From Kanchanaburi we returned to Bangkok for a few days before our flight to Hong Kong. After our time in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia it was wonderful to have marked prices in shops, instead of having to bargain for everything. Bartering might be good fun when you want to buy a rug in Egypt, but after 2 months of bartering for every bottle of water, it gets a bit tiring. There was plenty we needed, but the prospect of shopping for shampoo, soap, toothpaste, e...

As we stepped over the border into Thailand, it was like being in a different world. The first thing we came across was an air conditioned convenience store. It was luxury to go into a proper shop instead of a stall in the street or in someones front room to buy water. Next to this was a starbucks equivalent. I was so pleased to get back to what, after 2 months in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, I now regarded as luxuries. The bus that picked us up at the border...

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...