The only seats available back to Bangkok were on the economy bus, so Tiny and I decided to head back so that we could do some of the tourist bits and the others would follow later on the VIP bus. They had probably managed to find a snooker hall in Chiang Mai.

The first day back in Bangkok started early as we arrived at 6.30am, and it turned into one of the most 'eventful' of the whole year away, potentially bringing the year to a premature end. Consequently, this day warrants a more detailed account.

The next day we set-off on an organised tour to the Floating Market, via some salt making fields and a factory that makes sugar from coconuts. It would never occur to us to visit a sugar factory in England, but here coach loads roll in for a gorp-round.

The best way to do some shopping at the Floating Market is by boat, so like true tourists we hired a boat and set-off round the market, participating in the obligatory bartering. After arguing for 15 minutes to save 10p, we bought a selection of obscure tropical fruits most of which we had no idea what they were.

Back in Bangkok, after having made a couple of diversions to various temples, we met the others (in the snooker hall) and set about organising the next leg of our journey. The mini-bus that arrived to take us to the bus depot was, unfortunately, full. In England this would have been a problem, but not in Thailand. Under the driver's insistence, three of us got on the roof rack with the luggage, whilst the other two (which included me) stood on the back bumper and then held on for dear life as he swerved through the streets of Bangkok. As I have already said, road safety is not something they give a damn about here.