November 29th to 30th Up from Chiang Mai – 3 and 3/4 hours by road – is Chiang Rai, famed for temples and waterfalls. After the madness and crowds of Chiang Mai during Yi Peng and Loy Krathong it is an oasis of calm and laid back vibes. Any town with a mad gold clocktower…

November 26th to 29th Being in Chiang Mai for the 27th and 28th November was the only real set point in our travels. The Festival of Light is a must see – or so all the travel blogs have you believe, and for the real deal you should be in Northern Thailand. We had begun…

November 27th From Lampung we travelled to Chiang Mai on 26th November – mostly for the annual Loy Krathong and Ye Ping festivals which were happening on 28th and 29th November this year, plus this is THE route for travel in these parts.  However, as well as the festival of lights, northern Thailand hits the…

November 22 to 25 Our next stop was the quiet country city of Lampang, chosen as somewhere different between Bangkok and Chiang Mia, a slice of genuine Thai life, without the tourists. First though we had to get there… Due to our customary lack of planning by the time we decided to go North all…

Tuesday 21st Nov to Wednesday 22nd. Kanchanaburi and Hellfire pass I drive ‘quick quick’ said the driver. We were relieved, as a succession of cancelled Grabs this morning in Bangkok central meant we had missed the planned early train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. Backup plan involved booking a 3 hour bus ride, on the hoof,…

And so to Bangkok, a complete contrast from the quiet of Khao Sok and the Phuket beach vibe. It’s a noisy, busy big city with poorly integrated transport links, and the traffic is notorious. The road system is a labyrinth – every journey seems to involve multiple switchbacks and u-turns – and the public transport…