We caught the ferry to Phi Phi Island and stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort where we stayed in 2002. The tsunami hit the opposite side of the island so this resort was spared significant damage. The island was as beautiful as we remembered with tall limestone cliffs, beautiful sandy bays and clear turquoise water full of colourful sea life. Some changes have taken place though, some good and some not so good. The Sea Gypsy village just up the beach has now opened a few restaurants which are cheaper and produce much better food than the resort. You can sit by candlelight on the beach, eating delicious food to the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. Unfortunately though developers are seeking to increase the tourist capacity on the island, there are more resorts and more day trippers which spoils it a bit. We spent our days there on the beach, swimming, relaxing in hammocks, snorkelling and dodging the occasional downpour. In the evenings we watched sunset from the sunset bar on the hill top. All too soon our time on Phi Phi was over and it was time for Jo to go home. We caught the ferry to Phuket and flew to Bangkok, Jo flew home later that night having obtained a better tan in 2 weeks than I had in 7 and a half months!

There were protests against the government in Bangkok by people who were supporters of the ex PM Thaskin Shinawatra and these got worse over the few days we were there. On Sunday afternoon the city was declared a state of emergency. At first the trouble wasn't near our hotel but by Monday afternoon it was right on the street outside so we got a pretty good view. There were buses blocking the roads and tyres set on fire. The red shirted anti government protesters were one end of the street and opposing protesters were the other end of the street, most were waving sticks or metal bars and shouting and throwing petrol bombs and bricks. If they managed to get close enough they would use their sticks or metal bar on each other though we didn't see too much of that. The main method of transport they used was mopeds and there was 2 or 3 people on a bike charging forward throwing what ever they had then doing a U turn before they got hit by the other side. We saw one bike with a man and woman on it trying to drive through a group of people who were opposing the anti-government protesters but they had red shirts on which was the colour of the other side. Not too sure if they were anti government or whether they were just unlucky what colour shirts they put on that morning but they got stopped and we thought that they would get a major beating or worse but after about 5 mins with about 150 people around them all with sticks or metal bars they were let go minus their T-shirts and seemed ok apart from the man was bleeding a bit! We weren't scared, as the protest wasn't against foreigners and the only danger was getting caught in the cross fire. Although these protests made international news, where as the trouble we came across in Peru didn't, we felt more threatened in Peru as there they didn't seem to care who they targeted. So many times Thai people apologised to us for what was going on, it's strange really as the Thais are usually friendly, peaceable people.

We were supposed to be catching an over night train to Nong Khai in the north that night but heard a rumour that the train station was closed, as we couldn't find out for definite we had to go and see and it wasn't too far away. Most of the fighting outside our hotel had been cleared by then by about 100 police in riot gear. They advanced on the anti government protesters, beating their truncheons on their riot shields making quite a noise, maybe that was intended to intimidate the troublemakers. Ambulances waited in a line, prepared for a number of casualties, luckily they weren't needed at this time. We got to the train station to find that the train couldn't leave from there but was departing from Bang Sue station north of Bangkok, luckily there was an underground link we could catch. There was utter chaos at the other station as this is where everyone had been sent to too, no-one seemed to know when the trains were leaving and all were delayed. We waited 8 very long hours sitting on the floor on the platform with 1000's of other people. No-one moaned or complained and kids just curled up on the floor and went to sleep. Eventually the train arrived at 4.10am and we finally got up to Nong Khai the following evening.

That last day in Bangkok the 3 day Songkran festival in Thailand started, celebrating their New Year. It means that people throw water over each other and is basically an excuse for a nationwide water fight!!! There was little evidence of the festivities in Bangkok due to all the trouble, and we encountered little more than a few kids with water pistols. In Nong Khai however, it was celebrated with enthusiasm. On arrival we took a tuk-tuk to a hotel and had several buckets of water thrown in our direction which not only drenched us but also our backpacks. The tuk-tuk driver tried to pile four people in to start with but with our bags too it was impossible. As it was at the first hill we started to run backwards and Martin had to get out and push! The following day as we walked around the town we also encountered many water throwers, I'm sure it would have actually been impossible to go out and not get wet! There were pick-up trucks with the backs loaded with people and huge drums of water cruising around, throwing water at other pick-ups, motorbike riders, tuk-tuk riders and of course pedestrians! It is very hot at this time of year so it's actually rather nice to get a bucket of water thrown at you. Many children were walking around with giant water pistols, aiming at anyone who walked by and following you down the street laughing.

Nong Khai is situated on the edge of the Mekong River which is also the boarder. Laos lies just over the other side and the countries are connected by the Friendship bridge, which is our intended route into Laos.