Another early start today which was my last full day in Bangkok. My tour today was to the ancient Siam capital of Ayutthaya which is about 2 and a bit hours outside of the city. Today's driver was a little more hair raising than that of the previous day. The whole trip there and back was like a race, dodging between tuk tuks, cars and motorbikes all in an effort to get ahead of the other tour buses. There was no seatbelt so it's best to ensure you're familiar with the brace position and how to extract one's self from an upturned semi-crushed vehicle but hey, it is Thailand. Who needs rollercoasters when you can just take a tour bus in Bangkok?

Turns out the driver had forgotten to pick up some people. The forgotten ones (sounds a little biblical) were 3 Japanese girls who were actually staying at my hostel. They were even waiting for the pick-up outside the hostel with me. Once we'd collected the 'forgotten ones' we made our way to the Khao san road "organisation point" for the angry Thai lady to dish out the relevant tour identification stickers. She seemed awfully bitter. Perhaps she should have given herself a sticker to cheer herself up. Once we had our stickers we started the journey to Ayutthaya. I should also mention the driver spoke even less English than the previous day's driver but oh well, just go with the flow.

Ayutthaya was the ancient capital of Siam before it was moved to Bangkok. The area is full of ancient budhist temples (Buddhism being the national religion of Thailand/Siam) and the area is listed as a heritage site by UNESCO. Having been to Siem Reap in Cambodia and seen the temples of Angkor, these do not compare. Many of the temples in Ayutthaya have been damaged for various reasons and repaired with hodge podge methods like, brickwork and cement. For example, the largest complex we visited had 3 large chedis which had all been rebuilt using a patchwork of cement and brickwork. Whilst you do get a pretty good idea of the work involved in the original building of the complexes, the preservation of the Angkor region is far and ahead. Alright for a day trip though. I was getting pretty sick of seeing temples also.

Whilst at this large complex I was just sitting between the chedis and taking in the scenery when a group of Japanese girls asked if they could get a photo with me Hwoar… Misser sparkler! I was happy to oblige. Shortly after it started to rain. I was too far from the bus so took refuge in the doorway of a chedi. The shower only lasted 10 minutes and was a typical tropical downpour. A short but massive dump of rain and then the sun came out and turned the area into a steam room, especially in the nearby undercover markets. Staying in the chedi during the rain paid dividends because the ruins were cleared of tourists creating much better photo opportunities. There was also a kind of serenity about being alone in an empty temple while it rained. It was this moment that I realised how lucky I am to be on this global adventure (queue contemplative look into distance)

Our final stop after lunch was at the summer palace of the King of Thailand which is also in Ayutthaya. The grounds contain several buildings or residences, each with a different theme. There was a Chinese building, a Russian building and a European building. They all seem to be out of place here and to be honest, rather ugly. The grounds themselves were quite nice with their manicured lawns, lakes and various shrines and for THB400 you could hire a golf buggy to drive around. Not bad if you're a lazy arse. For the record, I walked and it was pretty hot. So was the weather ;)

During the long drive back to the city to drop off everyone at their hotels, the driver picked up a random woman. Unsure if it was his wife, girlfriend, acquaintance but he did have to run down an alley to find her. Feel free to create a background story for her and let me know. The driver also drove straight past my hostel and I had to yell out to him to stop. Fun times.

I had missed my final fitting for my suit the previous day due to being stuck in traffic that afternoon. I was supposed to be there by 18:00 however didn't reach my hostel until 20:00 or thereabouts. I haggled with a tuk tuk driver to take me to the tailor, wait while I had the fitting and drive me back. Got him down to THB200 which was good. A taxi may have been cheaper and more comfortable but it's the experience you go for, if you can ignore the petrol fumes. Had my fitting, arranged to have it posted to me in the UK so I didn't have to carry it and made my way back to the hostel. I'd also had my tailored shirt delivered during the day and it fit perfectly. White with blue pinstripe and white collar and cuffs. When the airport people ask if I have anything sharp in my luggage I can now say "Yes, my shirt"

Grabbed my Backpack, hailed a cab and off to my airport hotel for the night. I booked an airport hotel as I had to be up so early for my flight to Hanoi that I'd be waking the rooster. The cab driver was incredibly friendly and we chatted for most of the hours' drive to the hotel. We spoke about work, politics, our countries and travelling. He also had trouble finding the hotel so we both worked together with the map to find it. He offered me a set price of THB400 but I gave him an extra 100 because he was such a nice guy.

Thus concludes my visit to Bangkok. After being told that 3 days is all I'd need I can easily say that you need more. The longer you're there, the more you learn and want to see and do. I'll definitely be back on my way home to Oz