Today was kind of the start of my long journey home with the first step being the journey back to Bangkok, which would take 24 hours. We got up and left Don Det early in the morning on the same motorised canoe that had brought us. When we got back to the mainland we got back on the Stray bus and drove to the Laos / Thai border, stopping for a tea break in Pakse. At the border we said goodbye to the Stray bus and crossed by foot. We then walked to the bus station where we caught a minibus. It was then a few hours drive to Ubon Ratchathani. When we arrived there some of us got something to eat at the bus station. I didn't and im quite pleased I didn't as the food Emma and Fabienne got looked like a bowl of snot!! A thick green liquid! They didn't eat it either!

After that we got into an opened back taxi truck and drove into the centre of the town to a big shopping centre. We had a few hours to wait before we caught our train so we headed to the top floor and went ten pin bowling to pass the time. We also got something to eat at good old McDonalds. Then it was time to get back in a taxi truck to go to the train station, we were getting an overnight sleeper train to Bangkok. It was the first time I've ever been on a sleeper train. It was an old train and very metallic on the inside. There were two seats sat facing each other and a big cyclinder cupboard above them. There were cages inbetween every seat and lots of curtains. The hardest part was getting my huge backpack up into the cage that was way over the top of head, thankfully there were lots of nice strong guys around. We went through to the seat carriage for a while and then when we came back later the guards had opened out the top cupboards into a bed and the two seats below were folded out to make a bed. Mine was the top bunk so up I climbed, laid down, drew the curtain and went to sleep.

The train arrived in Bangkok at 8am the next morning and we got a taxi to Coh San Road where our hotels were. I had treated to myself to a proper hotel for the last 2 days of my trip and the room was beautiful. I had my own ensuite bathroom, a TV and all the other perks, much better than a bunk bed in a dorm! I had a short nap as I hadn't slept too well on the train and then went exploring. Unfortunately I found out that my bank card had been stopped as they thought something had tried to access my account fraudulently so all I had was the money in my purse to last me until I got home. Thankfully I had already paid for the hotel and had enough money to buy food and drinks for the next 2 days and for a taxi to the airport, but only just. My shopping spree in Bangkok now turned into window shopping. That evening we met up as a group and went for dinner and a few drinks. We visited a few bars along the road and there were lots of street sellers trying to get us to buy souvenirs, we especially liked the seller trying to get us to buy a little frog. The guys also bought some fried crickets as a snack! It was a really good night and the last night we would be altogether as a group before we started to go our separate ways.

The next day I spent just walking around looking at all the different market stalls and shops as I couldn't really afford to do anything else. I was starting to look forward to going home now as I was just hanging around waiting for the time to go to airport. That evening I met up with a couple of people from the group for dinner before having another goodnights sleep in my luxuary bed.

The next day was the final day of my adventure, it was the day I flew home. I spent the first part of the day going for a short walk, doing my final packing and then watching TV in my room. In the evening the time had come, after 11 months for me to go home. I went downstairs, checked out of the hotel and got a taxi to the airport. I was going home!!!