When we were planning this trip, we decided to spend the last three days in Bangkok, celebrating the Thai New Year. Paul has experienced it before and said so much about but I never could have imagined the H20 mayhem and madness that went on! The water festival starts in the afternoon and there are literally thousands of people in the streets fully armed with anti tank weapons shaped in the form of powerful water pistols!!!! Nobody is safe and nobody is spared,...

Stayed 5 days in Cha Am. The hotel was only 50 metres from the beach and we stayed in a modern villa opposite a fabulous pool. The night market was only 3 minutes away and well known for its seafood. The resort itself is almost 90%Thai and being Thai, they don't sunbathe. Consequently, the beach was wall to wall umbrellas. The jet skis and banana boats come way too close to the beach, which made swimming slightly hazardous. All in all, not a place we will re vi...

Hello all, Have been here in Hua Hin for 5 days now in a lovely boutique hotel. We cut short our visit to Vientiane on advice of fellow travellers but ten minutes after checking into our hotel, Paul thought he had slipped a disc and for the next 4 days, he rested up by the pool and took lots of painkillers. It was a pulled muscle, it transpired. Just as well because we had a long overnight train journey to Hua Hin via Bangkok. We could only get 3rd class ticket...

Vang Vieng is the adrenalin junkie capital of Laos, so we have taken the opportunity to do as many things here as possible. We started with tubing through the caves and went about 500 metres wearing miners lamps on our heads, which was just as well, because it was pitch black inside. On Monday, Marion went on a hot air balloon ride, which she enjoyed very much. The balloon went right over the hotel! It lifted to about 1000 feet. Yesterday, we went kayaking and ...

We were up at 0530 as Paul wanted to take part in the alms giving ceremony, whereby 60/70 local monks walk down the street collecting sticky rice and food from the villagers. They rely on alms to eat and drink as they live a very harsh and Spartan existence. Women are not allowed to talk to them or come into contact with them, so Marion stood across the road as they all filed past in complete silence while Paul filled their bowls with sticky rice and snacks whic...