In true backpacker style we were picked up from Bangkok airport in a swish BMW with air-con. (Thanks to Jenny, who is a mate of Emma's). As we had been to Bangkok before, the novelty of the place had worn off and Khao San road was completely overrun by farang (foreigners). We even bumped into Sanj, who we haven't managed to shake since we met him in Sydney. The following day we were joined by Damien, who is another mate of Emma's from England. We spent a couple of days together in Bangkok, before they headed south to the islands and we headed north to Chiang Mai. We sampled the night life and went to "Club Duvet" (not sure of the actual name but it was a trendy club which had comfy beds in the chill out area). As we had done the usual sights on our previous visit to Bangkok, we opted for two day trips instead. We visited Kanchanaburi, which was the sight of a WWII prisoner-of-war camp and where we walked over the infamous bridge on the River Kwai. Here we travelled by train on part of the "Death Railway", named so because more than 100,000 lives were claimed while building it. We were also lured to the Tiger Temple in the hope of finding tranquillity among these freely roaming creatures and were severely disappointed. The tigers were beautiful but the whole experience was such a tourist trap. Our day trip to Ayutthaya, which is a world heritage sight and also one of the former capitals of Thailand, was compliments to Jenny, who's father owns a tour company. We saw temples and ruins that were over 600 years old and ended the day with a lovely boat cruise back to Bangkok, on the mighty Chao Praya River. The 15 hour train ride to Chiang Mai was a breeze and the temperature change was a welcome relief to the engulfing heat and unbearable humidity of Bangkok. Chiang Mai is much more relaxed and laid back and made a refreshing change to the hectic pace of Bangkok. From here we organised our entry into Lao and were able to fit in a day of elephant trekking and bamboo rafting. The latter being the highlight of our day as it involved several water fights causing us very nearly to capsize. On the trek we visited the Hmong and Karen hill tribes and it felt like stepping back to a time where technology did not exist and living off the land was common place.