Ansel: Returning to Thailand feels really good to us both. After the rush of Hong Kong there is a graciousness in the slower pace here. Originally we were to have spent one night in Bangkok and then flown to Chiang Mai, but thanks to Sara's unmatchable charm we fenaggled two tickets on a flight one day earlier. We returned to one of our favorite...

Okay, okay, we said that we would be posting more frequently since we are back in SE Asia and the land of cheap internet, but the truth is... we've been busy. Between the time on the beach, the books to read, the sights to see, the internet to surf.... Actually, we have been spending most of our internet time doing research. "What kind of resear...

As I prepare to leave Thailand and move onwards to my next adventure, the question remains: ten years since my year-long stay, is Thailand how I remembered it? Not surprisingly, yes and no. Here are some unbiased (ha ha) observations. The People: I remembered the people as being wonderfully friendly, striking up a conversation practically anywhe...

Not much to report in the last few days - we've mostly spent our time sleeping and eating to recover from the trek. Had a wonderful massages the day after our return - Phil had two guys tag-teaming to get his back stetched out - but felt amazing afterwards (we are sure he's got taller !) - and both of us for 300B (less than a fiver) Yesterday we...

The rest of our time in Chiang Mai has been spent eating, drinking, sleeping and shopping in lots of different markets. There have been three highlights though. On monday night we went to Wat Suan Dok to experience the Monk Chat. It is literally what it says it is, you go in and sit and chat to a monk. When we arrived outside the chat room we we...

CHIANG MAI It seems that every bus journey we do is worse than the last, and our trip up to Chiang Mai was no exception. We decided to get a bus from Khao San Rd, because that way we wouldn't have the hassle of getting to and from the train station. Big mistake! First we waited one hour, inside the travel agents, to be picked up. Eventually a mi...