Anyway, after a day in bed we were ready to explore Koh Tao. Originally we’d planned to go island hopping over two or three islands but Koh Tao charmed us so much that we ended up staying 6 nights.

It’s known as Turtle Island because of a giant palm tree-covered hump which slopes like a giant turtle shell over the centre of the island. The place has been very much modernised (read Westernised) but done in such a tasteful way that it complements its natural beauty. And what natural beauty – prone longboats bob in a placid turquoise sea that laps at a beach of powdery white sand; restaurants light up the beach by night, with barbecues and, of course, happy hours aplenty; further back, narrow walking streets are home to expensive guest houses and bars and restaurants, some of which wouldn’t look out of place in the West End. Unfortunately the prices wouldn’t be out of place in the West End either! It is exorbitantly expensive here, that’s the only down side.

We managed to find a wooden bungalow for 6 pounds a night, which is bleedin’ miraculous given the price of most of them! It didn’t have its own beach, so we nonchalantly marched down to the resort next door and staked our claim on their sunbeds and hammocks, glaring at the honeymooners who looked at us suspiciously! At night we drunk cheap rum & coke and played cards, and we found a restaurant that was much cheaper (and therefore busier) than anywhere else. In this way we kept our expenses down.

Everyone here seemingly hires out a motorbike or some sort of off-road vehicle so we thought we’d give that a go too. One day we got a gleaming new scooter and another we got a clapped out old dirt bike that we had to take back, but not before filling it with petrol!

Tonight though, it’s back on the road (or sea). We’ve got an overnight trip on a cargo boat to Surat Thani, on the Thai mainland, followed by a trifling 9 hour bus ride to Butterworth in Malaysia where we’ll stay overnight before making our way to Kuala Lumpur. Let’s hope this journey is not as bad as the last.

The first day we rented bicycles. The bikes were set to a perfect gear that required minimum effort to attain a leisurely pace. Once we got used to the inane traffic signals – Amy had a few near-misses (don’t worry mum my road coordination is much better now!!) – the bikes were a terrific way to see the city.

The next day we went on what they call a trek in the jungle; it was more of an activity day really. We visited an orchid and butterfly sanctuary, went on an elephant trek, dropped in on a tribe of ‘long-necks’, went bamboo rafting, visited a waterfall, and went white-water rafting.

The elephant trekking was great fun for us, but not so much for the poor elephants. The tribe of ‘long-necks’ was an interesting aside – the woman of the village disfigure themselves according to an ancient Burmese legend by artifically elongating their necks using gold bands weighing over 6 kilos. But undoubtedly the activity of the day was white-water rafting! There were 6 boats, each with a team of 4 or 5 people, all racing eachother to the bottom of these frothing, rocky rapids, and trying to get eachother as wet as possible in the process. We loved it, a fully active day in amazing surroundings.

After a few thoroughly pleasant days in Chiang Mai we caught two public buses (the last of which was a real bone-shaker which left us sweaty and saddlesore!) to get to Chiang Khong, the Laos-Thai border.

Khao San road really was a shock. There were people – mainly backpackers – milling about everywhere; music blaring from the many bars which lined the street; hawkers hawking miniature Buddhas, lighters and these annoying little instruments that sound like toads; colourful market stalls and dubious street-food sellers; the requisite Arabs offering a new suit every 2 yards; and the whole thing lit up by an eerie neon glow from the multitude of signs.

We found a lovely little hostel straight away, with our own bathroom and a swimming pool, so we had one night there. Unfortunately it was 14 pounds a night – far too much on our backpacker’s allowance! – so we moved to what can only be described as a room with grubby walls, without the luxury of so much as a window!

Are we being ripped off yet?

We did fall for the oldest trick in the book though: a tuk-tuk driver offered to take us round the main sights of Bangkok for 30 baht (about 60p). Great, we thought, and it started off well – he took us to another Big Buddha (this one much more authentic!) and a couple of palaces, but then we started being taken to various shops in the hope that we’d buy something and he’d get a backhander! In the end it was all harmless, and we ended on good terms with the driver. But it is still galling to fell like you’ve been hoodwinked.

Bangkok feels more like you’d imagine an Asian city to be: hot, smelly, dirty, raucous, and burdgeouning with slums and poverty. It feels like people are always trying to rip you off, which most of the time they are!

If you can’t stand the heat…get the hell outta Bangkok.

We didn’t think much of Bangkok at all, and couldn’t wait to leave, so we booked a night train to Changi Mai (14 hours!) We arrived about 2 hours ago after a surprisingly painless journey – we had a bunk each so the time flew by! Chang Mai is so much more relaxed than Bangkok, and we both feel much happier for being here. The hostel is lovely, more like a hotel really; it’s not so hot, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!