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Yesterday we had a very chilled day. Like most of our days in Vang Vieng it was spend doing nothing. We decided to go to the Luang Prabang bakery for some breakfast. We both ordered a salami and cheese sandwich and it was really delicious. Chelsea had an ice coffee which was yummy and we decided to have some dessert. The bakery is full of gorgeous baked goods, cakes, biscuits, cookies, donuts and Danish pastries. We settled on a chocolate cookie which we were so full we had to save after only eating half and take the rest with us.

After our indulgent breakfast at our posh café we booked our bus to Luang Prabang. We booked on the VIP coach for 10am the next day. We had heard stories of how bad the journey was so decided to book on something big and comfortable.

We spent the rest of the day lounging at our riverside spot taking in the views, drinking and talking. It was lush, we wrote our blog from the day before and replied to our emails until the sun was creeping in and we had to retire back to our room to cool off. The late afternoon was spent relaxing also. Chelsea sat on our balcony and painted the view and Liam sat and watched James Bond. Sorry everyone...... were not that exciting we know.

After a cold shower and a change of clothes we were ready to go back out. As it was our last night in Vang Ving we went out for some cheap food and went back to our riverside spot and had some beers.

Since we have been there several times everyday the waiter brought us over a vat of complimentary 'cocktail'. It was lethally strong, the colour of pond water and in a 2 litre water bottle with the top cut off to make a MASSIVE glass. were not sure what was in it as all we could taste was whisky and lime but it was strong. We managed half of it to be polite, said thank you very much and stumbled out.

On the way home we decided to call into fat monkeys a bar on the way home for a nightcap as it was really busy. We shared a beer and watched a bit of beer pong as there was a tournament on. We would have entered if we would have been earlier. We walked home and had to pack ready for the next morning. We were both tipsy so just shoved everything in.

The next morning we were up bright and early for our bus. Since we had packed after so many drinks we weren't sure where anything was but checked out and went for breakfast. A fruit shake and a baguette sorted us out and we went to wait for our bus.

We had a slight scare as the VIP bus that we had booked pulled up and it was a dilapidated mini van with bench seats. We looked at each other an laughed imagining six hours drive through the mountains but it was just the shuttle to take us to our coach.

The drive wasn't too bad. Everything you read about the journey from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang says that it is terrible. Apparently half the bus will get travel sick and the bus driver hands out sick bags as you board. It wasn't that bad. Yes it is very bumpy and very very windy up and down twisting mounting roads but the coach was comfortable. Only a few times did we feel sick and even though most of the bus were popping travel sickness tablets like they were going out of fashion no one was sick to start the chain of sickness that would have then occurred..... thank the lord. The views from the bus in between sleeping were stunning. mountains everywhere, farms and tiny villages, nothing else for miles.

We arrived at the bus station at 5pm and shared a tuk-tuk with some French people. It didn't take us long to find somewhere to stay. We only looked in three places and the third one was lovely. We are staying at Kinnaly Guest House or 50000 kip a night (under £5). It is right in the centre, has its own bathroom, is spotless and decorated beautifully. It is in an old building and is a steal for the price. Even though the weather is more hit an miss we are enjoying traveling in low season.

We freshened up and then went for a little explore. The main street at night gets closed off to traffic and open up as a huge night market. It is incredible and sells all sorts of handmade wares and handicrafts. Silk scarves, jewellery, clothes, paintings, bags, antiques an more. It is beautiful.

We had a look around the vast amount of stalls and went to a food stall. We ate at a place where you serve yourself. it is 10000 kip for a plate and you can eat as much as you an fit on it. We filled our plates and bought some grilled chicken. The food stalls are really interesting to browse. You can buy all sorts of bbq food, dumplings, spring rolls, salads, fruit and dried good.

After we has a walk around the streets and went to a beautiful bar and shared a beer. The streets are gorgeous, old colonial French architecture mixed with traditional Laos style. Old wooden shop fronts dominate the streets and they have all tastefully been transformed into shops, bars and travel agencies. We can see why it is a UNSCO sight, it is unique and amazing. We cant wait to get up and explore.

