Long time no blog entry – this is for several reasons, the first being that I been struck down with food poisoning twice and the second being we were for several days on Koh Tao where we refused to pay the 2 baht a minute internet charge.

We spent longer in Thailand that originally planned, this is because Laos was cut out and we then went diving, so it seems apt that I should spend a fair while talking about the “land of the free”.

On the what we did front – we achieved a fair amount, further to what I have already told you about Chiang Mai we also spent a day touring The Golden Triangle. There are pics of the Golden Triangle currently on our blog but I should explain what it is better - its the part of the Mekong River which seems Thailand, Laos and Burma all come together, indeed I got to spend a whole 20 minutes in Laos where I got to try the infamous beer Laos and then deeply regret that I had ever eaten anything but noodles because 20 minutes was all I was going to get there. We also spent a whole five minutes in Burma which must count for the shortest day trip ever and I do actually fell slightly bad that I contributed 5 US dollars to the Burmese government (I will refuse to call this Myanmar because I do not recognize their government) but it was all for a visa extension for Thailand because time was a bit time – yes its an incredibly stupid system, I don't see why you can't just go to an immigration office like they have in every other country.

We also went down to Koh Tao which is an island on the east coast, as I didn't much fancy going to Phuket because well I imagine its a bit like Goa on the “Brits Abroad” front. Koh Tao is diving central with about 40 dive operators on a tiny island which only has dirt roads and cold water bungalows but does have a 7-11 and a load of ATMS! We went to do the PADI Open Water Scuba Diving course and I can tell you all that Mark is a qualified open water diver – I'm not. I had major problems with my ears on the first confined water dive in just 2 meters of water which isn't a good sign, after a few days off I tried again and successfully completed the dive only to then try my second open water dive and totally mess up my ears trying to do the “Controlled Emergency Swimming Accent”, I couldn't do it because the pain in my ears was so immense and I felt like a total failure and I probably will never dive again, if you felt the pain I did, you wouldn't. On diving, loads of people seem to get really really into it, but I don't understand why, its really not my cup of tea. A lot of people get excited about the weightless, I just felt awkward with 7.5 kgs around my waist and it was a real effort carrying everything before i got in the water (something which i really didn't enjoy doing either – I had visions of drowning and had to be encouraged for about 5 minutes every time i jumped in). People also like fish – I like fish but with chips I don't get excited about seeing them I also find coral nice for about 5 minutes and shamefully think it makes nice jewelery. So thats diving out for me and I will now attempt to find another hobby which looks “cool”.

On to opinions as everyone who has read the Indian chapters knows I like giving:

Thailand is my least favourite country on MarkWorldTor – I think its crap because only come here because its a lot like home and if you think your hardcore because you travel Thailand – you're not. Now time to put India against Thailand so you can see why I hate it so much.

1. People

   India – friendly to the point they really start to annoy you, will always try and help even if they can't, bloody good at selling you stuff even though some will try and rip you off

   Thailand – some are friendly yeah but if they are in the tourist business they are incredibly rude and obnoxious, bless the guy in our Bangkok guest house was even openly racist, those combined with an incident where Mark was told to fuck off and mercenary nature of the Thai business people leaves a sour taste in my mouth

   India scores one!

2. Food

   India – really nice and didn't poison me once

   Thailand – managed to poison me twice even though we always play it safe– Thai green curry is done better by Mr Grossmass

   India scores one!

3. Transport

   India – nice trains but sever lack of tourist friendly buses – plus Ram the man

   Thailand – nice tourist buses that always show Doom

   Thailand scores one!

4. Hostels

   India – which the exception of Pushkar and Mumbai Indian places were pretty good

   Thailand – only place where shared bathroom was the only way we could afford to stay places, not great accommodation wise but still beats Malaysia

   India – scores one!

5. Traffic

   India – insane amounts of motorbikes but it goes slow and thats why they get so frustrated

   Thailand – cars and they move fast

   India scores one!

6. Sights

   India – Taj Mahal, forts, Goan beaches, colonial buildings and cows

   Thailand – temples- but Angkor beats the socks off them, nice beaches, not a great jungle, hill tribes are more like slackers living in the forests

   India scores one!

7. Knock offs

   India – none

   Thailand – loads but expensive

   Thailand scores one!

8. Frustration levels

   India – you already know!

   Thailand – late buses and rude sellers

   Thailand scores one!

India 5, Thailand 3 – we have a new least favourite country – well done Thailand you're people have let you down well – well at the least the ones in the tourist industry!

We are currently in Malaysia and Mark loves it so he's probably gonna have a lot to say about it. I want to say a few words. Kuala Lumpur is a great city – however the accommodation in Chinatown where we are staying is the grimmest so far – all we can afford is a room with no window and a crap fan its not been great but we have managed to watch loads of knocked off DVDs!

We move onto Singapore in 3 days and I will probably have loads to say about that.

Take care

Vicki