Greetings from Chiang Mai, Thailand and Happy New Year!! Its officially 'Songkran', the Thai New Year holidays and everything has come to pretty much a stand still so everyone can join in the celebrations, and boy do these guys know how to celebrate! I guess you may have seen on the news recently, the bloody clashes between the 'red shirts' protestors and the Thai army in response to the current Prime Ministers calling for military action. Thankfully that seems to have come to an end now (for the meantime anyway), and now the only guns being fired are water pistols. The Songkran lasts for 3 days, from 14th - 16th April, but Lee and I have beared witness to the fact that the celebrations, i.e water throwing starts a good few days earlier than that, and looks likely to go beyond the official end date. Its absolute carnage on the streets, literally no-one is safe from getting the biggest ever soaking. There is a moat that runs around the inner part of Chiang Mai and the main roads around this is where the majority of the action is. The streets are completely gridlocked with flat top vans, loaded with local Thai's and other tourists who have hired one for the day with big dustbins full of water, some icey water just to add to the 'fun' and they all have small buckets or water pistols and just randomly launch them at anyone and everyone. Then there are the hundreds of people by the moat, and those brave/crazy enough to swim in the murky water, all tooled up too with their massive water pistols and buckets, throwing them back at the people in the trucks and also at anyone/everyone walking past. Then there are the other people who are walking down the streets or hiding down small lanes ready to ambush anyone walking past, like the rest, all waiting with pistol or bucket in hands. Some are joining in the shenanigans by launching huge buckets of water from balconys down to unsuspecting pedestrians unfortunate enough to be walking underneath. Although most of the shops are closed, those that are open all have big dustbins readily stocked with more water so that anyone can come along and refil their weapons. No where is safe and there is no possibility of keeping dry. Music is blaring from car stereo's and bars along by the moat - it really is the best party festival atmosphere. Seeing as the guest house Lee and I were staying in was on the outside of the moat and we needed to cross it get to the open cafes etc, we thought it best to join the spirit of the festivities and arm ourselves with some weapons so we bought the biggest water pistols we could find and made our way in towards the war zone. We were completely soaked through before we even managed to cross the road, but it was so much fun being able to squirt anyone at random and not feel guilty about it (of course old ladies, monks etc all avoided!) but we soon learned there were no rules after we both had buckets of icy cold water thrown into our faces at close range, drive by style. The attacker always smiles and gives a friendly wave afterwards, so no hard feelings. What amuses me is seeing the funny motorscooters with rickety old side car attaced with about 4 or 5 children and big bucket of water being driven by the dads around the streets so they have the chance to join in the fun. It's also quite funny, and really cute, to see some of the motor scooters with 2 or 3 adults on (I know just wouldn't happen in England!) and then a really cute toddler, maybe 2 years old perched on the front with a small water pistol. They have the biggest cutest smiles on their faces. We could seriously learn a lot about how to have such a big public holiday that goes on for so long and doesn't end in violence!

Back to our travels....

After our Thai visa hiccup back at the end of last month, we finally sorted the issue out by flying into Phuket. This worked out for us in lots of ways, firstly because we wanted to see what Phuket was like as we had heard mixed reviews of the island, and also because we wanted to catch up with our friend Chrisi, who we met on our rafting trip when we were in NZ. Christi had said to us that when we came to Thailand we should try to come to Phuket to see her as she works over there for Marriott Hotel, and also mentioned that she would be able to get us some very favourable room rates if we wanted to stay a few days. What was to follow, Lee and I could have never even dreamed would happen. We arrived at the Marriott in Patong, Phukets notorious party resort, and were soon having our smelly old backpacks taken to the room by 1 of the porters. When he opend the door to our room we were over the moon. The sight of the lovely big bed, the flashy t.v and dvd, the fridge, the balcony with stylish furniture, the ensuite with the biggest ever shower with 2 shower heads, we were pretty bowled over. I have to say that in all honesty the standard of the accommodation Lee and I have been staying in during our travels in Asia have been pretty much of a basic level, i.e bed, fan, sometimes a/c and en-suite, but this is still classed as luxury compared to some of the real basic dorm rooms or cell like guest house rooms. The room we had entered in the Marriott was in a complete new league of its own. After showering in the delux shower we were soon strutting around in the Marriott designer 'his n hers' dressing gowns and slippers, lounging out on the super comfy bed and flicking through some of the many channels on the huge flat screen tv. After some hours of relaxation we decided to have a wander around Patong to see the delights it has to offer. I don't think either of us were expecting it to be so built up and as touristy (tacky) as it was, but agreed that we didn't care as we had such a nice room to go back to when we'd had enough walking around.

