Thailand: 21st-23rd June.

We arrived into Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur early afternoon on the 20th June. Full of adrenaline and backpacker spirit we decide to forgo the easy option of getting a taxi to the hotel where we would be meeting our group later that evening. So we clambered onboard the express bus with the false illusion that it would speed us into the centre of Bangkok. So we were swiftly delivered to the transportation centre- what, where? After some confusing conversations with a group of bus drivers, we were hustled onto a bus. After about half an hour we were deep into the depths of the city with no clue where to get off! After buying out ticket from the best ticket dispenser ever- a long metal tube that opened and shut quicker than you could ever imagine containing a whole rainbow of reels of tickets- we stepped of the bus and told that we needed to get another one. Once on board this bus we were told that it was not the right one. At this point we came to the safe conclusion that Thais do not speak as much English as we had ignorantly presumed. We then decided that we had tried our best as far as using the local buses was concerned and opted for a taxi. Typically, the taxi driver did not have a clue where it was that we wanted to go and after much pointing to numerous sheets of paper and card, he phoned the hotel- a very sensible option we thought! Once at the Grandville in Chinatown we had a quick nab in preparation to meet our Intrepid group, our companions for the next 29days. We snoozed for half an hour that even though it was rather lengthy, our impromptu journey cost about an 8th of the price of getting a taxi from the airport direct to the hotel- result! The first impressions of our group were interesting especially of our group leader, a relationship that went particularly sour, especially with Armelle. After a group dinner on Khao San Road we decided to have a stroll around the favoured backpacker hangout. We were very pleased to feast our eyes on a Boots! We then bumped into Rhian and James completely by surprise. We knew that they were in Bangkok but really didn’t think we would see them. We had a couple of drinks at an assortment of waterholes along Khao San while the rest of our group retired to bed. The next day was officially the first full day of our tour. We set off in the morning for a long tail boat tour of Bangkok’s famous klongs, obviously feeding some giant thrashing catfish on our way!

We then visited the huge reclining Buddha at Wat Po with the most intricate mother of pearl detail on its feet. Unfortunately, our guide was rather hard to understand.

In the sweltering heat we then made our way to the grand palace, which was utterly stunning, with great overbearing warriors grimacing at us at every opportunity.

We then trundled along to Khao San road to good old Johnny Walker to sample the Thai curries. We then met back at the hotel at 4pm to dubiously make our way to the train station to board our 14-hour sleeper train to Chiang Mai. With the joys of the Indian overnight train being relatively fresh in our minds, we braced ourselves to experience cockroach covered pillows and a night of foot fumbling, however the Thais seem to do it best! Rather than in cabins, the beds lined the corridor and a couple of hours into the journey or when you requested it, a lady came to assemble and make the beds with fresh linen and a smile! There were even little shelves to place bedside belongings, oh, and a little light! Jess opted for the top bunk and the other of the duo enjoyed a comfortable nights sleep beneath her.

In the morning, we woke to calm Thai countryside, bright green, backed by rolling hills. Once in Chiang Mai we clambered onboard the awaiting vehicles and the sleepy passengers headed off to breakfast. We then continued onto the People Place guesthouse and prepared ourselves for the day ahead. Unfortunately we only had one full day and night in Chiang Mai due to the greediness of wanting to see 4 countries in 1 month! We spent the morning exploring the main temples in the city along with Vicky, Anna and Sarah. The 2-hour excursion set us back a hefty £1.50 each! Each of the temples was very different.

One had been ruined by an earthquake with a fat red sitting Buddha tucked away behind it, the other had a ton of philosophical meanings printed on green plaques hanging from the trees with the sound of school pupils playing the drums filling the air.

The other was being restored with a clay dragon being skilfully carved at its entrance. Chiang Mai is a walled city and for lunch we were dropped at the main gate. Due to sheer laziness, we ate at the nearest establishment- the Black Canyon Café where the iced coffees were fantastic even if they did contain an obscene amount of calories. That afternoon, we settled on different activities to end our day. Jess headed off for a cooking class at the well renowned Chiang Mai cookery school where ingredients were freshly purchased from the neighbouring market. Armelle decided upon some down time and was on a mission to experience to apparent delights of a Thai message. The massage was an experience to say the least with limbs being pulled, pushed and pummelled all over the place. Due to Armelles incredibly dire foot condition- oh yes, the crustiness has been present since Singapore- every time the soles were glanced open, a wave of embarrassment engulfed her. We then spent the evening wandering through the colourful stalls of the night bazaar, restricting ourselves as much as possible. However, a bag of lychees and a string of hanging light were most definitely necessary purchases. Our group leader Yin then suggested that we jump onboard a red-fire-truck tuk tuk and go for a drink at the Monkey Club, a popular destination for students.

On arrival, the bar was packed with all eyes and ears on a local, interesting sounding band. Once we found a vacant table, we ordered our drinks and were promptly serenaded by a group of ladyboys as Vicky and Jess had ordered 2 for 1 Malibu and cokes. You are supposed to order bottles of spirits and share them amongst your group of friends by the emptying bottles present on other tables. A very enthusiastic British English teacher then came to join us, one of Yins friends- we ended up wishing he were our guide instead.

The next morning we trundled off to Doi Suthep before going on our way to Chiang Khong, a border town a 7-hour bus ride away. Doi Suthep is a mountain temple and on our way up, we overtook 15,000 Chaing Mai university students. Different brightly coloured t-shirts were worn by members of different subject, lead by students in the year above them. It was such a sight to see all the thousand of students marching there way up the mountain as their yearly tradition, we felt like cheats being in a bus. Once off the bus, we walked up a steep fight of steps to reach our temple destination with the staircase being guarded by huge dragonheads.

There were fantastic views of the city from the top and our guide spoke brilliant English. Each of our group were blessed by the monks in the form of a white string bracelet tied around our wrists. We then departed on our way to the Thai border town. For our lunch we stopped at the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant. The restaurant, supported by the government, promotes family planning, and it was quite a novelty to see large condom shaped statues dotted around the grounds. We then continued on our way and stopped at the White Temple, possibly the most fantasy imitating/disgusting building you could ever set your eyes upon. The temple was relatively new and was basically white washed with tiny segments of mirror stuck all over it. A red painted skull with an empty bottle of wine stuck onto it marked the entrance- we were not exactly sure what this was supposed to mean. Before you crossed the bridge to the temple, the was a pool, which consisted of numerous plaster cast arms reaching out of it- it was like a scene out of a horror film. In its defence, from afar it did look as if it had been plucked from a fairytale. We eventually arrived at our accommodation for the night that overlooked the Mekong River into Laos. The guesthouse was not so nice, starting with a monkey tied up outside. Our room was relatively clean but unfortunately Sarah was severely savaged by bed bugs in the night. We enjoyed a group dinner to commemorate our last night in Thailand.