Tuesday - We had a lie in today and then Jim dropped us off at Patong Beach (mind you, on the way Art sat on Jims lap to fall asleep while she was driving - bit different to in the UK!!). Patong beach was much busier but just as nice. There were some really arrogant American men there that were loud and annoting haha! The water was warm though and we had a lush afternoon! ...until it started raining so we had a shower in some pretty basic showers (or in mels words "shockingly skanky"). We went into the night market and bought some clothes and had tea. Then we got a tuk tuk back which sometimes sounded like it wouldnt make it up the hills!

Wednesday Jim dropped us off at the airport today and we flew back to Bangkok. We made it to Khaosan Road which is a very busy market street full of clothes and food vendours all crammed onto less than a kilometer of road! Some random man on the street came to talk to us and told us that if we got a goverment tuk tuk then we could go anywhere for 3 hours for 10BAHT. So he marked on our map where we should go, hailed us a tuk tuk and off we went. First stop, the luky buddha, which has been in all of Thailands previous capitals. There a man told us that it was the Kings birthday the day before and Buddha day today which was why there was a deal on government tuk tuks. We then stopped at a shop and a tourist information centre to book our train and trek in Chiang Mai. We then went to Wat Ratchanatdaram which was a very touristy temple - there weren't many people there though, in fact we were the only ones as it was raining! haha. It was a stunning temple, one roof had a black roof which was different to all the other temples. The trip ended a bit solumnly though as we couldnt find our tuk tuk man and so had to walk home in the rain. Nevertheless, it meant we didnt have to pay for it!! We went for tea down khaosan road! No one seems to eat there though. Theyre all just drinking!

Thursday - We walked out of Khaosan road and once again a random thai man told us where we should go. So he got us a tuk tuk and sent us to get a Thai Long Boat. "No shop, no stop". We went on a boat through the Khlongs - it was slightly crazy driving but the trip was amazing! We saw so many temples and bought a small thai Buddha from the water market! We got dropped off by the palace. We went to Wat Pho which was stunning! There were lots lots of different temple buildings in tere! We walked through a door way and there were loads of gold buddhas lined up along the walls. We weren't expecting it and were amazed! A couple of other temples had buddhas that were pretty spectacular! …But then we went into the biggest temple and there was a MASSIVE reclining Buddha! 46m long!!!! It was so impressive! We weren't dressed appropriately though so we had to wrap up in scarfs and this really nice lime green dressing gown when we went into the temples. We then got ripped off by a tuk tuk driver but it was quite an experience as I'm pretty sure he thought he took part in Formula One! In the evening we went for a stroll around the roads near khaosan - theres a lot more around there than we originally thought! There were two little kids and a waiter dancing to Gangnam Style which was hilarious!

Friday - Today we walked to the Palace. It was beautiful! Everything glistened in the sun (it was so sparkly - kate would love it). The detail was so intricate. In the main temple there was the 'emerald buddha' (which is actually made of jasper). It was really small compared to the other buddhas but sat on a tall pedestal. The walls inside the buildings were beautifully painted. In the actual palace we saw the Kings throne - it was so grand! We were both then too hot and sweaty so we made our way out of the palace and got some cold water! Mind you we were partly roasting cause we had to put long trousers on and cover our shoulders. We then went to the national museum of Bangkok. It was so good - from old buddhas, to war scenes and how thai people came about. One of our favourite bits was the "success chariots" they were all gold and red with so much detail it was amazing! There were three other chariots but they were to carry the ashes of royals during funerals…

Saturday - Chhhaaattttuuuuccchhhaaakkk (weekend market)! We found out it was cheaper in a tuk tuk if we stopped at shops cause they got free fuel. So we went to a jewelers where you could see the stones being polished. Next, was a tailors which was a bit dull, we looked at magazines pretending to be interested. Finally, we got to chakuchak and the tuktuk cost us 10BAHT. It was massive! Both inside and out. We spent a few hours walking round. The stalls ranged from cutlery to clothes, souvenirs to animals :/ (Katrina nearly got a puppy sent home to her in the post). Mel thought it smelt funny and was so humid we headed home. Spring rolls and mango sticky rice for dinner off the food vendours on Khaosan!

Sunday - we've packed our bags and checked out. At an internet café before we go to get some food and make our way to Bangkok train station to get the overnight train to Chiang Mai - We'll let you all know how we get on…