Back to Reality (oh, there goes gravity)…

As expected, arriving slap bang in the middle of Bangkok at midnight after 3 crazy weeks down under was a bit of a wake up call! The travelling gods thought it appropriate to dump me back into things with a giant thud. How do I know? Well, its only day three and I have a splendid hangover (thanks Elizabeth and Gerard… again!), I have been to the toilet 4 times already this morning (thanks "don't wolly, we give you non spicy" Thai food), I have a pimple on my ear just where my sunglasses sit and I had such bad muscle-knotting cramp in my left calf last night that I have to walk with a limp (like 50 cent). Funny thing about all those not-so-funny things is that I wouldn't trade it all for the world! Feels great to be out on the road again - and what a great place to start is Bangkok. Luckily the hostel is pretty decent, which was a slight surprise, as were many things about the city. For some reason, I was envisioning a big Indian city - complete with manic chaos, chickens, directionless traffic, 3 wheeled family homes, and the like. What I got however, was a clean and efficient city, still in South East Asia mind you, but more glass walls and aircon than you can shake a stick at. And shopping, shopping and more shopping. Being a big shopper myself, I headed to the temples. First impressions of the Buddhist Wat (especially those in Bangkok) is one of awe and amazment - I guess the same might be true for a Buddhist arriving at the Vatican. Unfortunately (again, similar to the church), these things are everywhere and overkill makes them less enticing. In and out of Bangkok with not much more than a great night catching up with Elizabeth and Gerard, some Wat time, a shiny new Vietnamese visa and a new vision of Thai expectations…

Fast forward a week…

So, the oasis of Bangkok left behind me in the desert of sanity and civilization, its into the country where I venture… seeking new horizons and ready, as ever, to follow whatever path is paid before me. Starting in Kanchanaburi is not a bad choice, its rural, antiquated and welcoming. Welcoming in a run-down, small town kind of way. Settled on the eastern banks of the River Kwai, it piggy-backs on some notoriety gained from Hollywood and aims to please the casual observer with ubiquitous rural splendour - waterfalls, temples, elephant rides… all a dime-a-dozen in the land of plenty. Nevertheless, I did enjoy my time here - a day spent climbing and swimming in waterfalls and digesting the tragic and tangible stories of War, slavery and death. The most poignant memory for me, was the inscription of a medical doctor who worked at the Hellfire Pass POW camp during WWII: "Go and tell them, we have given our today for your tomorrow" - being there somehow makes their stories more real and that, in turn, makes you more aware of their unwilling sacrifices made for the greater good. Notwithstanding the War stories, there is something eerie about this place, it holds you and doesn't let you go. In my case, I planned to be here for two days, but was stuck for four... bags packed and ready to go for two days. First a bus that was full, then a ghost bus that never arrived. As for the 'locals' - seems their bus hasn't arrived since 1974. The sheer volume of late and middle aged western men, hanging around the bars, probably with a young Thai girl tagging along, was quite shocking. Fortunately for me, my time did eventually arrive and I was shipped to the next stop on the well-healed routes of Thailand.

Disparagingly, without any other route planner, it was left to the guidebook to choose my path. The path and this story, take me on a road north along the well-heeled traveller's route through central and northern Thailand... A place where being a middle-aged, drug-skinny, tattoo-riddled white men with a teenage Thai girl on your arm is less of a status symbol as it is a visa - or a rite - for the farang to be here, a payment of sorts to the advancement of the local culture. Without any of the aforementioned attributes, I am the outsider, the observant, verifying everything by watching without comment, or complaint. Away from the permanent holiday-makers, it is also a place where the real locals let their hair down and live their lives as vividly as possible. Everything is pimped: scooters, tuk-tuks, busses, woks with graffiti… to me a symbol of their expression, liveliness and their feeling that Ayutthaya is actually the most happening place in the world. Having had the joy of fighting my way through many parts of this crazy world, I find this one of the less inhospitable places… welcoming you into its bosom, promising you jewels and gold but delivering ancient bronze and magnificent ruined temples. As welcoming and easy as this place is to the outsider, there is something amiss about an undiscovered land that has been well and truly discovered…

Only 2 weeks in and already I had had my fair share of single travel, (very) dusty backwater towns and fan-only guest houses - so I took that same well-trodden, guide-book laden path further to Chiang Mai - the traveller capital of the north - by means of perfectly adequate sleeper train. Self-nominated as the centre of the north, Chiang Mai is a great town with a good atmosphere, modern facilities and plenty of interesting things to get stuck into. If it weren't for losing my most dear sunglasses en route, this trip north would have been perfect. With a great hostel as a base, I got to tick all the boxes I was looking for and more - including, of course, an interlude with Tigers which will stay with me forever. Getting down and dirty was great too, a 3 day hike in 38° dry season weather was rather tough, but still rewarding, especially when scoring a (cracking left footed, for the record) goal in the local village game on the first night ;-) Chiang Mai offers it all and we tried as much of it as possible, including lady-boy infested Thai boxing, shop-till-you-drop night market, "what is this meat actually" Thai BBQ and pleeenty of "Changovers". Chang Beer, by the way, is a whole blog entry on its own!

And with good memories, dirty shoes, bamboo injuries and indigestion I planned the next chapter of my trip. Somehow, while planning, the universe spun around and the stars aligned, opening up the opportunity for a week break down to Malaysia… What started as a chance to meet and old London friend, ended up as that, plus an F1 GP, a weekend city break and, through a bizarre coincidence, a chance to meet my brother in Singapore! With this exciting plan pencilled in, I had to move fast to have enough time to explore and experience Laos en route to Kuala Lumpur… We will save Laos for the next blog entry, but again good fortune smiled, and thanks to an awesome day scootering up the Chiang Mai mountains, I unsuspectingly found a willing partner to join me for the adventure (thanks Susan), starting with a simple-sounding 3 day journey to the UNESCO World Heritage city of Luang Prabang...