On our first day in Bangkok we were so jaded after all the late nights in Koh Phangan and the 25 hour journey we had just undertaken that we couldn't be bothered to do much. We just went to Boots on Silom Road and stocked up on a few things that we needed, such as several packs of immodium (the shame), travel sickness pills and malaria tablets. We were in bed by 9pm and slept for around 11 delicious hours.

The next day we went to the Mo Chit bus station to book a government bus up to Chiang Mai. We'd wanted to catch a train again but we'd left it too late and there were no beds left. Afterwards we caught the skytrain to Central Pier and from there jumped on a tourist boat up the river for the bargain price of 60p. You see some cool things from the boat, like temples and wooden houses built on stilts, but you also see a lot of rubbish - literally, there's debris floating everywhere. We hopped off at Maharaja Pier, wolfed down a McDonalds and went for a wander.

First stop was Khao San Road, the watering hole of choice for 95% of Bangkok's backpackers. On our way there we were stopped by a friendly Thai chap who told us that there was a Thai festival going on that day and that the entire road would be closed. He suggested that we jump in a tuk-tuk with him for just 20 baht (40p) and he would take us to various nearby sites instead. As he was speaking he was marking the sites off on our map, which was quite handy for us as once we turned him down and walked away we had an itinerary all mapped out for us. We'd been warned that the kind of spiel he gave is the prelude to a scam where you are driven to shops you don't want to go to and made to buy things, and our guy was at least lying to us about Khao San road being closed for a Thai festival as it was most definitely open and heaving with Westerners! It was interesting to walk down - market stalls, pubs and bars, and lots and lots of backpackers - but it didn't really feel like we were in Thailand. At the end of the road was an unexpected Wat, or Buddhist temple, so we slipped our shoes off and took a wander around it. It was filled with golden Buddha statues, each one slightly different from the one before it, and locals praying on their knees or chanting along with a monk in saffron robes. Round the back there were classrooms filled with more monks, including one with very young monks in training, possibly around 8 or 9 years old.

After leaving the Wat we walked past the Democracy Monument and on to the Golden Mountain, which is another Wat at the top of a hill. You can climb up for free, ringing the dozens of heavy bells on the way (of course Jak smashed the giant person-sized one as hard as he could) and when you get up to the top there are lots of buddha statues and a huge golden spike on the rooftop. There are also fantastic 360 degree views across the city. We passed over the good luck bells and tiny buddha statues you can buy from the gift shop in favour of an ice cream each and ate them looking out over the city. Or, to be more accurate, Jak ate his and then nicked half of mine as well when I wasn't looking.

After being quoted a ridiculous price for a tuk-tuk we walked all the way back to our hostel. Along the way we walked under a random giant red swing that straddled the road, past a scary lane filled with gun shop after gun shop, past local schools being let out, past market stalls selling live fish, live turtles, live eels etc etc, past monuments to past kings, past yet more temples...and even though it was a long walk it was worth it as there was so much to see and soak up. Bangkok is mad. Plus we were moving faster than the gridlocked traffic for most of the way!

That night we went out for Thai food with people from our hostel. We ate dish after dish whilst sitting round upturned plastic boxes by the side of the road. We both tried pigs tails, which were crunchy on the outside and had a bone running through them (not a fan) and glass noodles (yummy). We also had pork, beef and fried vegetables. Half of it was cooked at the table in a clay pot over a small fire and the rest came from a makeshift kitchen on wheels behind us. After we'd eaten the meat cooked at the table the hot water from the clay pot was poured out and served as a delicious clear, soup in tiny bowls. I was feeling quite impressed with my chopstick skills (I can pick up peanuts with them now!) until the lady who owns the hostel told me that the way I hold them, really low down the sticks, is uncouth! It's considered much more ladylike to hold them near the top. Ah well. When I got back to the hostel my stomach was very angry with me and I spent most of the night in the bathroom :-(

Yesterday we checked out at noon and killed some time lying on the grass in beautiful Chatuchak park just north of the city. At 6.30pm we boarded our bus, our bed for the night. We watched some Thai soaps and then spent the next few hours twisting and turning to try and get comfortable and get some sleep. We weren't very successful. At 4.45am we were dropped off at Chiang Mai's bus terminal, where we slept like hobos for an hour before catching a local bus to our hostel. We saw dozens of monks walking along the streets clutching silver bowls. We later found out that these are their alms bowls, one of the four items they are allowed to possess, and they use them to collect food once a day from the people. Thankfully we were able to check in to our hostel at 7am so we collapsed into bed and slept for the next few hours. Feel slightly less zombie-like now...