We arrived at Bangkok station about 2 hours early because we allowed plenty of time due to the congestion (our experience so far has demonstrated that it takes 4 times as long to get anywhere in Bangkok than it should do). Bangkok station is pretty grimy and we would not recommend the cafe which serves up awful food, the smell of which made me feel a bit nauseous.

To kill time, Harnaik and I took it in turns to walk round the station. I went to a bookstore and bought a book called "Welcome to Hell - One Man's fight for life inside the Bangkok Hilton". Thought it might come in useful during the 13 hour train journey to Chiang Mai.

The train was on time and we were shown to our cabin which was more than comfortable and definititely more spacious that I had expected. The train departed on time and it was lovely to look out of the window as dusk fell, going through central Bangkok and then the countryside (and there was a gorgeous sunset). We chatted for a while and then Harnaik ordered some food from the guy who came round with a menu. Having experienced train food in Vietnam on an overnight train I didn't bother ordering anything and just ate crisps and biscuits. I did order breakfast though as what could go wrong with scrambled egg on toast? Harnaik's food arrived and it looked an smelled gross. Harnaik tipped it into a carrier bag and put it into the bin (just leaving a bit on his plate so it looked as though he had eaten it). I had told him it would be awful but that's Harnaik for you. Anyway, back to the crisps and biscuits for Harnaik too.

We decided to turn in early, and pressed the call button for the guy to come and sort the beds out. He was a nice and cheeful guy and made them up for us. I then started to read my new book and just could not put it down. I tried to sleep but just cannot sleep when in motion - I've never slept on a train, in a car on a plane, because I just cannot sleep even with a comfortable bed. The cabin was cosy but the train ride a little bumpy at times, especially the sharp breaking. So I read the whole book during the night and I just could not put it down. The poor guy guy was ripped off to the tune of 400,000 USD. The Thai police didn't help and then he ended up in prison for murdering the guy who ripped him off's bodyguard in self defence. It was horrific what he experienced whilst in prison and during the years he tried to clear his name - a totally recommended read.

We were woken at 6am for breakfast and to be quite frank it was gross. The egg was awful, the toast wasn't toast and the ham smelt rancid. The only thing I did manage was the tea which was fine.

We arrived in Chiang Mai at about 8am and then went straight to the hotel that we had booked (Winner Inn hotel) which is a little rough around the edges but does the job and is in the centre of town. We went to be until lunchtime to get some sleep then went out to find somewhere to eat lunch. We went to a small Thai/Danish combo restaurant and spent ages chatting to the female owner who gave us plenty of pointers in terms of what to see and do when we are here. The lunch was fab and I had omlette stuffed with port and vegeatables and good old morning glory (my fave dish).

It then started to rain heavily, so I came into this internet cafe to update my blog. Considering it's the rainy season I'm surprised that this is the first time that we've seen rain so far. It's still very warm but much fresher than in Bangkok. I think that Chiang Mai will be the perfect antidote to Bangkok.

We went to a lovely spa and had 2 1/2 hours of pampering. First we had a body scrub, then and oil massage and finally a Thai massage. It was amazing and I felt so relaxed afterwards.

Finally, we went to this really nice restaurant called "Nice View" restaurant by the river. The meal was amazing and so were the cocktails and not to mention the view over the river at night. There was also a live band playing and they were amazing, belting out hits from Oasis and Coldplay. We then took a Tug-Tug back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Well that's it for now. I've added some photos of Bangkok and will add some movies as soon as I can.