Thats Laos for now

Preluded by a near-30 hour journey, the relaxed charm of Vientiane feels invaluable for our mental well being. Our first day we watched the sun glide over the Mekong river, darkening Thailand and Tango-ing Laos, with shared beers at a rooftop bar before eating at a French bistro. Ordering the cheapest wine, we were brought a more expensive bottle by mistake, or not, either way I nodded. The next time a waiter presents a bottle I'll make sure to examine it rather than accepting without looking, continuing my conversation and paying twice the price when the bill arrives.

The next day we filled with a cafe culture of coffee and newspapers before meandering along shady Rues (if one can do so along such long, wide roads) pilfering bookshops and rifling makeshift markets before perusing various religious spots. All the while it's been hotter than the sun, Lynn.

Coming tomorrow: Georgie is going to cycle for the first time in years. Stay tuned.

Bangkok dangerous baby

Arriving in Bangkok we were slightly worried we were going to have the same problems we did in Delhi (made even worse by the fact NatWest decided to stop my card working without telling me) but our fears were soon put to rest and we were flying down the metro system to our destination. Daniel, king of directions, managed to find our hostel which was hidden down a back street with ease and we were pleasantly surprised with our minimalist but ultra modern room. Our first stop was the ginormous leaning Buddha at Wat Pho and after several failed attempts at getting a taxi to take us there on the meter we decided to be proper travellers and take the un-air conditioned and very sweaty bus. We were lucky to meet a friendly lady though who told us exactly what to do and where to go and jumped off right outside. The Buddha itself was fascinating and you could get lost wandering around the surrounding temples.

After a bit of religious culture we decided to indulge in a bit of drinking culture and hit the Kao San Road. We got nicely drunk on very few beers and watched other westerners antics on the street below before deciding it was past our bedtime.

Another highlight (especially for me) was the massive weekend market, which was a maze of stalls selling everything from clothes, to furniture, to pets. It was a tad overwhelming though especially in the heat so all I have sent home is a candelabra, a set of Oakley wrap-arounds and a small horse (you can look after him till I get home can't you mum? Thanks!).

Trouble in paradise

An over night train journey, two coaches and a tuk tuk got us to argument central, otherwise known as Ao Nang in Krabi. We had decided not to book any accommodation beforehand so spent a sweaty afternoon trekking around the town in the blazing heat trying to find somewhere. This, along with me being a lot more fussy than Daniel, led to us both getting crabby and ending up having a conference in McDonald's where we resolved our issues and checked in to J Mansion. The only thing to report about here really are the terrifying men holding lizards on the street and trying to make you hold them for money and the small street of go go bars with neon lights and a scattering of lady boys.

Next stop was a long tail boat to Railay Bay, which was paradise if it weren't for the monsoon rains that decided to join us for the majority of the time. We enjoyed swinging on rope swings tied to rocks over the sea and lounging in the joy bar with a delicious pizza by the mangroves. A speed boat tour took us island hopping to Ko Phi Phi and Maya Bay, which is where they filmed The Beach, so that meant, although it was beautiful,it was also jam-packed with tourists. We saw crystal seas at Bamboo Island and monkeys in trees overhanging the sea on the aptly named Monkey Island before stopping off to do some snorkelling. This was a both a wonderful and terrifying experience, with amazing coral and brightly coloured fish that did not seem at all scared and swam so close to you, I was literally surrounded at one point! Another highlight was on the way to the second snorkelling spot when our guide told us not to touch the coral as it could kill it and also some of it can be very sharp and cut your feet and at the same time the lady next to Daniel was looking at his blood covered toes and stifling a laugh. Caught red footed!

A ferry to Phuket and our last stop in Thailand. We were the only people in our great little hotel in Kata so we had the tiny pool to ourselves which was great as the sun had decided to make an appearance and even got breakfast delivered to us in bed. We found a great little reggae bar right on the beach and sipped beer and whiskey (Daniel must be trying to reclaim his Scottish roots) to our hearts content. That was until some noisy Australians started belching and asking them to play Peter Andre and Marvin Gaye. Laterz Thailand!

Sri Lanka

We spent a wonderful, relaxing week with mama and papa Brown which was much needed after the hectic time we had in India. We stayed in a beautiful hotel, with the comfiest bed in the world ever, which had proper pillows not tiny little rocks in sacks!

Whilst here, we ate delicious food, visited luscious tea plantations high in the mountains, rode magnificently huge old elephants, made mates with monkeys and sunbathed in between the cool, green fresh water pool and the clear blue sea.