Today we got up, had a nice breakfast/ dinner at our guest house and then walked into town but not before putting our money in two plastic freezer bags to keep it dry. We decided to have a drink before we collected our tubes and headed to the river so sat at a bar and had a drink. We didn't want to arrive too early as we had read that it doesn't really kick off until between 12 and 2pm. At half 12 we couldn't wait any longer because we were excited so headed to the tubing service in town. You have to pay 55,000 Kip to go tubing, This includes a tuk-tuk to the river and a tube. You have to sign a disclaimer stating you can swim and to say you are turning down the offer of a life jacket as well as loads of other stuff stating that if anything happens to you to is not the fault of the tubing services. You have to leave a deposit on your tube of 60,000 kip. This only covers damage to your tube, if you loose it you have to pay an extra 70,000 kip. The only other rule is you have to have your tube back by 6pm otherwise you are charged an extra 20,000 kip. We thought that would be no problem as that gave us 5 and a half hours to get down the river. In dry season it takes four hours but in wet season (like it is now) it only takes one hour. We met some people at the services and shared the free tuk-tuk with them to the start. They drive you 4km up the road so that you can tube back into town on the river.

Bare in mind that we didn't think that tubing would be any good. We thought it would be full of drunk idiots thinking they were cool but it is actually awesome. You just have to take it for what it is. A really fun afternoon, drifting, socialising and drinking on the river.

When we arrived at the river us and all the people on our tuk-tuk wet our tubes and stood in the river laughing, no one wanted to be first as the current was stronger than we expected. Liam was the first in and he set off down the river, Chelsea didn't want to be left behind so she was next. We floated down the river for approximately one minute before the first bar appeared and we decided to go to it. There are people at the side of the river working for the bars who hook you in and pull you to shore with half full water bottles tied to a rope. As soon as you enter the bar you get a free bracelet and a shot of Laos tiger whiskey. We had a beer, sat with our tuk-tuk friends and talked. Our money was soaked within the first 30 seconds of tubing but it doesn't matter, we still spent it and as our change was also sodden we assume everyone's money is soaking wet. The bar was quite full to say it was the first one and they have music on. People lay sunbathing and talking, it was nice. After we finished our drink we were eager to get going. We set off back down the river and floated for around approximately three minutes until the next bar.

This pattern continues down the river until you get to a bar called 'the last bar'. At each bar it was really busy, music was playing and there was loads of people socialising and drinking. We played table tennis and volley ball, sun bathed and played beer pong against other couples. At one point we were a team of three with a German lad in an illuminious vest who had been tubing for three days in a row. With every drink you get a free bracelet and you get as many free shots of whiskey you can manage. It is really fun. Chelsea was surprisingly good at beer pong and at one point we were playing against a German couple when a lad came over to cheer us on. Chelsea was ecstatic when she made the winning shot.

At the last bar we played volley ball with a huge group of people. it was really fun and every time the ball went into the river a Japanese lad saved it as if it was more important than his own life. He ran down the hill, jumped in the river and saved the ball, was pulled back to shore clutching the ball with everyone cheering him from the side. it was like something from total wipeout as he face planted the river every time. Liam apparently has a hidden talent for volley ball which Chelsea seriously lacks. She was so bad the two times she managed to hit the ball everyone cheered.

The bars are fun but the floating in the river is peaceful and beautiful. There are mountains either side and it is quiet and tranquil. It is a beautiful setting and even in wet season the river is still a smooth ride. Liam however managed to loose a flip flop and his St Christopher on the last leg of the drifting as well as capsize and have to be hooked out by a man on the side.

When you reach town again there is a sign which says 'stop tubing' where you have to get out and walk back to the tubing services. We were having such a good time us and another hundred people were late taking our tubes back and had to pay the fine. It was definitely worth another two pound though. Although it is popular and everyone comes to Vang Vieng to tube we can see why. It is a really really fun day. As long as you are not stupid and don't get totally wasted it is awesome. The bars are great and the tubing itself is lovely, floating down the river on a giant tractor inner tube sounds ridiculous but don't judge it before you try it, its worth every penny of the seven pounds it cost us.

