Crossing into Thailand via a land border only afforded us a 15-day visa free entry. As such, we've been very busy and I've just summarised the last two weeks into dot points. Two weeks in this wonderful country is not long enough and we're pretty sure it's a strong contender for our most favourite country in the world. We don't want to leave. But I digress; this is a brief summary of what we've gotten up to:

- Accidentally hitchhiked in Laos to get to the border crossing.

- Got stranded at the border and found ourselves indebted to a fellow traveller (Ezra the American).

- Marvelled at the perfection of the White Temple and the accompanying art gallery.

- Rode around the countryside and found a perfect picnic spot at a local favourite - Singha Park.

- Took a Thai massage course and practiced our moves back in the hotel room (nothing suss!).

- Had lots of massages. (Thank you Matty and Emma!)

- Made up our own yoga retreat in Chiang Mai and got thoroughly hooked.

- Gave directions to an asian.

- Wandered the night markets and sampled the culinary delights.

- Early morning runs (Sjane only, obviously).

-Ate. And ate again. And again. One night we bought a meal and didn't think it was quite up to standard so we found another place that hit the spot. About $7 in total that night for the two dinners! Breaking the budget!

- Breathed a sigh of relief when we returned to our air-conditioned rooms.

- Marvelled at the creativity of Thai curio makers: think hemp rope used to create a toy animals, coconut shell lanterns, 100 different varieties of Thai pants, glass-blown figurines, soap carvings, etc.

- Wandered back streets to find quiet temple complexes.

- Rediscovered some of our favourite places in Chiang Mai from our last visit.

- Spent 30 minutes trying to get the perfect puddle-photo of a Naga-flanked Wat staircase. (Remember Seattle?)

- We taught a local about Secret Santa.

- We drank bubble tea (mostly me... slightly obsessed!).

- Admired the sassy Thai/Fiji Mama as she rocked her juice stand.

We also made sure we had a couple of days remaining to be able to do the touristy things in Bangkok. We had been here once before, but were mostly just passing through each time. So once we were all temple'd out from wandering the streets of the old town and saving a couple of cents by ignoring the taxis and tuk-tuk drivers all day, we splurged and headed to Vertigo Rooftop Bar at Banyan Tree. Apparently rooftop bars are the new big thing in Bangkok, and most highrises now have a swanky open-air drinking hole filled with high-rolling locals, cashed up tourists, and pretenders like us. Sjane put on make-up for the third time this year, and I even hung my good collared shirt in the bathroom so the creases would be 'ironed out' by the shower steam. Fancy! A cocktail was a tidy $27 (same price as a night of accommodation), and we enjoyed the sunset and the cooler dehumidified air on the 61st floor, rubbing shoulders with all the beautiful people. A lovely waitress even came over to me with a pair of suit pants and apologised that my shorts were not appropriate for their dress code, so I draped them over my legs like a blanket and thanked her for the accessory. Afterwards we went back to our local street food stall and paid $1.60 each for some noodles, pork wontons and greens, and followed it up with a banana and chocolate roti ($1.20) for dessert. Less than a tenth of what we paid for two cocktails. Crushed it! We're going on the hunt for a more budget-friendly rooftop bar tonight. Wish us luck!