Arriving in Bangkok was like being embraced by a warm sponge. 100% humidity and 33 degrees is not a great combination for sight-seeing. Despite that, we were really fortunate to have been recommended a brilliant local guide, Tony, by our friends James and Gemma.

We met Tony at our hotel in the morning and he kindly offered to show us around Bangkok. This was despite him having got back to Bangkok from a tour in the north of the country in the early hours of that morning. I'd heard that Bangkok was a good place to get a suit made so Tony first took us to a reputable tailor where I was able to choose something. Shopping done, Tony took us on a tour of the Grand Palace, the former royal residence, where we saw beautiful architecture, murals, and sculpture (particularly the Emerald Buddha). We caught a boat down the Chao Phraya river back to our hotel. Having Tony there, with his local knowledge and language skills, unlocked a lot of interesting and useful things about Bangkok that we would have been oblivious to without him. For example, Bangkok's full name is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit. [Okay, that was more interesting than useful.]

The next day was a total mess. We set out to visit other sites in Bangkok only to quickly realise that we didn't have a visa for our imminent flight to Vietnam. Whilst they have a 'visa on arrival' system in Vietnam, this is not actually the case - you need a visa pre-arranged with a local agent before you fly! We spent the day battling with rubbish internet connections and confusing visa regulations. Fortunately, all was sorted out in the end.

~Chris