While in Bangkok we visited Wot Poh and saw the reclining Buddha.



It was massive and some of the other temples were pretty impressive as well.



Check this one out!



There was a section with over 300 versions of Buddha.





One of my favorite versions is Buddha with an umbrella and a handbag.



Thai people are amazing builders. Have a look at this office building that looks like an elephant. It also happens to be the building that Michael's brother teaches English in. He works in the trunk apparently. Two thirds of the building are unfinished and unoccupied and it is a grave reminder of the Asian Financial meltdown like many other white elephants around Bangkok it was unfinished when the cash dried up.



The next day we headed off to a place called Railay in the South. Best way to get there is to fly and when we fly we choose to fly NOK AIR.



The staff are so friendly.





We landed at Krabi airport and took a bus to a boat to Railay.





We went mountain climbing and got a view from the top looking back to our hotel.





Here is the view from the hotel looking back at the mountain.



Then we went into some caves in a hidden lagoon.





A local shop for local people.



We nearly bought a block of land that was going really cheap with a manicured garden but changed our minds on close inspection. The snorkelling under it was fun to do.



I may not have mentioned that we happen to be in Thailand during Songkran, the New Year Celebration and that means the whole country celebrates by having a massive water fight. You need to be prepared because anyone is a target, especially Farang or foreigners like us. It was the most fun I have had in a long time and seeing that Australia is in a desperate drought, it was decadent. You had to arm yourself with a bucket or water pistol and we did both. Sometimes it became a bit much as it went on for days and you had no dry clothes left. The symbolism is to wash away any negative aspects to the last year to clear the way for the new year. See how well it works!





Another feature of Songkran is the annual beauty pageant. Not wanting to miss out on anything we got into training.





We stopped off to see an orchid farm and there were some beautiful flowers there.



And some bizzare ones as well...



Next we got back on a plane and headed for Chang Mai in the North. Here we bathed in rivers, swam in hot springs, canoed through caves, rode our scooters through town while being sprayed and splashed with water and relaxed in our huts by the creek.









The graffiti situation here is appalling. This example was produced thousands of years ago. Someone should do something about that. Bit of Jif will fix that up.









Although it is common place to have 4 or 5 people on one bike we had one bike between two for comfort sake.



Toi introduced us to one of her relatives and we had many Mai Thai's with the wonderful food that Thailand has to offer.





In fact we loved the food so much that we did a cooking course and made four dishes. Here we are preparing the red curry and green curry from scratch.











And the end result was delicious! Have a look.

Pad Thai



Tofu with vegetables in Green Curry



Mushroom salad



Egg noodles with vegetables in red curry



Well that was the Thailand experience and it was a lot of fun. I recommend to anyone to go visit during Songkran and a special Kop Kun Crap or thank you to Simon and Toi for looking after us and showing off your beautiful country.

Next off to Greece to do a gig for Vodafone, in fact getting on a plane in a few hours. See you soon,

George...now 40! Doesn't time fly.

Tags: Holidays