I am now in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, starting off leg 2 of this trip. But before delving into the delights of the Continent, I need to round off the last leg.

It was an early start for the boat trip and since we had ended up staying out a little later than expected the night before, I think we did really well being only 10 (ish) mins late for the boat. We were the only ones travelling on it though, so the tardiness wasn't of huge impact.

There isn't a lot I can say about the boat trip. We meandered down the Mekong over the 2 days and we spent the one night in Luang Prabang. We had another eary start on day 2 as we had agreed that we were going to bypass our next stop, Chiang Rai and head straight to Chang Mai. Our tour leader Pun Pun is from a village North West of Chang Mai but has been living in Chang Mai for the last 10 ish years. It was his birthday on day 2 on the boat, so we thought he could celebrate at home. This meant that we spent 10 hours on the boat and then 5 hours in a mini-van to get to Chang Mai. However, there's not much to do on the boat but read, sleep and take photo's. So that is what we did for the 2 days. I finished my 10th book of the trip and took some pics and on day 2 I tried to sleep.

Luckily, we hadn't exhausted ourselves before getting to Chang Mai because when we finally arrived at 10pm, we headed out for a Birthday dinner and a few celebratory drinks. Eventually the night ended with the police closing down the pubs at 3.30am. It had been a long day, made even longer by the fact that we still had a bucket of Mojito to drink... so off back to the hotel with the Mojito bucket.

Needless to say, the next morning was slow. We all did our own thing that day. Henry and I headed out with Pun Pun's brother and visited the Tiger Kingdom. Wow! It was really scary but really cool. It is amazing to be able to cuddle a 4month old Tiger let alone a 24 month old Tiger. They are incredibly soft and really amazing creatures. I loved it! After the sedate Tiger visit, Henry wanted to do something a little more adventurous, so we went to the Snake farm. Here, you can see different kinds of snakes (king cobras, Pythons, Rat snakes etc). You can also watch a crazy man kiss some snakes. He puts on a show and does some amazing stuff the snakes but I have to admit that it all completely freaked me out!

So after the excitement of the day, we were then catching an overnight train to Bangkok. Interesting train ride but it certainly wasn't dull! The array of passengers made for some entertaining watching. Arriving in Bangkok the next morning, some of us headed out to the Grand Palace for a look around. What started out as a bit of a nightmare, turned into a thoroughly productive and enjoyable day. It was damn hot as per usual but we managed to sort Henry's suit out and visit the palace. We also managed to find 2 of the worst taxi drivers in Bangkok.

That night, we put on our Glad Rags and headed out to a lovely restaurant for the tour teams last dinner. Pun Pun was just lovely and gave us each a bag that his mother had made. They are really cool and it means that I can now replace my one, that the cave destroyed. After dinner, we went in search of somewhere to play pool. Henry and Pun Pun had had an ongoing competition throughout the tour and Henry was eager to regain some credibility. With the scores standing at 9-3 to Pun Pun, we found a (very local) snooker hall and played a couple of rounds. Progress was slow, I think due to performance impairing drinks and a complete lack of knowledge on how to play. The locals seemed to appreciate the spectacule though.

So, another late night but thoroughly enjoyable. Pun Pun and Simon left us for their various destinations the next day. Which meant that Natalie, Henry and I had to entertain ourselves for 2 days. We went shopping in the commercial district. Apparently this is where the Red Shirts had set up camp and set fire to a few buildings but we couldn't see any evidence of damaged offices. I think the destroyed area had been closed off by the cops anyway. We also went shopping on Khao San Road. Not my favourite place on earth but it is certainly an experience.

Now, after one very uneventful flight, I am in Frankfurt. I love Germany and being back has just re-enforced how much I love it. The people are fantastic and friendly and I get to practice my very rusty German.

Today, I spent the morning catching up on sleep and the afternoon walking around, exploring Frankfurt's old town. I got completely lost on the way back but eventually found my bearings again. Tomorrow I am off to Heidelberg for a few days and then Luxembourg for a couple of days.

Biß Bald,

Caz