P.S we have no photos because we didn't want to ruin our cameras so here's a random one from the day before

Today has been a rather lazy and uneventful day. First we had our first lie-in in months and stayed in bed until 10.30am. It was bliss. We got up and ready and then sat in our guesthouse café all morning with our journals and computer and got up to date with all our writing. We drank coffee and ate lovely food and just enjoyed the slowness of the day. The views from our guesthouse are stunning. It is right next to the river so we can see the water, the rickety bridges and the small long tail boats moored up. There are mountains in every direction and small wooden buildings nestled between them. It is beautiful. We stayed drinking coffee for ages.

After we went in search of a pair of sunglasses for Liam. This is his fourth pair. After looking in every shop at the very dusty and scratched pairs on offer we came back to the first shop and he was humming and haring over one pair of dusty sunnies. Chelsea asked how much and the man said 20000 kip, (less than £2) so Chelsea just bought them and said if he changed his mind to just buy another pair. It was hot and all the shops sold the exact same merchandise.

After the extremely busy morning of coffee drinking and shopping in the sunshine we were ready for a pit stop. We went in a café on the river and decided to share a beer. Lots of the cafes here have raised booths with low tables where you sit around on cushions. It was raised above there river so offered beautiful views again. We took our books and talked and read all afternoon, drinking beer and admiring the mountains. By the end of the day we were so chilled out we were laid down and though we better have a little walk before we fell asleep.

Vang Vieng is a very small river town. It has a main road and an adjacent road on the river. Off this are several small bridges crossing the river which lead to a little island. We decided to go on a little walk across the river. The bridges are little wooden things than sway heavily when you walk across them. The island is extremely small and you can walk from one side to the other in less than a minute.

There are some nice places to stay on there and little footpaths so you can explore. There were chickens walking around and it is very green, long grass and trees. The view over the other side of the river is beautiful and you can see down the river towards the mountains. It is the final stop point for tubing.

After out little explore we got ready, cooled off in our room and went out for some tea. We walked around the whole town and decided on a place on the river. It took a long time for our food to come but the atmosphere was nice and the views again were lovely. To finish off our lazy day we watched some films and went to bed. A perfect lazy day for a beautiful lazy place.

Tomorrow we have decided to go tubing. This is what most westerners come to Vang Vieng for and is normally a massive drunken affair on the river where loads of people drown or get injured however as it is very low season Vang Vieng is not the party destination we thought. It is very relaxed and quiet and we think it might be nice to float down the river on a giant tractor inner tube admiring the mountains and stopping off for drinks on the way.

So that is it. After 5 months, dozens of new scars from tiger bites and leopard scratches, blood, sweat and the occasional tear, countless bottles of whiskey and beer, and many many new friends, we have left the safari. Although we are ready it was very hard to leave, we have been treated like family by the boss Joe and the Thai staff, everyone was upset to see us go, all they asked was ‘When are you coming back?’, ‘You travel quickly now an come back’.

Our last two weeks there were a definite mixed bag. When we arrived back from our break in Chiang Mai, the first thing we did was inform every one of our decision to leave. This was taken better by some people than others. Our first few days back were difficult to say the least, but thankfully certain people left and took the bad atmosphere with them. Our last ten days have been a total contrast, for a couple of days we were alone with B, a vet from Brazil who become our new drinking friend and then we were joined by two new volunteers Sean and Carris. We had a lot of laughs and the fun of volunteering at the safari returned. It was perfect for our last week. We got a lot of things done and put lots of things in place with the boss and the Thai staff to ensure the project will continue even if there are no volunteers. Chelsea wrote to-do lists for the staff and a rota so that any volunteers can experience all aspects of the safari even if they just come for a week. One of the highlights was taking Latte, the baby leopard we helped raise onto the safari. She is now almost seven months old and is ready. Chelsea has been weaning her off milk and Monday walked her round and handed her over to Mr Num, the leopard keeper. She was afraid and managed to climb into the roof which we had to deal with but once she gets used to it she will have a great life in the huge safari enclosure. The cherry on the cake, as far as we are concerned, is that for the last two days we had the lion cub to take care of. She is incredible, very cute, very grumpy and so big for only two months old. We spent the majority of our last days playing with her and laughing at how grumpy she is. On our last afternoon Sanapong took us in to the safari where we got to walk and hand feed all the animals, deer, giraffe, flamingos and zebra. We got to see the lions and tigers up close on the safari and it was a really fun, perfect way to end. On our last night Sean and Carris presented a bottle of rum and beers which we had fun finishing, playing games and talking.

