After a quick detour back to our favourite Bangkok, we quickly exited the smog on a 3 hour bus to Kanchanaburi, home of all things WW2.

Having no reservation, we quickly managed to snag a room at the Jolly Frog, chosen mainly due to the fantastic position right on the River Kwai and the garden coming fully equipped with plenty of hammocks and deck chairs. I then unfortunately made the mistake of sunbathing for about 20 minutes in the midday sun while waiting for Rosa to get ready and am still paying for it!

The weather was cracking, but saying that, we went to take a look at the Death Railway Museum next to the War Cemetary, which gave us a background to the local Kanchanaburi story.

After quenching Rosa's thirst for historical culture, we then headed back to sample our favourite Thai cuisine and to try some more curries - Red and Matsuman varieties this time.

We hauled ourselves out of bed early the next morning to rush to get the early 10.30 train on the Death Railway, going over the River Kwai and then on past various landmarks regarding the Japanese POW camp, all pretty interesting if a little long winded.

The hammocks in the garden were well received when we got back, as we watched the sun set over the river while reading and thinking of you lucky ones in deepest February winter. A contender for best Guest House so far.

Monday was the signal for another jaunt into Bangkok, this time to catch the overnight train to Chumphon, from where we caught the Catamaran to sunny dive resort, Koh Tao, after a five hour wait on the beach (there's worse places to suffer).

Kev