Note 1, 9pm, 21st Feb, just crossed the border into Thailand from Vientiane:

What an incredible transition between two, supposedly, culturally and climatically similar countries! This afternoon, we travelled by minibus back from the 2011 Laos Elephant Festival in Paklai, along the bumpiest dirt track I've yet experienced, constantly being jerked back and forth, and bounced to within millimetres of the inside of the roof. Then, immediately upon crossing the border, sleepily looking out of the window into the Thai night, for a moment I thought I was coming home! The bus, this time a spaceous, air-conditioned, double-decker with reclining seats, was gliding along a flat, straight, ashpalt road, with two or three lanes on either side of a central reservation, and as I pulled back the curtain I saw us drift past a Shell garage with a UK-sized forecourt, Homebase, then a shopping centre with signs for Timberland, KFC and Boots. Homebase! Admittedly not features of back home that I like, quite the opposite in fact, but essence of England nonetheless. Where else can you cross borders to such effect, under-developed to developed in the space of a few miles, particularly given that only a short time before we'd been discussing how alike the language, religion and environments were? I'd expected a gradual phasing from rural landscapes towards modernity as we approached Bangkok, but how wrong I was!

Note 2, 7.30am, the following day, just arrived in Bangkok:

Right. We're now in Bangkok. My first experience, within five minutes, having ordered the requisite coffee for an early hours arrival following overnight travel, before making any further efforts, was that of a cockroach crawling up my leg, before leaping off the top of my knee. I've now been traipsing the streets of ramshackle guesthouses for about two hours, searching for one with wifi that reaches the rooms (I eventually got one at about the twentieth attempt. Signal quality TBC, of course), and the streetscape is an array of tuk tuks, food carts, surrounded by tiny, coloured, plastic stools and fold-up tables, of course, litter and general haphazardness; exactly the sort of city scene we've been witnessing for the last few months across Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. I think my earlier observations, upon entering Thailand, must have been a dream. Don't travel to North-East Thailand for your garden furniture and kitchen tiles just yet.

Note 3, Bangkok, after a couple of days:

OK, I think the truth lies somewhere in between! In many ways, Bangkok reminds both Paula and myself of Beijing, although perhaps without the extreme contrasts between modern and traditional cultures interweaving in quite such startlingly close proximity of each other. But both are certainly here. And we love this city, incidentally! The return to civilisation is a welcome relief after several weeks away, with access to wifi (however hard it initially was to find), cable TV, toilets with seats and cheddar cheese, but such luxuries don't seem to be at the expense of genuine South-East Asian-ness. Western style steel and glass shopping centres do exist, with escalators cutting through bright, multi-storey foyer spaces, familiar household names lining the internal avenues, and top floor cinema complexes, but they aren't all around. You can find them, but avoiding them is easier, if that's what you prefer. As I'm writing, I'm just around the corner from our guesthouse, eating a 60p Thai green curry on one of the aforementioned plastic stools, watching motorbikes carve shoulder-width paths between pedestrians, and all the sounds and smells are of South-East Asia. It's a good spot!

However, I'm staying in Bangkok for a while, I think, and am conscious that my blog is lacking an entire country, so I've pledged to myself to achieve something close to daily backdated Laos entries (which mostly exist in my notebook anyway; it's just a case of typing them up), and then I'll finish off Bangkok in a week or two. When I'll have more to report anyway, I hope!

Also, worth mentioning that I'm shortly to be flying solo for a couple of weeks! Paula is off on a course she's long been hoping to get to, and we're going to hook up again on one of the islands in the south when she's finished. So, my immediate plans for the weekend include, where possible, a Liverpool v Sparta Prague repeat on Friday morning, England v France in the Six Nations on Saturday, England v India in the Cricket World Cup on Sunday afternoon, and then Liverpool away at West Ham after that. And interspersed with some much overdue email and Skype catching up. So it's not all going to be blog typing and no fun!