Later that evening we met up with Christi and one of her friends who works at one of the other big hotels in Patong, and started on the cocktails whilst we did some catching up. After some dinner Christi took us to the famous bar strip, Bangla Road, in Patong for lots more cocktails and then onto a dodgy club called Seduction. A great night was had by all, but the following morning's hangover proved testament to this. It was great to catch up with Christi again, and she is definitely as crazy as we remembered her. Once the headaches had passed Lee and I decided to take a walk down to the beach to check it out, but as we walked out of the door, we were beckoned over by a guy in the shop front next to the hotel we were staying in. We went over to see what he wanted to talk to us about, very aware that it was going to be sales pitched. In a nutshell he was trying to raise our interest in a Marriott time share, but tempting us with another 2 nights 'free' accommodation at the Marriott if we agreed to go along to the 1.5 hours sales presentation at one of their other hotels on the island. I was really sceptical at first as I thought we might be tricked into signing into something that we shouldn't, but Lee assured that we wouldn't have to sign anything, and that we should go along with it so we could basically still get the 2 nights free accommodation.

After our 3 nights at the Patong resort had come to an end we found out that the extra 2 free nights would have to be at the other hotel on the other end of the island at a resort called Mai Khou. We were warned by Christi that although the hotel there was complete luxury, there was nothing else in the resort except for the hotel, and that the prices for everything there were extortionate. Lee and I decided that as we were getting the room for free, it would still be worth it anyway, and that we could eat less etc to keep the living costs down whilst we were there. A luxury taxi arrived for us to take us to the new hotel, and we sat in the back sniggering at how un-backpacker like it was to be taken in a luxury taxi from one 5 star resort to another, for free! Once we arrived at the new hotel we were being driven in one of the golf buggy carts to our room, where once again our shabby backpacks were taken by the porter to our room. He opened the door and said he would just show us around 'our apartment'. As soon as we entered the vast lobby area he pointed out the bedroom to our left, which I thought would be our bedroom, but he then exclaimed that that was the guest bedroom (2 giant single beds or 2 small double beds - whichever way you saw it), and the guest en-suite - bath, shower, sink etc!! He then opened up a door to reveal a small laundry, i.e washing machine (with detergent), tumble dryer, ironing board etc. My mouth at this stage had already hit the floor a few times, Lee was looking far more cool at this stage than me. We were then being lead into the main living area, which comprised open plan living, kitchen with every single piece of kitchen equipment you could ever possibly want or need, the stylish fridge/freezer with ice cube machine incorporated of course, and then the lovely dining table and 6 chairs, which then followed to the main sitting area. This comprised of stylish 3 piece suite, and huge flat screen t.v and dvd again. The floor to ceiling window at the end of the room looked out over to the beautifully landscaped gardens with river running through, and a door at the very end of the living room then lead out onto the massive balcony, which of course had 4 very sturdy patio chairs and matching table. I was nearly trembling at this stage as I was so excited, and we hadn't even reached the main bedroom. As the porter lead us through to the main bedroom suite I thought I wouldn't be able to control myself. The biggest bed Lee and I had ever seen was sitting proudly infront of us, but even for its vastnesss, it still didn't look out of proportion in the room. Rapidly our eyes scanned the room, taking in the 3rd flat screen and dvd in the apartment and then round to the biggest set of double doors that lead to the master bathroom. Lee and I clocked each other's jaw's dropping when we saw the bath, or should I say swimming pool that sat before us, beckoning us on in. To either side of the huge tub were his and hers sinks, and then a separate vast shower cubile, again with 2 shower heads, and then separate toilet cubicle. As the porter let himself out of the door, Lee and I were dancing about like idiots at the amazing result we had had. 5 days before this, we would never have dreamed we would be staying in such a place, ever, and here we were in 'our' new apartment for free for the next 2 days! In true backpacker style we were soon pouring some of our Sangsom (Thai whiskey) and vodka and coke into some tall glasses with some ice from the fancy freezer, and then proceeded to sit in the great big bath tub until it had turned to luke warm and our skin was as wrinkly and white as can be.