We left on Tuesday morning; we exchanged a few good bye gifts, a lot of tears and took one of the safari buses into Kanchanaburi. It was hard saying goodbye to YaYa our seven and a half month old tiger but she will soon be on the safari and have a fantastic life. Tuesday was a long and hot day. We took a minibus to Bangkok after breakfast and this took an hour longer than normal. Liam was seated next to an American man who lives in Thailand and right from the word go he was talking to Liam and did not stop until we got off in Bangkok. Chelsea slept for most of the journey, although Liam is fairly sure she was pretending for half of it. In Bangkok we were just waiting for our train. It did not depart until 8pm so passed the time with a bit of retail therapy and then a couple of beers while researching our new destination. When it turned late afternoon we made our way to the train station, bought our ticket, ate dinner and washed it down with a couple more beers.

We are very excited to be travelling again, the last time was in Myanmar, and although we have had fun little trips whilst at safari we always knew we were going back, or we were spending days getting visa’s. To not have any plans again, and no time restraint is great. Our first stop is Vang Vieng, Laos. Apparently it has changed recently from a bit of a party mecca to a more relaxed vibe so we are looking forward to it. Having been to Vientiane for the visa a couple of month back Vang Vieng is the next stop on the map at this particular border crossing. Same as Vientiane we caught the night train to Nong Khai which is really easy to do and costs around 700 baht, and then catch a smaller train across the border to Thanaleng for 20 baht each.

The border crossing was quick and simple and in no time we were in a taxi on route to the bus station. All was going well but then the taxi driver pulled over to tell us that the bus to Vang Vieng was expensive and we should get a minivan. After a short debate where it looked like he wasn’t going to take no for an answer ‘Ok’ we said; ‘take us to the bus station anyway’. We are used to people trying to rip us off. The bus station was usual south east Asian chaos, no signs, people everywhere, no clue as to where we were supposed to be. On top of this people kept approaching us to sell us things we did not want. Welcome back to life on the road. We eventually managed to get a minivan to our hotel of choice in Vang Vieng for only £1 more than the public bus, this would also save us having to pay for a taxi from the bus station once we arrived, and is quicker. The public bus costs 40,000 kip and the minivan cost us 50,000 kip. Our train into Nong Khai was late and by the time we had sorted all this out, and grabbed a quick lunch it was nearly 1pm.

The journey to Vang Vieng was not great. The road conditions in Laos are poor, you practically bounce up and down in your seat the whole way. Most of the journey is in the hills, which although makes great scenery, the road is forever meandering. It was all too much for one woman at the front who started to vomit, first into her coat, and then into a plastic bag. It took longer than expected but we arrived around 4pm in Vang Vieng. We managed to book into our guesthouse, Nam Song Garden, a nice, cheap and clean little place on the Nam Song River that runs through the town for 40,000 kip a night.

Our first impressions of Vang Vieng are good. It is very quiet, being low season, which we like and the surroundings are beautiful, large green mountains and jungle sit opposite the river. The town is small but is definitely catered to western tourists. There does not seem to be much authentic Laos remaining but it is very beautiful and it seems a great place to spend a few days relaxing and figuring out where we want to go during our time in Laos.

Over the last week or so we have had an incredible time travelling with Liam’s Dad, Graham. We have shown him the work we have been up to at the safari, tackled the hectic Bangkok, and travelled north to Chiang Mai where we visited the zoo, and Liam’s Dad made a new Thai friend on a crazy night out with our friends.

