Deja vu

Today was almost a replica of the day in Erawan national park in December. This time, I was fortunate enough not to break my glasses jumping off rocks. To the right of me are Stew, Ryan, Rob, Jo, Sean and Todd.

But you could do that in England, surely

Drunk again, but only on the finest beer Southeast Asia has to offer - Beer Lao. On this occasion, the excuse was that it was the day before Rob's birthday (pictured to the left of me in the green shirt).

Luang Prabang

My first destination in Laos, Luang Prabang is a large city in the north of the country. Like a lot of Laos, the city seems hardly to have been built yet; the pothole-filled roads are lined with piles of red bricks that are gradually being laid as pavements, and crumbling colonial French buildings sit alongside concrete shacks with corrugated iron roofs.

The Mekong

The slowboat travels down the Mekong river into northern Laos. On the second day of the journey, it was a South African lad's birthday, so we all got drunk and I whipped out the cheap guitar I'd bought in Mae Sot for a singalong. Later, the birthday boy was dunked head first into the Mekong - no laughing matter, because the river is filthy.

Pakbeng

I crossed the border from Chiang Khong in Thailand to Huay Xai in Laos, and took a slowboat from the border to Luang Prabang. The boat takes two days to reach Luang Prabang with an overnight stop in Pakbeng, which is really nothing more than a collection of guesthouses and restaurants (and drug dealers) aimed at the foreign tourist market. Oh, and feral dogs too.

The kindness of strangers

I lost my passport in Chiang Khong, the night before I was due to cross the border to Laos. I decided to wait an agonising 24 hours before reporting it missing to the British Consulate, and went instead to the local police to notify them. The following night, ready to travel back to Chiang Mai, I went for one last meal. As the restaurant owner handed me the menu, he looked at my face and asked, "Did you lose a passport recently?" The police had found it, and instead of going to my guesthouse or emailing me as I had asked, they took it to this restaurant which I'd never set foot in before and showed the owner my picture. The following morning I collected it and was free to travel again.

The whole ordeal would have been a nightmare but for the kindness of Claire and O, pictured here, who motorbiked me to the police station, fed me beer and cheered me up when I was down.

O

This is O, the Mongolian owner of Teepee Bar in Chiang Khong, in all his glory.

The Golden Triangle

The Golden Triangle is the place where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar converge. From this lookout point you can see all three countries at once, separated only by the confluence of the Mekong and Sai rivers. We arrived there just as dusk was falling.

I couldn't resist posting a second photo of the monuments there.

Myanmar

My Thailand visa expired on 24th January, so I made the trip by motorbike to Mae Sai on the border with Myanmar. For 250 Baht, you can cross into Tachilek in Myanmar and stay there until 5pm. Myanmar is a lot poorer than Thailand, and Tachilek had a thriving black market for all sorts of goods. On return to Thailand, I was automatically issued with a new visa for 30 days, free of charge.

Tha Ton

A very sleepy, one horse town in north Thailand. From here, I was able to get a slowboat to Chiang Rai.

Rooftop bar

A little ultraviolet haven from the bustle of the city below.

Chiang Mai

Trying on sunglasses at the night bazaar in Chiang Mai. Tempted though I was, I didn't buy these dashing goggles.

Temple dragons

I lost a lot of great photos of the temples in Bangkok when my camera memory card got scrambled, so to make up for it here's one from a temple in Chiang Mai.

All nighter

On my last night in Pai, Marc, Thiago and I stayed up drinking by the campfire until it was almost dawn, then went to the hot springs to lounge in scorching hot water and drink whisky and coke. We got back to the guesthouse as the sun came up.

Get down!

Jose gets grooving round the campfire, while I play guitar with a Swedish singer and a Canadian flute player.

Reggae festival

On the night of the full moon, there was reggae festival in Pai. In between the acts on the main stage, fire dancers put on a show for the audience.

Chips

Back from the caves, in my full biking regalia.

Dimitri in the caves

"British, be chareful, is very slippy."

Tham Lot

I went with Dimitri to see Tham Lot, one of the longest caves in mainland Southeast Asia. From the mouth of the cave, you catch a raft into the inner chambers.

The hat

Making our own entertainment round the campfire...

...Marc overdoses on the hat...

...Susan gets in on the action...

...back with its rightful owner.

Dimitri the Greek

"English, you come here, make many many problems my friend."

Family Hut

In Pai, I stayed at a guesthouse called Family Hut which was across the river just outside town. Every night there was a campfire, and the locals would cook sticky rice in bamboo on it, and bury sweet potatoes in the ashes. Five times a day, you could hear the Muslim call to prayer drifting across from the mosque in town, and sometimes, late at night, mortar fire in the hills on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Yin Yang bar

My swimming pool companions from today - John, Melissa and Jenny - sharing a bucket at the Yin Yang bar on its opening night.

Heaven

I went with a couple of friends to the swimming pool today. We were the only people there, the weather was perfect, and the bar had an outdoor speaker system so good it was like there was a live band playing. (The music was Steppenwolf in concert, for those who are interested).

Hot springs

The hot springs outside Pai are divided into different levels. The top pool smells of sulphur and is too hot to touch - people boil eggs in it instead. Each level down is slightly cooler, so you can pick your favourite temperature, although you have to bear in mind that unscrupulous people upstream might be too lazy to get out when taking a leak.

Thai wedding

In Pai, I was invited to a Thai wedding. The family walked through town in a procession to collect the groom from his house, then took him to collect the bride from hers, which was one of the bungalows at our guesthouse. After the blessings were bestowed everyone present, myself included, tied the couple's wrists together with pieces of string, as pictured here. After the ceremony, we were treated to a selection of Thai and Shan tribal food.

Pai

Pai, Pai, Pai. If you ever go to Thailand, go here. It's a haven for "characters" of all shapes and sizes. I'll post some photos of them soon.

Paleface no make trouble

Another gem from the erudite pen of Big Chief Writing Signs.

Yet another temple

This is Wat Hua Wiang, in the centre of Mae Hong Song, near the day market. Like a lot of wats near the border with Myanmar, the architecture is in the Burmese style.

Mary mother of God!

The roads outside Mae Hong Son are mile upon mile of hairpin bends through the mountains, such as the one pictured here. What the photo doesn't really show is the pant-wetting gradient of the road.

Easy rider

This morning I hired a motorbike to visit some of the sights outside town. I couldn't resist taking a snap of the little lady. Driving fast in the countryside is ironically a lot easier and safer than driving slowly through town. If you rev too hard in 1st gear the bike goes speeding off, and the natural reaction of pulling back only revs it harder. I managed to get through 24 hours without killing myself or others though.

On a mountain top

On top of a mountain on the edge of town is the Buddhist temple Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu. I got to the top just as the sun was going down and took this picture. Some novice monks had tiny hot air balloons, made of a balloon with a tea-light candle suspended underneath, which they were letting go into the sky.

Mae Hong Son

This is the lake, Nong Jong Kham, in Mae Hong Son. This was the first thing I saw after arriving here today; the photo doesn't do justice to the late afternoon sun.

Mae Sariang

After Mae Sot I travelled to Mae Sariang, another border town further north. The road between the two towns is patrolled by the Thai border police who regularly stop vehicles, looking for Burmese people among the passengers. There's very little in Mae Sariang itself, but it's about the furthest you can go in a day from Mae Sot on the local sawngthaew truck.