Hello all. Finally I've decided to join in the blogging (Mark here by the way)!

Firstly thanks for the lovely messages. It's great to hear from you all.

So - what happened after leaving Bangkok? "NO - I DO NOT WANT A SUIT"!!! Yes, that place is not really for us - we didn't much enjoy being looked at as walking ATMs! It seems a little less of an issue now we've headed North but the sense is still there. All in all Bangkok is an experience worth having (excluding the Khao San area) and only for 2-3 nights.

Our first stop after that was Ayuttaya - the old capital of Thailand.... I believe? This place is pretty special - more so when the old temples are lit up at night 7-9pm. We stayed at a great guest house which was certainly the highlight of the area for us. If anyone fancies a visit here the go to the Moradok Thai guest house - you won't regret it! It's hard to imagine the whole area was under 2 metres of water at the end of last year. They've done an amazing job getting Ayuttaya up and running again. We had 2 nights here and then took an early train to Lopburi (Monkey City).

By the way - train journey's are a must in Thailand. Although often delayed it really is pretty simple and everyone involved (other passengers included) are always helpful in telling you when to get off the train!

Lopburi itself is worth a short stop but that's all. Wandering around the monkey's main gathering area was the highlight and just walking around town is fine for a short while - especially when Zoe took up the challenge to shoot some hoops with a local youth. She tried her best but luckily no money was bet on this event! After around 10 hours in Lopburi we were glad to be catching the night train to Chiang Mai....... of course, it was late!

The sleeper carriages on the train were just what we needed - little cocoons to shut yourself away in and try to get some much needed rest on the rocking and rolling railway tracks of Thailand. A good place to chat to locals and other travelers too. Food and drinks are on offer but as one passenger said to us it's worth going to the food carriage yourself and not buying off the employee wandering up and down. You can work out why yourself - after all, this is Thailand!

On arriving at Chaing Mai station is was a case of finding our lift (which was late) and off to the next guest house. We done well again at the Srisupan guest house with a welcoming host, large rooms and a warm shower - oh, and some films shown on TV. We love films! Chiang Mai is actually a fairly nice place. Looks like Bangkok just a little quieter, calmer and easier to go explore with being hassled every 5 minutes by tuk-tuk drivers and suit makers!

The Markets here on the weekend are amazing and our 3 day 2 night trek was a good little adventure - elephant rides, jungle trek, sleeping in the jungle, being joined for 2 days by 2 of the villagers dogs Worth coming here just for that. Many of the other attractions are outside of Chiang Mai city itself - trekking, elephant camps, flower festival, waterfalls, the zoo. In the city the main attractions include cooking courses, Thai boxing, massages everywhere (for good reason) and of course food and Chang beer!! I'd advise anyone though to spend some time in other regions east and west of Chiang Mai which was in our original plan but we've decided to head in Laos 10 days early.

So, tomorrow we head east towards Chiang Rai for a short stop before heading to the border for the slow boat trip down the Mekong. As we understand - internet in Laos is the worst in SE Asia so there may be little in the way of updates from there but we will give it a go anyway.

For now - hope all is well back home. Chat soon.

M & Z x