Oh how we love trains. Our journey back to Bangkok was uneventful and easy. We arrived at our hotel just before lunch so we had showers and headed out into Khaosan Road. This is the main backpacker road in Bangkok and has lots of bars and little stalls selling useless tat. We bumped into Danielle and Ramon so ended up sitting in a bar and spending the afternoon chilling with a few drinks. We were supposed to be having an early night ready for New Year the next day, instead we all headed off to the cinema to watch Harry Potter.

The next day we decided to cram a bit of sight seeing in. The first place we arrived at was the Royal Palace. Unfortunately, they don't allow you to show any of your arms or legs inside (normally its just shoulders and knees which are the problem), which therefore meant we weren't allowed in. So we headed off in search of yet another giant Buddha. All of us have unfortunately come down with a bug, so with the mixture of the heat and yet another temple we wandered around a little disgruntled. We decided to head back and try and catch up on some sleep before the big night, so our afternoon was spent in bed.

After some much needed rest we headed out to meet Danielle and Ramon. We had been recommended a place in Bangkok to go and celebrate, which is where all the fireworks are let off. All the bars were charging to get in and were pretty packed. In the end we split into two groups with some heading back to Khaosan Road and the others staying to wait for the fireworks. The Khaosan Road group was Sarah, Tom, Laura and Luke. We headed off around some of the bars and had a great evening. At midnight everyone was out on the street and fireworks were going off. It was great way to see the New Year in.

The next day everyone was feeling a little fragile, so we got up late and headed to a market Laura had read about. This apparently is the place to buy fake goods. Although there were lots there, it was nothing compared to the Silk Market in Beijing. After spending so much time in markets you realise just how good China was, people rave about Thailand for fakes, but we just can't understand it!

Our final day we decided to try the palace for a final time, it is so hot in Bangkok long trousers are not what you want to be wearing! The palace was beautiful and similar in lots of ways to the Royal Palace in Phomn Pehn. Its definitely a place worth visiting if you're in Bangkok. After the palace we headed off to the big shopping centre for everyone to make their last minute purchases, its electronics galore with most being fakes (but the good type).

After that we headed back, got our backpacks and headed off to the train station. Next stop Koh Tao for some lazing on the beach and scuba diving. Its meant to be the best spot in Thailand for diving/snorkelling so we're all looking forward to getting out of the chaos of Bangkok and to a quieter life!