Hi All,

Bangkok, 27th April - 3rd March

We were grounded in Bangkok slightly longer than hoped as I (Alex) came down with a bit of fever and had to stay in bed for 2 days, seem to have recovered perfectly fine now though!

Our first stop was Khao San Road, Bangkok's version of Camden, plenty of dodgy market stalls and traders out to make easy money of you. It's a good place to pick up bits like sandals, wallets etc on the cheap.

After this we moved a street away from Khao San where it was slightly quieter and cheaper. This is when I was not well so we didnt do much for two days (Sophie pottered around went on internet, shopped etc).

When I was better we took the opportunity to do some sightseeing of the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Emarald Buddah, he's pretty famous for such a small Buddah (only about 3ft tall). The heat of the day (35 deg, 100% humidity) started to make sightseeing more of an endurance sport than fun and after about 4 hours we called it a day. We had managed to see a lot in this time and had ridden the ferry boat down the river.

Later that day we took the infamous canal boat east to central Bangkok (Siam Square).Here we had a look at the posher part of town for the first time. It really is a lot posher, It's like a completley different city and standard of living. There is a lot of shopping to be had here and we both agreed to spend a full day doing just that when we return to Bangkok for my flight.

On our last day in Bangkok we managed to get a few much needed bits from Khao San road before catching our sleeper train to the Laos capital Vientiene. They only had upper sleepers left (less comfy than lower) so we brought some cards and beers to make the journey a little easier!

Bye for now,

xxxx