Firstly, Cheryl wanted you to know that she did have “one of her headaches” in Sangkhlaburi but Neil also had an incident he failed to mention on the way there which is what has sparked this entry.

We have now come to realise that what dictates our movements around Thailand by bus and train is our own bodily movements! The bus trip to S’buri was about 2 hours. Neil was having some “minor” tummy tremors which turned into a major earthquake about 5 km from our destination. He had been doing his best to keep his sphincter in check but not far from town he had to rush to the front of the bus, wave his toilet roll at the driver and respectfully suggest that it would be in all our interests if he stopped for a few minutes. He gladly obliged and Neil shot off the bus to find an appropriate spot. It was a wall which happily provided a comfortable place for him to make himself comfortable. However, the driver reversed the bus to park it in a safer place which gave us all a superb view of Neil’s arse hanging over the wall…..not a pretty sight!! Sadly, I didn’t have the forethought to take a picture as Neil said he would have definitley done if it was me!!

Now more observations of Thailand, it’s people and it’s culture.

1. People are very friendly and apart from Bangkok taxi drivers generally like to help. When we were taking one of Neil’s shortcuts at the Hell Fire Pass to get us to the main road we found out it was actually a “long cut”….heard this before Leanne & Paul? A steep up hill, baking sunshine and little shade. Up popped a couple in a beat up old car, stopped, no ability to communicate other than by sign language and the name of Thong Pha Phum ( our destination), we got in and they took us out of their way to the nearest bus stop….so, so kind.

A second example of this is the people at VN Guesthouse. When we went of piste they looked after our cases for free and when we returned we were welcomed back like family….so nice.

2. Buses either go very fast or very slow and trains always go slow.

3. There appears to be no concept of property maintenance. Build it, make it look superb then sit back and wait for it to fall down! There is also no concept of real cleaning with bleach or chemical etc. Things look grimy even though they may not be dirty.

4. Thai’s always appear to be eating and now come in 2 different sizes. Traditional stick thin tiny and now Big Bhudda Size!

5. Thai’s, young and old, are very much in tune with their religion and their culture…..so different to the youth of the UK. Their respect for the Royal Family is unprecedented. The funeral of the kings sister was watched on TV by the whole nation and went on for days and days.

6. Now in Trang and it’s wet!! However, it is warm rain. It seems that the monsoon is hanging on later this year and there has been some flooding and some people killed. Gladly, we haven’t seen any of this, just swollen rivers.

7. Despite the news reports, we have seen nothing of the bombs and riots….long may this continue.

8. The Thai people have little respect for health and safety. Motor bikes go everywhere, on pavements and through markets. The whole family will ride on a motor bike with no helmets including the 3 month old baby in mothers arms.

9. Thai’s have TV’s swiched on from dawn until dusk even if they aren’t watching….which isn’t often! Most annoying when you want to have a conversation or a quiet meal.

More to come as we go along.

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