Note 4, Friday February 26th:

There's so much live music in Bangkok, and not a note of South Eastern Asian pop amongst it! Fantastically refreshing after so much of said dross over the last few months. One street in particular, parallel to Khao San Road, seems to have musicians in nearly every bar. Thai, as well, for the most part, covering mainly British and American tunes, which surprised me. Although one duo we sat in front of last night, catching our attention with some Simon and Garfunkel covers, had a singer who couldn't pronounce his "r"s, which came out instead as "l"s (I had thought it was typically the other way around, but maybe China and Thailand differ, or perhaps this was a unique case). It was particularly noticeable when he covered Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone", or rather "Like a Lolling Stone". Reminded me of that Only Fools and Horses Episode where the Elvis impersonator only ever sang one song, it transpires because he can't say his "r"s, which come out as "w"s instead, the song in question usefully not having any in it. I managed to cover the beginnings of a smirk during "Like a Lolling Stone", part disguising it as enjoyment of the music, and thankfully they didn't cover UB40's "Led Led Wine" or The Kaiser Chief's "Luby (Luby Luby)", as I may not have held back the laughter.

Note 5, Sunday February 28th:

Did I mention that Thai food is amazing? I knew this already, from Thai restaurants back home, which for me come a very close second to a good curry house. But actually being in Thailand has reaffirmed its quality. I particularly love the hot and sour combination of flavours, but the overall variety of dishes and flavours is fantastic. As well as the range of places; so much street food, which is unbelievable cheap, as little as fifty pence for a dish, or just twenty pence for a spring roll, half a pineapple or a bag of watermelon chunks, but still really tasty, right up to haute cuisine in the glitzy shopping centre restaurants. Definitely edges China for best food so far!

Note 6, Wednesday March 3rd:

Finally, my passport renewal application is in the hands of the British Consulate General in Hong Kong (where it needs to be, these days, for anyone trying to get a new UK passport in Asia)! It took two days of homework (form filling, getting photos, photocopies and information from parents) and three visits to the British Embassy, but DHL has just confirmed delivery, so it's now out of my hands. Visit one was on Friday afternoon, only to find that the office was shut. Monday afternoon, I arrived at 1.45pm, having even taken the trouble on Friday to write down the office opening hours (1pm til 3pm in the afternoons). But they don't help with passports in the afternoon. Come back tomorrow morning she said. Which I did, and then still almost didn't get in, as the sign on the door and the man in the security office both explained that renewals were to be applied for directly with Hong Kong, by post, and they only dealt with lost or stolen ones. But pleading assistance to help with unusual circumstances (no Thailand address, birthplace in Canada), they allowed me to go through, and once inside the very friendly lady sorted it all out. At an hour's travel each way, it might, elsewhere, have been a real pain in the backside to go to the embassy three times, however in the free sauna that is everywhere in Bangkok without air conditioning, the air conditioned bus is a very pleasant place to be! Also, those modern shopping complexes I mentioned are right by the embassy, with their Western standard top floor cinemas. I've now been to the cinema three times, and if only I could find another reason to go to the embassy, I'd be happy to make it four! Incidentally, it was my first visit to a British embassy, and very friendly lady aside, it was a little disappointing. I had visions of general Britishness being part of the set-up, to give Brits abroad, presumably mostly there in troubled circumstances of some sort, a reassuring taste of home. I hoped to at least be offered a pot of tea and some digestives. But it was like any other waiting room and no beverages or biscuits were forthcoming, never mind any further, but feasible, efforts like carpet, comfy armchairs or Eastenders playing in a corner.

