The journey from Koh Pha-ngan to Bangkok was splendid. The first leg consisted of four hours aboard a large catamaran, sailing under blue skies, passing pretty islands, the odd boat and very little else. When we arrived at the port of Chumphon we made our way along the long rickety wooden pier with the lovely name of Thungmakhamnoi . [We were, once again, glad of our back packs; it would have been hard work wheeling a suitcase along the pier, see photos] We waited there for about an hour; eating noodles, sitting in deck chairs and looking out to sea.

If only all bus stations could be so gorgeous.

A luxurious double decker bus arrived to pick us up, there were only 10 seats down stairs and we were pleased to be allocated two of these whilst almost everyone else went upstairs. This should have been a relaxing start to the second leg of our journey but, instead, this where the latest hysterics began: I sat in my seat and had just got settled in with Dave beside me when the hugest ever [as Laura would say]bug crawled out of the seat pocket in front of me. I shouted 'OMG' and Dave struggled to get out of my way whilst I was panicking. The other passengers around us started getting restless and jumping about in their seats, we looked around for a brave man and it suddenly dawned on us that Dave was the only 'brave' man around! He gazed at the bug in amazement scratched his head and said, 'Wot am I gonna do now then?' I was so proud of him. Meanwhile, I was fumbling around for my lonely planet book; no, not to look up the chapter on 'What to do if a bug crawls over your seat on a bus', but, rather to whack it with. Luckily a knight in shining armour [the bus driver] had heard the commotion; he grabbed a broom, whacked the bug with it and swept it off the bus. I returned to my seat dreading that the bug's husband, children and extended family still resided in the seat pocket but, luckily, if they did, they didn't come looking for wifey/mum/third cousin twice removed. A pleasant 6 hour bus journey followed and we arrived in Bangkok near the Khao San Rd area at 1 am.

Everyone but everyone had told us not to bother booking accommodation around the Khao San Rd area as there would be plenty, and, to be fair, when we tried to book over the internet, we had no luck as the cheaper hotels and hostels around there don't like to book in advance. We got chatting to a young couple on the bus who said they would show us the way to the Banglamphu area just off the Khao San Rd as this is near enough to boogie the night away if you want to but quieter if you want to sleep during the night rather than throughout the day. I expect you've guessed what happened next, we tried all up and down our chosen streets and were greeted with glum looking receptionists shaking their heads: 'Try 11 o'clock a morrow' they would all say. It was great to hear that at 1 o'clock in the morning after a long journey and whilst carrying all your worldly goods on your back. I now know how a snail feels when he can't find a comfy log to crawl under.

We eventually found a grotty room designed for 4 at an exorbitant price and I spent the next hour, with the lonely planet, killing anything that moved [apart from Dave, he was already dead to the world]

The next day, we got up early and set about the business of finding a better room. Still the same glum faces saying 'come back 11 o'clock'. We gave up, went for some breakfast and waited for the magic hour. We had virtually given up finding anywhere and were walking back to the 'hovel ' thinking we were going to have to book another night there when, as luck would have it, I happened to glance up a side alley and saw a sign for the 'New Siam'. A smiling couple were just booking out, so we got in there quickly and were rewarded with a fabulous room with a balcony overlooking a busy street with lots going on. We are sitting here now; I'm writing this blog whilst the scene plays out below: street traders; selling everything from clothes and knock off Cd's to yummy smelling food, restaurants, bars the odd stray dog and travellers strolling along as though they don't have a care in the world, it's so chilled, just a lovely buzz of life going on below us. This, to us, is what it's all about.

Once we had booked into the New Siam, we jumped on a Tuk tuk to Wat Benchamabophit a beautiful building made of white marble. Dave let the side down once again when he paid our entrance fee. The guy giving out the tickets dropped what Dave thought was a highlighter pen, Dave picked it up and handed it to him and the ticket man removed the top. Dave assumed he was going to mark him as having paid, so he held out the back of his hand, the guy gave Dave a strange, 'what are these farangs [foreigners] all about' look and promptly stuck the 'highlighter pen' up his own nose. It was a nasal spray! Dave's face was a picture. When you visit a Wat [temple], you are expected to assume a respectable and godly manner; I was walking around with my legs crossed, shoulders heaving and tears running down my face. Maybe you needed to be there to see how funny it was but I still giggle about it now, goodness knows what the Buddha's think of me.