Graham landed on the night of Thursday 6th. We left the safari the Tuesday before to have a relaxing day around the pool Wednesday before going to meet him. We met him at the airport in Bangkok, which is not in the best location, several kilometres outside of central Bangkok. Considering, in our opinion, how difficult Bangkok is to get around we found it relatively straightforward. After finding some accommodation near Khao San Road we caught a bus to Victory Monument and then a minivan for 40 baht each that took us all the way to the airport. Liam’s Dad met us around 9pm in arrivals, it took him an age to get though immigration due to several planes landing at the same time. It was great to see him though for the first time in six months and after our hellos we caught a shuttle bus to the transport centre. Liam's dad managed to loose his hat within the first fifteen minutes in Thailand due to all the excitement. We then caught a taxi back to our guesthouse. It was late by the time we got back but we caught up over a couple of beers before heading to bed to be up early for our first full day.

The plan for the first couple of days was Kanchanaburi. We caught the minivan from Victory Monument in the morning, it was late arriving into Kanchanaburi however due to the Bangkok traffic which Graham found unbelievable and mentioned several times (he can never moan about traffic in the UK again). We had booked into our favourite guesthouse in Kanchanaburi, Pong Phen and once we finally arrived and checked in we went out to see the main sight of the town. Graham was interested in seeing the Bridge over the River Kwai so that was our first stop, we still had the bike from Safari so we used that rather than walking as time was getting away from us. We managed to go Thai style and fit three on a bike. The Bridge is not as spectacular as it is made out to be but saying that it is still a must see in Kanchanaburi, Liam’s Dad was not disappointed and enjoyed walking along it and taking plenty of photos.

On the way there we went to see the leopard Mocha, that is chained to a table in Kanchanaburi as advertisement for the safari park. Its horrible to see but we wanted to show Graham what we were trying to change. There was a surprise though as aswell as Mocha there was one of the new tiny leopard cubs in a cage as well. We did not expect this and it looked terrified next to busy road. Chelsea got to feed her, and then Graham held her whilst we were talking to Mr Tip (the guy who looks after them) and tried to make sure he was at least looking after them properly. We were then a good twenty minutes and the cub fell asleep on Graham, we had to prize her off him to go and see the bridge.

After the bridge we took Liam’s Dad to see the Thailand Burma Railway museum. It is a great museum, the best of the three n town and has lots of information, and artefacts from the PoW’s and camps. We were there a good hour and once you have finished on the top floor you overlook the cemetery where the PoW’s that served Kanchanaburi are buried. Graham really enjoyed the museum and we enjoyed it as much as our first visit. We went back to the guesthouse around 5pm and had an hour relaxing in the pool before going out for something to eat. Grahams first Thai dish was Pad Ka Pow (pork, chillies and basil) which he thoroughly enjoyed. We had an Indian curry, rice and rotti.... after nearly five months at the safari we are having a small break from Thai food.

Saturday was Safari day and we were up early. We had to rent bikes and had to be at the safari for 8.30am to walk the cubs at 9am. It threatened to rain on the way but luckily held off. We took Liam’s dad to see Blue (the big male tiger who gets chained to the table) and the tiger cub in their night enclosures before he walked Latte the leopard cub. He loved walking her and she was really good and walked practically to heel all the way. Yaya the tiger cub (we have found out a few weeks ago her name is not Tat but Yaya) joined us with Ned and Toy on the way. Once we got the cubs to their day time area we let Graham spend a good hour or so with them, bottle feeding them, and seeing the work we have been doing. After this we took him to see the monkeys we have been working with and then on to the elephant show. The show is still not great but again we wanted to show Graham the stuff we are trying to change. As it is father’s day in the UK this month Liam then bought his Dad a twenty minute elephant trek through the jungle. Graham got to ride our big female bareback something he had never done. We then went for a lunch of noodle soup in the restaurant, not before getting a photo with the macaws, and the onto the actual safari. Although at first Graham was alarmed by being six feet away from free big cats with the windows of the bus open he loved it and obviously the giraffes at the end was the highlight. At one point Chelsea put carrots on his head and shoulders so he was totally surrounded by them. By this point it was really hot and see as though we were not working we went to the local village for a beer and to show Liam’s Dad a non-touristy village. Once the worst of the heat was over we rode our bikes back to Kanchanaburi, lazed around the pool for couple of hours before going out for pizza (Chelsea’s choice) to end an amazing day. We were really proud to show Liams dad around our home for the last 4 months and show him all our babies and the work we have done. He was completely overwhelmed and we loved that he had such a good time.

