and take us to her school to meet the other workawayers and the children. Our classes are...

It was so nice to visit Nan, a truly welcoming unspoilt part of Thailand. Not only are the streets lovely and clean, the people are so friendly and helpful. More than once we have been asked if we need any help by young Thai people. In the evening they have a delicious Thai food market where you buy your food and then sit on mats warmed by the sun to eat it in companionship with the people of Nan. The area around the city is very flat and on the edge of a mou...

Well yesterday we sailed up the Northern Mekong from Luang Prabang to Pak Beng, a small village/town in the middle of nowhere on the bank's of the River Mekong. We plan to try to get to the border crossing near Meung Ngeun about 40 km away, but the bus service, if there is one, is on Laos time, which means it goes if enough people arrive to fill it up. Worse case scenario is we get to stay another night in Pak Beng and then have to take the next slow boat up ...