We did venture out of our apartment/palace to explore the other luxuries on the complex and again were blown away by the (better than) 5 star facilities. We decided to sit by one of the many gorgeous swimming pools for a couple of hours, and were suprised when we were followed over to the sun beds by one of the staff with some super fluffy beach towels and some glasses of iced water and cold towels! I have to say that I didn't feel entirely comfortable being in such surroundings (well the outside bit anyway). As you would imagine, everyone else there were there because they can afford such holidays, and I was feeling a bit concious that we (well I) must have stood out like sore thumbs. A few footballers wive's types glided past us in their designer bikini's and designer size 0 bodies and catalogue perfect children, and I said to Lee I felt a little uncomfortable. We did check out the adjoined private beach and once again were amazed at just how perfect it was. The beach was beautifully clean, pure white sand which stretched for miles in both directions, and the azure water lapped gently at the shore just beckoned anyone looking at it to go in for a dip.

Of course there was a snag to being in this unexpected holiday heaven, we had to go along for the hour and half presentation. The sales rep that introduced himself to us basically saw through us straight away, and even said 'OK guys from what you've told me, I'll be honest and say that I think you're only here because of the free night's accommodation and not because you're interested in the deal'. I squirmed uncomfortably at being detected so immediately, but Lee reassured him that we were also very interested to hear what he was going to tell us, as we had been so utterly impressed by what we had already seen. He went through the spiel but was still very friendly even though he knew he wouldn't get a sale out of it. It did seem a very good and tempting deal, but unfortunately reality kicked in, and we politely had to stop him from wasting any more of his time. Lee and I basically spent the 2 days we were there, mostly in the palatial apartment, just making the most of all the luxury surroundings. We did surface to check out the 'cheaper' onsite English style pub that served food at much more reasonable prices, but it was just so cool being able to take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity indoors. We decided to treat ourselves on the last night and ordered room service in for dinner, and were suprised to find out it didn't cost any more than it would have done had we had ordered it in an average restaurant in the UK. Besides which, we had spent a grand total of one hundred pounds between us on the accommodation (averaged out over the last 5 nights).

From Phuket we travelled overland and by car ferry to another small island, further south (not the ideal direction for our planned travels, but it sounded so good in the guide book) to an island called Ko Lanta. We always knew that going back to staying in normal hotels/guest houses would be a bit of a come down from the previous luxuries, but to be fair the hotel we checked into when we arrived on Ko Lanta was more than adequate for our needs. We stayed in a bungalow, that were arranged in rows that lead down to the outdoor restaurant, swimming pool and bar at the very end, which then meets the beach. The sun was just begining to set and the beach front with all the bars with their lanterns illuminated looked so pretty against the crimson sky. I said to Lee I just had the feeling that this was going to be one of those 'special' places. The island itself is relatively small, measuring rougly 40KMS long, and there are large areas that have not been turned over to tourism, so it is a real chance to see some of the real Thai island way of life. Lee and I hired a scooter for a day to check some of the more remote places out and came across some lovely little places and beaches. We spent about 5 days in Ko Lanta which was far longer than we had anticipated spending there, but we were both loving it (well I perhaps more than Lee) that we decided to extend our stay by a few days. The island has such a relaxed, friendly vibe and the area we stayed in had everything that Lee and I really love, i.e chill out bars right on the beach playing a great mixture of music from chill out to 80's, lovely little restaurants that look onto the beach, cheap cheap cheap food and drinks, and a lovely rustic, rocky beach where you can sit and watch the sunset and watch an electric storm in the distance whilst playing cards etc. Its definintely the sort of place we would consider going back to and would be so relatively cheap to do if you were to sort your own flights and separate accommodation. The accommodation on the island is so cheap, and certainly where we stayed, although basic, was very clean and had everything you could want within spitting distance.

It was soon time to leave the treasured Ko Lanta and make our way over to an island the other side of the Thai mainland, over to Ko Samui. Lee and I have already been to Ko Samui a few years back but decided to go over again as Lee wanted to try his hand at kite boarding, which we had read, was operated out of Ko Samui. We were a little disappointed to find out that the season had just finished, literally 2 days before we arrived, but thought it would be good to check out some old haunts anyhow. Last time we were in Ko Samui, we stayed in a lovely hotel complex on a quiet side of the island, but this time we decided to get in amongst it and stay in the lively backpacker resort of Lamai. We soon recognised some of the bars along the main strip and the Thai Boxing ring in the centre. Although it is a very commercial resort/island, we did enjoy our time there.