Our original idea for Sunday was to go see Bangkok before taking the overnight train to Chiang Mai. However Graham was loving the peaceful river Kwai so we decided to linger here, relax around the pool and make our way to Bangkok later. We arrived around 4pm and went to the train station. Despite a woman trying to rip us off we bought the tickets easily and then passed the time sat outside, eating a street stall and drinking beer in a small café. The train was Graham’s first overnight train experience and he seemed to really enjoy it. We left Bangkok around 7pm and arrived in Chiang Mai the next morning 8.30am the following day.

After a slight difficulty finding somewhere to stay (there were a lot of bad places and the good places didn’t have two rooms) we found a nice place SK Guesthouse that cost 300 Baht a night and had a pool, perfect. We then went to explore the city. Chiang Mai is quite large but the main area is within a square moat. It is very nice and has lots of small side streets with bars and restaurants. We spent the first day visiting some of the major temples in the area. Liam’s Dad was amazed by how ornate they were, our pictures and descriptions can not really give them justice. There was a good mix of small still in use temples, a large one which was quite touristy and a old ruin in the middle of the city. In between this there was a small market which we walked down and bought some BBQ meat on sticks as a little snack. After walking around for a few hours we made our way back to the guesthouse and made use of the pool and relaxed with a couple of beers. In the evening we went to a night bazaar with was incredible. It stretched the whole length of a large street on both sides, went into two small mall areas and into a separate large square. We browsed the shops, Graham bought presents for some people back home, we ate at some street stalls, and finished off with a pint in an Irish bar. It was a incredible first day in Chiang Mai and we were all looking forward to the rest of our time there.

Our second day in Chiang Mai was one of the best of the whole trip. We had decided the night previous to go to Chiang Mai zoo and for one reason….pandas. We got up early to a little bit of rain and made our way to the zoo. It is cheap to get in the main zoo, 100 baht, and then the same again to get in the panda section and there is also an aquarium which again you pay extra. We decided to do the lot and were not disappointed. We did the aquarium first. The highlight of the aquarium was the underwater tunnel which boasts to be the largest in the world (don’t know how true this is) but it was great. When we got there, there was a fish feeding show where a diver goes into the tanks and feeds absolutely massive fish that frantically swim around him trying to get fed. It was great to watch and we could not believe the size of some of the fish. The rays were also cool as they slid up the glass and you could see underneath them, they again were the size of the diver. Around the other side of the tunnel there was the same show but with small sharks, that was equally entertaining.

From the aquarium we went straight to see the pandas, as there was a school group turned up and we wanted to get there before them. It was unbelievable. The first panda was behind glass and sat in a upright position eating small bits of wood, we had never seen anything like it. We then went into the second section and it was even more incredible. There were two more pandas, separated, but there was no glass. We were with 6 feet of them, totally alone, they were sat upright in actual chairs! Again all they did was eat, one of them got up and walked around 8 feet before flopping down and laying on its stomach. We spent ages in there just taking photos and quietly watching them before the school group turned up. The pandas just sat there eating, watching us it was an amazing experience.

The rest of the zoo was also great and it is nice to see that there is a zoo in Thailand that is a good standard; a couple of enclosures are a bit small but there a different league to all our other experiences of Thai zoos. Other firsts for us were Koalas, a black panther and white tigers. Chelsea’s favourite came at the end though when we went to see the Hippos. They were absolutely massive and you could buy food for 10 baht and feed them. As soon as we turned up they came up to us and opened their huge mouths. We had to buy food. It was awesome, the hippos were not 3 feet away as we threw bits of potatoes into their mouths.