Note 7 - Thursday 4th March, pm:

In need of a change of scene from blog writing and the HBO channel in my hotel room, I decided to have a beer last night. Just one, after dinner. Half an hour later, though, conversation with Noah from Israel and Al from England was good, so I had another. An hour or two after that, myself, Noah, Joe and Nick from Australia and Bo and Sebastian from France, decided to go and find some more bars on Khao San Road, as the one we were at, consisting of a bunch of stools around a converted sawngthaw, had closed. Not its own decision, but the police came by and decided it was no longer open, patting us all down and checking through my bag in the process. Then it gets a bit hazy. I have a recollection of looking at my watch as I was finally walking back to the hotel, and I'm pretty sure it was five something. I woke up, fully clothed and on my bed, at about 1pm this afternoon. And I have a new book, which was in my bag. I have no idea why I have it, or where it came from, but "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts looks good, so in light of the fact I don't know who to return it to, I might as well read it. If, by some remote chance, its rightful owner ever reads this blog, I'm sorry that I still have it! And if you contact me, I'll pay you for it. Unless I already have, or it was a gift, in which case it was a pleasure doing business with you / thank you very much.

Note 8 - Saturday 5th March:

I didn't know that Bangkok, like Hoi An in Vietnam, would be so full of clothes shops trying to sell tailor made suits. Maybe it's just around here, in Banglomphu, but nevertheless, their pitching in the street is fairly relentless. But only, I've realised, when I wear a shirt. I can picture expressions of shock back home, as this isn't a sight most of my family, friends or workmates will be familiar with. However, I've discovered how much more comfortable short sleeved, open collared, ultra thin cotton shirts are than most of my much heavier T-shirts. Not sweating isn't an option, so less weight and extra ventilation are the best forms of comfort. The result, I now own two shirts. Anyway, I digress, the point of this is advice to any potential visitors to the area. When I wear a T-shirt, no-one approaches me. When I wear a shirt, a stream of well-dressed young tailors dive forward, hands extended, as I walk along the street, asking me how I am and where I'm from. So I'm not sure what the conclusion is, but now you know the choice. Be hot or be hassled. Or maybe wear a vest, be cool, unhassled, and look like an Aussie. But I'm not going to try that last one myself.

Two more nights in Bangkok, and I leave for Koh Tao on Monday evening, arriving there first thing on Tuesday morning. I've decided to learn how to dive; the underwater world awaits! I would have gone earlier, actually, but Liverpool v Man Utd is on tomorrow night, and despite the likely backlash following Chelsea's midweek victory (not to mention, sitting at the top of the Premiership, the fact that they're clearly better than us anyway), hope, as ever, has sucked me in. You never know!

Note 9, Sunday 6th March:

I've just realised, after spending two weeks in Bangkok, that no-one bats an eyelid at Westerners. In any part of the city, even the virtually tourist free areas. So different from other parts of South East Asia. I even stumbled across an all Thai demonstration / festival today (the yellows, as opposed to the reds, so pro-King, mostly middle classes, I think), which I was invited into after watching from the edge for a while (they even kindly offered me a certificate that was being given out to participants, although I politely declined, not yet willing to pledge my allegiance to yellows!), and no-one seemed to view me as remotely of interest. Not that I mind being of interest to people in the places we visit, but it is a nice change not to be!

Note 10, Monday 7th March:

It was worth hanging around! 3-1 to Liverpool! And it never looked in doubt, Utd were poor from the start, Gerrard, Lucas, Meireles and Kuyt bossed the midfield (technically Kuyt was up front, but I count him as playing in every area of the pitch, every game), and a bit of Suares magic unlocked the defence. Fantastic performance! I was shouting and dancing in my hotel room - hope no-one was in next door.

But finally off to Koh Tao tonight, for some diving, sea and sun. It's hot in Bangkok, but the sun's rarely visibly through what's either clouds or smog, or maybe a bit of both. Some blue sky will be nice.

That said, I'll be looking forward to coming back to Bangkok to pick up my passport in a few weeks (fingers crossed). It's an amazing city. The food is fantastic, so diverse compared to places we've been previously, the people are friendly, and the whole general mixture of faces, sights, smells and sounds provides a constant stimulation of the senses. An incredibly uplifting vibrancy; it'll be no chore to return.