From Ko Samui, we made the long and boring 12 hour journey by boat and coach, up to Bangkok. We were both a bit apprehensive about going to Bangkok, a) because we don't generally like majorly busy cities so much, and b) we had been there before too a couple of years ago, and knew how busy, dirty and hot it can feel during the day. We arrived late in the evening and were pretty shattered after a long days travelling, so we just walked the short distance from our hotel, down towards the famously lively Khao San Road. We opted to get some dinner from a street hawker and were amazed at how good it was and how ridiculously cheap it was.

We spent the next few days traipsing the streets of Bangkok, around Khao San in particular, shopping for bargain 'moody' c.d's and other small bits and bobs. As we had visited many of the main tourist spots the last time we were in Bangkok, we generally stayed closer to our hotel and just chilled out around that area as I was really suffering with the sweltering humidity. Lee on the other hand says he doesn't think it's humid - maybe I'm reaching the menopause but I am very aware of the humidity and its almost keeping me prisoner, not wanting to be too far from an air conditioned room and shower to refresh. We did visit a slightly unusual place this time, a place of worship of a different kind. I had read about it in our Rough Guide and thought that seeing as we were already in the area, it might be amusing to go and investigate. In the corner of the car park in the swisshotel in Bangkok, it a shrine that is surrounded by hundreds of colourful wooden penises of varying sizes, some 6 feet tall or so. It is believed that women wanting spiritual 'help' with their fertility go to this shrine to help them to conceive. They take gifts with them to offer to the spirits in asking for their help. If their prayers are answered and they are rewarded with a baby then they must return to the shrine with an offering of a new phallus of their own! We stayed long enough to take a few snaps and then made our way out and down the road, slightly embarrased by the looks people were giving us. Not sure if they were thinking 'ah they must be there as they need help' or 'hmm, coming to laugh at our special shrine'.

Every night we were in Bangkok we went out for our dinner, usually a delicious Pad Thai cooked by a street hawker, and then headed for what we discovered to be the best bar in the world. Its pretty crazy over here, not only can people cook food on their stalls at the side of the road, but they can also set up their own bars at the side of the road, and with only the basic of overheads (electric supply for the huge soundsystem - plastic chairs and tables already provided) can churn out strong cocktails at ridiculously cheap prices - cocktails for 1 pound, yes 1 pound. And what makes it even more crazy is that it is right in the middle of one of the busiest pedestrianised streets in Bangkok, so there are no end of great people watching opportunities. Lee and I planted ourselves there a for a good few hours finding it so amusing that this can be legal, and there are actually Policemen standing around not interested in it at all! Love it!

All the time we were in Bangkok we were aware of the developing unrest around Government House with the protestors, but we neither saw or heard anything and were it not for seeing a slightly increased Police presence around the Khao San Road, we would never have known it was really going on. We left Bangkok for another horribly long coach journey up to the North of Thailand, which is where we are now, in Chaing Mai. We've been here for 4 days now and are just soaking up the party atmosphere. We did a 1 day Thai Massage course the day before yesterday, which was pretty intense, but lots of fun. Luckily for us, we were the only ones booked onto the course that day so we literally had one on one tuition, but it has to be said, we were pretty awful and were told in no uncertain terms that we would definitely have to practice really hard if we were to improve. We've got a Thai cooking lesson tomorrow which I'm looking forward to more than Lee, but it should be good fun. We opted to do a course that is run from a farm just outside town, and we get to pick some of the ingredients we will be using from the farm itself, so it should be a totally organic experience, ha ha. The day after that we are going on a 2 day trek into the hillside to see and stay with some of the hilltribes, so we are really looking forward to that. The day after that we are going to a village about 170 KMS away to see some more hilltribe people, the 'longnecks', the women who wear the rings round their necks, elongating their necks. From there, the next day we leave for Laos. We decided to do a 3 day trip which involves a slow boat up the Mekong River and eventually end up in Loung Prabang, so next blog may well be from Laos, til then.......xxx