Arrived in Bangkok and spent the day taking advantage of the high life in my five star hotel (I got it for free!) Went to meet Nurlan at the airport. It was a miracle we found each other as Bangkok airport arrivals is absolute chaos, people coming out of it from all directions. Nurlan's flight was 4hrs delayed. How that can happen for such a short flight I don't know! Was wonderful to see Nurlan again and got myself a travel buddy.

Thailand really is The Land of Smiles. The Thai people are truly wonderful, always smiling and very friendly.

We went to Khao San Road (backpackers' haven) to buy tickets for onward travel to the coast. I got us completely ripped off but it still cost peanuts by British standards.

Bangkok is a fascinating place but it is chaos and rather stressful. I think you need to stay here for quite a while in order to calm down and appreciate it. Our time was pretty rushed. Very very busy and much bigger than I expected. The most stressful thing was getting taxis, they just didn't seem to move. The boat was the best way and the skytrain for the more modern bits but not so great for the cultural spots. The tuktuks have to be tried but quite a hassle after you've spent ages bartering down the price and then holding on for dear life!

There are temples everywhere! They're beautiful but we began to suffer a bit of a temple overload.