Dennis' musing while on a train the Chiang Mai
1) saw a guy speed off on a moped as a police man on foot tried to hit him with a clip board. Probably checking for licence/ insurance. What a lad

2) saw a family of five on a moped. And they wonder why the death rate is so high in Bangkok.

3) the lady selling beer on the sleeper train keeps making chicken noises up and down the corridor.

4) tried a new beer called Leo. Feel that when in foreign lands you need to choose the beer based on the ferocity of the animal on the label. For example Leo had a picture of a leopard on it. Not a lion. But still very good

5) we had an hour an a half taxi journey which only cost us a fiver. Including tip. It was probably a 20 minute journey on foot but traffic in Bangkok is horrific. Mopeds and motorbikes have it easy though, weave in and out around cars in traffic. See points 1 & 2

6) you don't have a choice in the beer on the train. The crazy chicken lady just brings whatever she fancies. Bloody chicken lady!

7) for a company that sponsors the bluenoses, this chang make a lovely beer.

So today we checked out of our hotel and managed to get a few quid back from our dreadful tour yesterday. We have also left Bangkok to head north on a sleeper train to chiang mai. When we finally got to the station (see Dennis' musings) we went to get tickets, unsure of which train we'd be on or if we'd get to have bunk beds which is second class (first class is private cabins) or third class which is reclining seats. Luckily second class had beds left and as a result we decided the spend the money we saved (not going first class) on beer. While we were waiting to tickets we heard a shout and turned round and Baldwin (one of Dennis' friends he met while working placement) was there with his girlfriend. It was lovely to see a familiar face and while we knew he was out here we didn't expect to bump into him anytime soon. So after they got their train to Chiang Mai we mooched about the train station and got some very tasty food until our train. The train is surprisingly nice, the beds are surprisingly big and fairly comfortable and have AC which is a big plus as it is really hot. It also has a plug socket to charge stuff. Like iPhones which have become indispensable. Also the tickets for both of us only cost 1678bt which is about £35 and it's a 13 hour trip. Beer is horrifically priced however, 140b for a large 600ml beer so like £3 nearly, so about the price of a pint at home, still. Been used to paying just under a quid. It turns out Dennis got a bit ripped off on the train with the beer and was over charged quite significantly. We eventually got to sleep, and it wasn't too bad, not for the fact it was a train. Weirdly the lights or turned on at 2am, which meant sleeping was more difficult. Anyway, we expected to get to Chiang Mai about 10ish and it was well after one by the time we arrived meaning we'd had a 17 hour train journey.