Hi everyone,

Sorry this blog is going to be out of order and a few days late but jess insisted on putting hers up first :)
We've had a very tiring few days and have just travelled for 24 hours straight to get from Udaipur to Bangkok. Since our last update we have celebrated holi which was over two days. On the first day there was a party in the town square which consisted of music, dancing drag queens and what we concluded was called 'laugh at the white people dancing' as all the tourists (except our group, who all hid) were dragged up on stage to dance to Hindi music. There was then a firework display which centred around a tree planted in the centre surrounded with hay stuffed with fireworks and then set on fire! The result was spectacular and bit scary :) it even knocked out the electricity for the whole town for a while as the electricity cables were directly overhead! Next day was the festival of colours. The day before we had bought clothes we could use just for this day. All the guys and I got a shirt and trousers, which were the cheapest thing on the market and we later found out were Indian pyjamas, thanks yosh! Jess and the girls got a skirt and top, which didn't look as out of place as the guys. We all went up to the roof in the morning and were immediately pelted in the face with an array of colours and so ensued an hour long colour and water fight which included us being gathered together for a picture and then having buckets of water tipped on us from above by Yoshs friends! Should've seen that coming :) We then jumped into the back of Yoshs pickup and belted across town to his friends house and walked into the middle of a brutal water fight, we didn't stay there long before we paid a visit to Yoshs uncle which was a bit more relaxed as the whiskey and rum flowed freely. The journey back was interesting as Yosh had had a little bit to drink by then but we only came screeching to a holt twice, hit a metal post and then a parked bike, which we concluded could be deemed a successful journey in India! At the end of the day we all ended up looking like a Picasso painting and were still finding colour in places where colour shouldn't be days later! Next day we all went into town and got a leaving present for Yosh as he had been so kind to us and left to catch the overnight train from Udaipur to Delhi. Fun fact: Udaipur was in the James Bond film octop**** We tried to pass the time on the train journey by playing cards and watching a movie before finally going to sleep, which was difficult as Indian sleeper trains aren't built for someone my height, so I spent most the night with my feet in the air against the opposite wall. Jess got a better night sleep than me! Yesterday we did the floating market, the bridge over the river Kwai and the tiger temple, which included having taken our picture taken with some tigers! We'll try and and get the pictures up here and on Facebook soon. So now we leave Bangkok tomorrow and head for oz. I'm not sure how often we will be able to find Internet over there as we will be on the road so this might be the last entry for a while. Miss you all, Chris xxx Peekaboo, Jess here - had to add a little something about Thailand, Our first day was a chill out day, our second day we wondered into the city to find an Internet cafe. We found on a leaflet a place called Siam Ocean world - absolutely fantastic. It's a huge aquarium which even had those glass tunnels you walk through and allows you to see all the fish and sharks swim above, we even touched a starfish! Took us three hours to get round it but then had a snack at McDonalds hehe Third day -The floating market was stunning, shopping whilst on water can't beat it! Chris treated me to a coconut drink, a lady on a boat literally chops the top off the coconut pops a straw into it - magic. it cost 20b about 45p! I bought myself a red dress and took millions of photos. Only downside was the temp 36c, but that's when my battery powered fan came in very handy :) prior to going on the floating market we sailed around where traditional Thai people live on the river, really simple but lovely. Then onto the bridge, I tried to read the plaque about the bridge but my eyes were blurry from the heat so Chris had to explain, impressive structure and even better when we bought a 'feast' lolly. Then onto the tiger temple, I was nervous about the tigers but my guide slapped my hand down on the tiger and it didn't budge. Also had some photos taken with the cubs arwww so cute. Had a chat with a monk who asked me not to touch him, but let us have a photo with him. He was very insightful if not a bit strange. It was a three hour journey back to the hotel and although Chris and i had the coolest spot on the tour bus which was at the front sat next to the driver, I had no head rest, no leg room and had to be very wary of the gear stick. But I will happily sacrifice space for being cool. Once we had stopped at some traffic lights a man suddenly opened the drivers side door, our driver then goes to punch him in the face - I squealed. But all was fine,it was a family friend who came to say hi in true thailand style. Bangkok is a clean, fairly relaxed city with friendly people and very much reminds me of Florida. Would recommend it - but bring a fan! Oh and a bottle of coke is 17b about 40p yay Hopefully blog soon, Love to all, love Jess xxx