Ok, so it's no Angkor Wat, but the Sukhotai ruins are very National Trust -- being one of Thailand's most impressive World Heritage sites, and all. The beautifully maintained park includes remains of 21 historical sites and four large ponds, full of water lilies, within the old walls. The most enjoyable way to explore is by bicycle (you create your own wind). There are so many bike-hire shops outside the gates that's it really easy to find a comfortab...

Calling all pizza lovers! If you're planning a trip to South East Asia, drop in on our new found friend: Long Jim New York Pizza. Without a doubt, Jim makes the BEST pizza around, but he needs your support. Sleepy little Lampang isn't really metropolitan enough for dining out on pizza to be the trend it is back home... yet. And despite the elegant mansions of former lumber barons, impressive teak temples and being the only town in Thailand where horse car...

Meet Pratchua. She's my elephant. And she's a little madam! She's an attention seeker, a shameless flirt and a fussy eater -- we developed quite a bond. Like mahout*, like elephant? David's words, not mine!Funnily enough, Pratchua had an enormous crush on David's elephant JoJo. I realised this while I hung on for dear life, as she rocketed past him on the narrow trail -- completely ignoring my comands for her to slow down, I might add -- only ...

Apart from some of the remnants of an obviously once quaint town -- colonial style cafes, temples, sections of the old city wall, and plenty of lane ways -- all of which we pottered around, Chaing Mai has been developed at an astonishing rate... And is now very much wrapped up in western sensibilities.The most unexpected thing we found (bearing in mind we've seen little in the way of western infrastructure since leaving home) was a mall: Central Festival. We&...

This was it: the BIG day. Nearly 100km to cover today. With an early start and a plan, we headed out. I knew that if we could get over half way, before we took a break, we would be in the best condition to finish the day. I'd done my research and found us a coffee house -- recommend by others who'd done the loop -- about 55km from where we started. About 2 hours: easy.After 2 and a half hours we'd not found it. And just when hope was fading, around th...