During the evening we visited the famed Khao San Rd and found it rather more sedate than we were expecting, it was quite early in the evening, I suppose; we left about 11pm, and no doubt things picked up later, but our impression was of characterless, overpriced bars and food stalls and to Dave's dismay, more market stalls!

Day 2

Today we visited Wat Pho, the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok. The emple houses the country's largest reclining Buddha [46m long and 15m high] and all his mates. This particular Wat is home to more Buddha's than any other Wat in Thailand. Wat Pho is spectacular, vast and ornate.We were, however, beginning to get hot and bothered, it was a very humid day and, after an hour or so, we felt we had done our bit as far as Buddha's , Monks and Wats were concerned so we jumped on a river ferry [We're getting quite nifty at jumping on and off boats now]. We disembarked at the sky train, bought a ticket to 'anywhere' and jumped aboard. As we were rumbling along, we saw a race course with spectators in the stands, as Dave is going to miss the Cheltenham Gold Cup this year, we got off at the next station, caught the next train back and watched a horserace from the platform [Not quite the same as the gold cup but, hey ho]. After all that excitement we headed back to the river and caught a fast, longtail boat back to where we were staying, The longtail boat was thrilling; ploughing its way through the waters past all sorts of other river vessels, honking and hooting on as we went.

That night we headed for the Khao San Road again but felt a bit like spare do-da's at a wedding. We knew we couldn't just sit there drinking all night and we were constantly being pestered by bar men 'One more beer' and hawkers, 'you wan; buy' so, on a whim, we caught a tuk-tuk to a ping pong show. I am not going to go into detail but it was a complete rip off and we left, wishing we hadn't bothered [well, I did, not too sure about Dave] and feeling sorry that we had contributed to the exploitation of the women who have to resort to this type of work to earn a living. The tuk-tuk ride back to our area was much more thrilling and, once again, we are amazed that we arrived back in one piece. We think the driver must have been on a promise back at the ping pong club as he drove, at break neck speed, on two wheels instead of three most of the way.

Day 3: We had booked a trip to see the Bridge over the River Kwai. Dave had seen the film many times so he felt he could relate well to this particular piece of history. The bus picked us up, half an hour late, at 10.30am and dropped us at 1pm at the Bamboo Guest House, 10 minutes walk from the bridge. We were given a map and advised to rent some bikes [bearing in mind we had assumed we were going to be dropped off and picked up in the mini bus from the various sites and museums spread out across the town.We were given 4 hours in which to explore what could have been a very interesting part of WW11 history. During the 4 hours, not only did we never see a bike rental place but we were completely phased by the map and where everything was. However, we got our priorities right and managed a quick lunch which was delicious. We had a ride across the famous bridge on a Noddy train. We sat opposite a Thai lady, whose companion explained she was from a remote village way out in the countryside. During the trip the lady proceeded to burst into tears. Her friend said she could sense the spirits of the people who died building the bridge. This was a little disconcerting; particularly as, at first, we thought she was laughing hysterically and laughed along with her just to be polite. The train ride was followed by plenty of time in the rather strange WW11 museum which held an odd assortment of artefacts from not just WW11 but also from other wars Thailand has been involved in. We went back to the Bamboo House for our 5 o'clock pick up and spent the next hour waiting for the bus which arrived at 6. We enjoyed the wait in the sunshine though, Bamboo House is lovely, its rustic rooms are built on the banks of the river Kwai, there are also basic, but quaint, wooden bungalows actually floating on the river. Priced at 200bath a night [about 4 quid] [see photos]. We have made a pledge to go back there one day and stay a few nights in order to explore the area further [Though hopefully, we will have the next grade accommodation, £6 a night, which sports its own shower and loo rather than have to walk across a field to the shared ones].

A quiet night followed as we had a long journey ahead next day. We rounded the evening off on our balcony with a couple of cans of Chang. We both had mixed feelings, we couldn't believe our journey was coming to an end, we wished we could stay and continue our travels we have had such a fabulous time, but another part of us was looking forward to seeing family and friends and dear old Cheltenham.