Lamai Beach It took me 24 hours to get from Bangkok to Koh Samui. And it's only about 650km. But it all started with the train being three hours late. This consequently made me miss the morning ferry. Warning to all: joint train+bus+ferry tickets bind the holder to a certain ferry that had been prebooked by the company and in case of any delays the holder has to wait for hours till the next, afternoon ferry. My fellow travellers and I missed the one at 10am and ...

Stop-over in Bangkok We should learn from the Thais! I'm back in Bangkok. I was dreading the bus journey - ten hour on the bus after partying all night (almost all night) didn't sound good. But what a bus it was!!! VIP S-class, 600Baht. Except for tatty curtains it looked like a business class on Singapore Airlines. Big comfortable, almost fully reclining seats, entertainment (yes, your own screen and some English movies, music and games), food, water, sna...

Farewell Nongkhai Last day in Nongkhai. It's become my second (third?) home. I feel like I know everyone here (I don't). I love cycling by the Mekong, eating sticky rice and buying fruit from the market. I'm gonna miss it of all. I'm gonna miss my little afternoon reading sessions at Mutmee garden restaurant/cafe (westerner's hub) over a pot of tea. I'm gonna miss the lady from a small shop across the road - our supply of Coke, beer and Oishi g...

Last day in Bangkok was really tough. I couldn't sleep till 3.30am but I had to get up at 9am. I went out to get some ice cofee and fruit for a light breakfast. I got two cans of cofee cos I figured I'd need them to stay awake. Came back to the hotel, had a shower and packed. It took a while because I wanted to squeeze my small backpack into the big one. It felt so heavy again but Iafter I checked out I managed to leave at the hotel for a day for a small fee of 3...

Day two in Bangkok. It's my second day here and I'm still surprised how hot it gets the moment I leave my room. And I don't even keep the air-con on all the time. The fans, present everywhere indoors give me headache. Even now whe I'm writing it I have a massive fan blowing right in my ear. I think I might start to wear earplugs indoors. I didn't go to sleep yesterady till 2.30am. Jet lag, I guess. So when I was woken up by some noise at 10.30am I decided t...