Bangkok

Took a catamaran from Ko Tao to Chumporn and then a bus north to Bangkok.  By the time we met Paul and Julie on Wednesday for a coffee after breakfast we had already been to the Laos embassy to get visas (and therefore experienced Bangkok's horrific traffic).

Spent the rest of the day seeing some of Bangkok's cultural attractions including a visit to the Grand Palace, What Phra Kaew, Khoa San Road, ride on a tuk tuk, boat trip along the Mae Nam Chao Phraya and drinks at the Oriental Hotel.  Khoa San road surprised us- much smaller than we expected and generic backpacker central- it could have been in any Asian city and we were all pleased we were staying elsewhere in the city. Found a great restaurant for dinner called Cabbages and Condoms - Thai food but the whole restaurant was decorated with condoms - the pitch here is raising money for aids awareness!

City adventures with good friends

Early start the next day on the tourist trail to the floating market which was incredibly touristy but quite a spectacle.  Floating along in longboats all the stores were boats along the edges.  If you pointed or looked vaguely interested you'd get literally harpooned (they used hooks to drag your boat towards them) and surrounded by chants like "lady buy hat" and "very cheap".  Needless to say we bought very little but worth the trip.  We also had a number of stops en route at various souvenir graveyards but amazingly a fabulous wood carving store where we could watch carvers work on some superb pieces which were unbelievably intricate.

Lazy afternoon then the evening started with drinks at the top of the Banyan Tree Hotel in the 61st floor Vertigo bar.  This is open to the stars and the magnificent 360 degree views of Bangkok were absolutely awesome.  We'd booked a nice restaurant in one of the hotels nearby and had a great dinner complete with wine for the first time since we'd left London.  Then we took a taxi to Patpong suitably intoxicated to experience another Bangkok mustsee, the Ping Pong bars.  Essentially Julie's idea but popular with the chaps these bars involve (very bored looking) girls dancing and stripping on stage along with certain 'novelty' acts.... All very distasteful but a good laugh and we managed to not get ripped off- although it'll be a while before any of us want to eat bananas...

Friday we had a late start, large breakfast and then a 'strong' Thai massage in a beautiful classy spa. Great value for only 8 quid for an hour long massage.  Paul and Julie were leaving tonight so had an early dinner at an all you can eat Japanese restaurant which was divine.   Available treats included as much sushi, sashimi, noodles, dim sum, salads, steaks, soups and desserts you could shake a stick at and completely unlimited. We all left feeling happy but very fat! Should have stayed a few more hours to stock up before Cambodia, which we head to on Sunday morning.

The immediate challenge is finding somewhere to watch the Rugby world cup final at 2am tonight....