We were very tired though after walking around the zoo, it is very hilly and spread out so we went back to the guesthouse to relax. The plan for the night was to meet Dannii and Adam who had come to Chiang Mai after leaving the safari. We met them in the evening at a nice riverside bar, we had a good meal, and plenty of drinks listening to some live music. Then Danniis friend a tuk- tuk driver turned up and took all SIX of us in his tuk-tuk to a jazz bar. It was cramped and hilarious and the tuk-tuk driver continually said 'oh my Buddha!' the whole way. This was packed so we only had one drink before going to another bar where we stayed until it closed at 2am, listening to live bands. We were all having a great time, drunk way too much and Graham befriended the tuk tuk driver. It was a great night and an incredible day.

The day after, we planned to meet up with Dannii and Adam again to go to a waterfall for a more relaxing day. Chelsea had a hangover from hell, so hardly spoke for most of the day and slept a lot, including the back of the taxi while we all had breakfast. The waterfall itself known as sticky waterfall as you can climb up it was quite far out from the city but was worth it. We took a bit of a picnic and some beers and relaxed at the bottom before tackling the climb up, Chelsea had come around a bit by this point and even did the climb. The waterfall really is sticky, although there are some slippery spots, it is around 40 degrees so it is not difficult and you can practically walk up. We all managed to get to the top without any slips. Graham loved it and was up and down two or three times.

By this point the night before was catching up with us. We went back for a nap before going out for dinner. As it was our last night in Chiang Mai, the three of us went out alone. We were back early however and retired so we could be up early to make the most of our last day before the train ride back to Bangkok.

Our final day in Chiang Mai, we decided to rent some bikes and visit ia temple in the surrounding hills called Doi Sutep. We left early and rode the bikes up the meandering road that climbs the hill. It was a great drive and gave incredible view over the city. At the top, the temple was on another small hill that we had to climb around 300 steps to get to. It was worth it though and was very busy with both worshippers and tourists alike. It was basically a large golden stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines, it was very ornate and we spent quite a while slowly looking around before driving back down the hill. We passed the rest of the time before our train arrived talking our lunch and a few beers, tomorrow would be our last full day and it had gone so fast. We got the train at 5pm and arrived in Bangkok around 9am Friday morning.

Liam’s Dad was not really looking forward to seeing Bangkok, it was too busy, noisy and dirty for him, and us being there now 7 times are starting to agree. We took him to one of our favourite sights however, Wat Po, which houses the massive reclining Buddha. We spent over an hour walking around the huge complex, which has many temples most of which were tourist free as many leave after the reclining Buddha. From here we took the ferry up the river as it is way more scenic and nowhere near has hectic as the roads. We took Graham for walks around the mad Khao San Road area before going back to get ready for the night. Graham flew back early Saturday morning so planned to take the last bus that night to the airport. We decided to spend our last few hour together at Chinatown as it is one of the best parts in Bangkok in our opinion.

We arrived a little before dark so went to a tiny street stall and bought a couple of beers (the staff went to the 7 eleven and bought the beer before selling them back to us). They stall sold BBQ chicken which the elderly owners tempted us with so we ordered some. They were delicious, served with a spicy satay dip we had twenty but could have eaten twice as many. After we ordered some toasted bread to soak up the rest of the sauce... it was that yummy! Afterwards we went to a street stall for our main meal that we remembered from the last time we were here. It is a stall where the chef cooks all the dishes in a couple of woks, he is always busy and he is super entertaining just to watch him cook, he never has anything written down and there is always a constant flame from the wok. He is so quick, no meal take more than a couple of minutes. Been the last supper we went all out, ordered deep fried pork, shrimps with noodles and a whole fish for us the share Thai style. It was one of the best meals we have ever had, Liam’s Dad agreed and we lapped it up in minutes. Graham and us alike loved Chinatown. The whole street is alight with neon signs and all the streets are packed with street vendors selling everything you could possibly want to eat. People wander through pushing carts filled with all sorts and the traffic is wall to wall non-stop. It is busy but exhilarating. You sit on small stools at the side of the road eating some of the cheapest but most delicious food going.

Before Graham left for the airport we had time for a few beers to say goodbye. It was sad to see him go, we had an amazing week and it was awesome to share this experience with him. We hope he has enjoyed it has much as we have. He is already talking about coming to see us so we very much hope to see him again, maybe in India….