Farewell to the land of smiles…

 Current Location: Chiang Khong, Thailand

So today is the day I cross the border to Laos!  Hooray!  I am super excited about this as I’ve never been to Laos before and I haven’t heard one traveler say a bad thing about the place.  Besides that, I think that land border crossing are always a bit exciting for us ‘island’ dwellers.  Unlike our European friends we can’t just trip on over whenever we please so there is definitely an element of novelty to it.

I want to live in a Bungalow!

Current location: Pai, Thailand

Ahhhh Pai, the town of bungalows on the river and reading books in your hammock. Talk about chilled out! People have a reputation for getting a little “stuck” in Pai – a 2 or 3 day stay turns into 5 or 10 or for some people even months. The feel is a little like an island but without the beach (although they have a very cool local pool here!). To me it feels a lot like Koh Chang for any of you that have been there. Someone told me the guidebook called Chiang Mai the jewel of the north however I would have to say if that is true then they got it wrong! 

It’s about the journey, not the destination!

Current Location: Ayuthaya, Thailand

Well here I am again, coming to you live from Ayuthaya, Thailand. It`s nice here and I`ve enjoyed a nice couple of days chilling out, meeting it seems only French peoples and checking out the temple ruins which are rather spectacular. It`s funny as in Bangkok and Kanchanburi I met mainly Brits and Swedes (there are loads of Swedes in Thailand – lovely people too with fantastic English) but here it`s been French. I`m yet to actually meet an Aussie which is pretty funny given how many of us travel here. I think that maybe they are all in the islands partying!

Raft houses, waterfalls and 3 bottles of Thai rum…

Well when I last left you I was waiting for the end of the alcohol ban to get a beer and attempting to see the temples. I managed to achieve both the following day so hooray for me! I ended up having to walk the to the temples as I couldn’t get a tuk-tuk driver to take me for love or money – well to be honest and fair I didn’t offer them any love but given that I’m a dirty white fat farang I’m pretty sure I would have had the same success rate anyway – which was zero. The comment “no shopping” really does piss them off. To be fair, the temples were in reasonable walking distance anyway so I copped it sweet and took my life in my hands and crossed the crazy roads to the Grand Palace.

…and so it begins…

So here I am at the end of my first full day in Bangkok and it’s certainly been an interesting one. I’d forgotten how much I love this city. It assaults the senses from the moment you take your first step out of the airport. Bangkok is completely in your face and it makes no apology for it. As opposed to Singapore that seems to be a pretend western city with a slight Asian tinge, Bangkok is a dichotomy of eastern and western cultures and yet the two seem to co-exist with ease and vibrancy. I guess this is part of what gives Bangkok its character and charm.