Monday we, us & Jack and Sam, were up at 5am for our 3 hour roller coaster bus journey back to Chiang Mai. After absolutely no sleep on the bus and the fact that we all felt sick we made a spontaneous decision to be dropped at the airport, rather than the bus station to catch our 10 hour coach! We managed to buy a cheap flight to Bangkok that was to leave in a hour so enough time to check in and grab some food which is what we did, half way through our glorious McDonald's Sam realised that our flight was to take off in 5 minutes so it was a quick scramble to customs only to find a very large queue, luckily a woman was holding a sign requesting the 4 of us to skip the queue, it was all such a rush and before we knew it our McDonald's had made it through customs! We were directed straight to our gate and told to run to the plane, when we got on board we were stared at by all the other seated customers who looked not so impressed! It was a quick flight to Bangkok and when we arrived the boys headed to their hotel whilst we headed back to the dreaded immigration office to once again extend our visa, we were told this time that we HAVE to leave Thailand on 21st January and not extend our stay any longer. We were glad to finally arrive at our hostel, Ben was especially pleased as Laura had booked a secret stay at a hostel that has a surf machine! We planned to go to the cinema with the boys however there was nothing good on so we just had an early night instead.

Tuesday the boys came to ours at 10 then we went for breakfast at Big C. We spent the rest of the day chilling in the sunshine and the boys had a go on the flow machine which Ben loved! In the evening we got ready then went to Sam & Jacks hostel for some food, drinks and played cards against humanity before heading out to Kaoh San Road with other travellers from the hostel which was a good night.

Wednesday... New years Eve! The boys came to ours at 10 and we went for another Big C breakfast. Again we spent the rest of the day chilling in the sun and watching people trying out the flow machine. At 15:00 we had to say goodbye to Sam and Jack as it was time for them to return to Ozzie Land! We sulked for the rest of the day as our 'Wolf pack' had been separated! We sunbathed and watched Sons Of Anarchy before heading out for dinner. When we got back to the hostel an American couple offered for us to have some drinks with them and to go to a club for new years which we did, it wasn't the best night but it was better than sitting in the hostel and feeling sorry for ourselves! As soon as new years arrived we got a taxi moped, which was a fun experience, back to the hostel where we were greeted with fireworks and sparklers which was nice so we hung around for a little then hit the hay.

Thursday we had a nice lie in then spent the rest of the day laying around in the sun excited at the thought that mums and dads will be flying out to see us today! We packed all our stuff up ready for the morning as it's an early start to go and meet them at the airport!

Friday we were up at 5:00 to head to the airport, it was an hour and a half wait before their plane finally landed as it was delayed, the whole hour and a half we sat and stared at the arrivals gate full of mixed emotions! They finally appeared and it was so nice being together again, felt like we have only been away for 2 weeks! We headed to our hotel to drop our bags then went to MBK for food and a look around. After, it was time to check in and freshen up before heading out for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe in Siam Square which was still very Christmasy!

Saturday we met for breakfast then headed out about 10:00 to the King's Palace which was very very busy as it was bank holiday. The palace complex is 218,400 square metres in total containing numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards, it was very beautiful. We visited a sort of museum which contained royal crowns, cutlery, swords and ancient money etc. Next we visited Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is regarded as the most sacred temple in Thailand. The Emerald Buddha is 26 inches tall and carved in the meditating posture from a single jade stone. Only the Thai King is allowed to touch the statue and he changes the cloak around the statue three times a year, corresponding to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual performed to usher good fortune to the country during each season. After we walked to the Grand Palace which was rather grand, quite similar to Buckingham Palace, the King no longer resides in the palace however several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year.

We left the Grand Palace and headed down the road Wat Pho the temple of the reclining buddha which was huge... 15 m high and 43 m long! When we walked out of the temple you could line up to be hit on the head with bamboo by a monk which we did and was very entertaining! It was a tiring day so we headed back to our hotel by tuktuks which was very funny as we had to split into two which created a little race around Bangkok! We freshened up at the hotel then headed out for dinner at a local Thai restaurant where mums and dads could experience their first real Thai meal and after went back to the hotel for a night in which turned out to be a surprise Christmas for us! We had alcohol, a Christmas tree, presents and games and had a wonderful time, we are so lucky!

Sunday we had breakfast then headed out again at about 10:00 to Chatuchak Market. This market is said to have 8000 stalls making it one of the largest in the world and it was massive selling everything from clothes to electricals, pottery to pets, paintings to handbags, watches to food. Once in the hustle and bustle of the market you wonder if you'll ever be able to find your way out! We spent hours at the market and the boys left pleased with their new flashy watches. We caught the sky train back to the hotel to freshen up and pack our bags as tomorrow we leave for Kanchanburi. We went out for dinner at another local Thai restaurant before headed back to the hotel to play games again particularly Jungle Speed which we had played in Africa and loved so much we got it as a present for Christmas!