An early start with breakfast at the hotel, then off with mr Tony Smile the driver and his Isuzu 4WD truck heading north towards the Myanmar border. Cheerful chap as the name suggests we were soon chatting away as we drove north through pineapple plantations to the mountains close to the border. The pineapples are small, called phu-lae, they result from a cross between the Phuket pineapple and the local one. Sweet but crisp, they are delicious and the roadside i...

Day one Chiang Rai:My first day was a bit hazy due to the long flight and time difference, but determined to keep going, I did some gentle exploration of the town.A taxi was waiting for me at the airport and I was quickly at the north hotel, my home for the next 2 nights. Bang in the middle of the night market but in a quiet soi. Very friendly people and nice, comfortable but basic room, a quick freshen up and off exploring. First stop a 7-11 for supplies and the...

Quick update having safely landed at 6am thai time. Sitting in the lounge waiting for the 8.30 flight up to chiang rai which is my first stop for a couple of days. Nice flight, nice food and when I've worked out how to post pics I'll post them Ta Ta for now...

So, arrived at 9,30 after a slow drawn-out journey on the m25, easy check-in and quickly through fast track security... For once no queues. Then after battling through the shopping mall that is terminal 3, into the calm of the silver kris lounge. Boarding easy, for once I timed it right, and into a fairly empty cabin on the Thai 747. Relaxed into my seat for the long journey to Bangkok. Lunch followed soon after take off which was half an hour late due to earli...

Well up bright and early on this cold, crisp and misty morning I've packed my bag and I'm sitting in a taxi travelling up the A23 to Heathrow for my Thai Airways flight to Bangkok. Nice to be going direct and in comfort, let's hope everything is on time as I connect straight up Chiang Rai when I land tomorrow at 6am Traffic is quite heavy on this Monday but there's plenty of time... More later..