Day 208 : Jim Thompson & C+C

• Checked out of guesthouse, hung around a bit then dropped bags at train station.
• Visited Jim Thompson's house which is very beautiful.
• Had an early dinner at Cabbages and Condoms which is a restaurant, shop and hotel that supports various AIDS and community support charities. It has lots of condom themed sculptures.
• Took the night train to Chiang Mai which I love because its so fun having a little bed with a curtain and that you wake up somewhere different!

Day 207 : Chatuchak Weekend Market

Went to Chatuchak market (took a taxi with a random American women who was slightly crazy) which is one of the biggest markets in the world with an estimated 9000+ stalls. It wasn't too crazy to walk around though. It sold a lot of home furnishings, antiques, plants, pets, fashionable clothes – all sorts. Bought a few little things to send home.

Day 206 : The Grand Palace / Afternoon tea

Up early to beat the crowds at the grand palace. Got the hang of getting a taxi (they are so cheap but you might have to try 2 or 3 before you get one to go on the meter).

The Grand Palace is sprawling and full of stunning buildings and temples – a mix of Thai, Sri Lankan and Cambodian architecture, a lot of real gold, coloured glass and mirror fragments and a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu symbolism. It is the former official residence of the King (now used as a guesthouse for visiting heads of state) and also houses a 15th century beautiful jade Buddha. We took a free tour and had an very enthusiastic guide.

Took a boat to the Mandarin Oriental and had high tea in the Authors’ lounge.

Had some drinks and watched some an amazing blues band on Khao San road.

Day 205 : Giant Reclining Buddha

Went to see the giant reclining Buddha – at the Wat Pho temple. It was absolutely beautiful and massive (46 metres long, 15 metres high), only just fitting inside its house.

Had a wander on Khao San road to see all the tourist bars then didn’t feel great so had relaxing afternoon.

Day 204 : Arrival in Bangkok

• Arrived on the train at 8am – taxi to Sivarin Guesthouse – very clean and comfortable, although it seems a bit out of the way from downtown.
• Took a boat along the river and then the SkyTrain into town. They seem to have forgotten to take their Christmas decorations down.
• Feeling tired from the train, we went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 at the cinema – we wanted to go for the full VIP cinema but they were only showing rubbish films but we still got a sofa seat. Before each film the whole cinema stands for the national anthem.
• Bit of a nightmare getting back to the hostel because of the traffic – none of the taxis would take us!

Day 203 : Koh Pa Ngan to Bangkok

• Took a ferry back to the mainland. Choppy seas and a full, tall and narrow ferry made for an interesting crossing and it rook some time to disembark safely – you had to wait for a gap in the chop and then 4 or 5 people would be ushered along the gangplank to the jetty in the few seconds that it was stable!
• Took an uncomfortable bus to Surat Thani train station – overcrowded as usual. Just when you think there is nowhere left for anybody to sit, they always manage to squeeze another 10 people on, often sitting in the aisle or 3 or 4 people on two seats!
• Train station is in the middle of nowhere and we arrived about 5 hours early (we gave ourselves lots of contingency time as our experience so far has been that we might arrive several hours later than promised by the bus company). Parked ourselves in a cafe for a few hours before catching our overnight train to Bangkok.
• Overnight train was fun – it’s arranged so you have two seats facing one another and they fold together to form a bottom bunk at night. The top bunk folds down from the ceiling and curtains give you privacy from the aisle. A man comes around and makes up the bunks with mattresses / linen.

Day 202 : Beach day

• Tried snorkelling again but the sea was very choppy and the visibility was close to 0.
• Had a lazy day, reading on the beach. Sampled some of the European food at the hotel restaurant – the owners are Belgian so they do a much better job of it than any Thai restaurants we’ve tried. Service is a bit sketchy but the food was always great.
• Louise gave me a haircut.