A night train delivered us to Chiang Mai from Ayutthaya. We were looking forward to our time in this northern city of Thailand that Thai people regard as a real Thai city of which they are very proud. Certainly this historic city had a very pleasant feel to it. Only a fraction of the size of Bangkok, a lot less crowded, polluted and very little western influence. Top on our list to do here was to get out into the hills that surround Chiang Mai and do some tr...

Heading north from Bangkok we had a few days in the former Thai kingdom capital of Ayutthaya and also the second city, Lopburi. A million people once lived in Ayutthaya but was abandoned a couple of hundred years ago when the Burmes invaded. A scruffy little town of about 50,000 people now exists, but much of the former city remains, albeit in ruins. Much of the sites are unrestored which adds to the intrigue and is a great place to wander around. After...

Expecting Bangkok to be dreadful, we intended to get in and out of this sprawling metroplois as quickly as we could. We did find everything we expected. The noise is deafening, the pollution asphyxiating and the heat stifling, and that was before you got to the horrendous travellers ghetto that is the infamous Khao San Road area. But yet it was a fascinating place, unlike anywhere we have visited before and has to be seen to be believed. In addition to the u...

We left Malaysia and flew from Penang to Ko Samui in Thailand. By 2.30pm on Simon's 30th Birthday, we were lying on sun loungers by the pool whilst looking out over the Gulf of Thailand. One he will remember! After spending most of the last few weeks in big cities, I couldn't wait to escape the heat and pollution in favour of sun, sand and sea. We got straight out of the heavily touristed areas and headed for the quieter north of the island. The next morni...

An old rattler of a bus brought us to the island of Penang, just off the west coast of Malaysia. We came not for the beaches but for colourful Georgetown. We spent a fascinating couple of days simply wandering around the towns' historic Little India and Chinatown areas. We had planned to work our way through northern Malaysia and into southern Thailand. We were a bit nervous due to daily terrorist activity in the area, but were determined not to be put ...