We have arrived in the mother country. The Black Eyed Peas were very good in concert, and it was worth hanging around Bangkok another day. Another bonus of sticking around was that I had told Gary (My cousin) the wrong day to pick us up from the airport at Hethrow so the extra day worked in perfectly with the incorrect dates I had given him.

Gary flats is very cool, just the sort of thing we hope to find to rent (if we can afford it), two bedroom, living room, kitchen + bathroom. Pretty typical flat layout but decent sized rooms.

Yesterday we managed to get our bank accounts open, recieved our debit and credit cards from HSBC bank. Of note, there are no fees on anything. No monthly fees, no transaction or use charges, so thats all very sweet and a tad different from the huge NZ bank fees. (Only fees are if you go into overdraft or use the card outside of the UK)

This is by far the furtherest I have been away from home.. and I'm not sure I can get any further. I quite like London, from my first impressions, all the building are very large, old and look classy. We got a day pass on the underground yesterday and it was very easy to get around, so we sort of played monopoly and went to all the usual places like Piccidilly, Regents Park, Pall Mall, Kings cross etc..

I have job interview this afternoon, and another tomorrow, so we have offically started to look for jobs online and through agencies. We will let you know how we get on.

Well, our holiday is drawing to a close. This (unfortunately) means that it's time to move into the real world and start looking for jobs in England - at least we'll look good doing it in our new suits.

Yesterday we spent the morning at a water-skiing/wake-boarding lake at Bung Taco with Derek. This is a man-made lake with a cable-rope that runs in a rectangle, this is all good in theory til you fall off at the far-away corner, and have to swim and walk back, needless to say, Aaron managed to fall off at this corner everytime. In the afternoon, Alex took us to Fortune Town - a department store with only computers and electronics. Just as well Aaron isn't writing this bit cos you'd have a blow-by-blow account - 'like a kid in a candy store'.

Today things have been pretty cruisy in preparation for the Black Eyed Peas tonight. We met up with Derek and Alex and a few of their work buddies for a lunch of goose (I can still taste the garlic sauce) and now we are chilling at their place while they slave away at work.

Well, if you don't hear from us for a day or two, don't worry! The next post will be from England... which I imagine will be 'a little different from here'. All in all, Thailand has been awesome, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of coming.

Carmen and I have moved our flight to London, back a day to the 25th. This was in order to go see the Black Eyed Peas play in Bangkok on Monday (24th) night.

Since returning from Krabi, we have been staying with old school friends (Derek and Alex) of mine from Patana (BPS). Is real good to have people who speak fluent Thai, and have a maid to do our washing and cook us some meals :+) we call her 'mum'

We went and played soccer (football) today with Derek and Alex. Oh my god, it was so hot and I was so buggered. We only had 10 players, while the other team seemed to have half a dozen subs. Our team is in 9th place (of 12 teams) and we were playing the second placed team in the competition. The team was very happy with the 0-0 draw.

We headed off to Rajadamnoen stadium to watch some Muay Thai, kickboxing. The first thing we found is that a ticket costs twice as much for a foreigner (it is actually on the price list). There are two sections, 1/3 of the stadium is for the locals, and they are packed in like sardines, the other section is for foreigners and it is that sparse that there is about 5m between people. The locals are going nuts screaming at the fighters, screaming at the bookies.
They go for 5 rounds, each 3 minutes with a 2 minute break between rounds. There are no stops, one guy was got repeatedly elbowed in the head that he was bleeding everywhere. There are no stoppages for blood; I don't even think they would stop for broken limbs.

After enjoying watching various people getting the sh*t kicked out of them, we ventured towards Pat pong. This used to be the infamous red light district, but is now a haven for crooks and swindlers. The tourist trap is set, and the prices are way too high. But we got to see and feed and elephant down the road a bit. We feed it sugar cane.

We have also uploaded a couple of pictures of our finished suits. Let us know what you think.

The other highlight of our trip to AoNang was a spot of island hopping. As it rained the day before, we were a bit dubious about booking the trip in advance, so we just showed up at 8am at the travel office. We headed off on the back of a truck to the long-tailed boat, each stop we accumulated more people and each stop Aaron and I looked at each other and wondered just how many more would fit. In the end, there were about 15-20 people on the tour, mostly Thai's.

Climbing into the long-tailed boat, we looked for our 'supplied life-jackets' but could only see 2, and they were both tied to the side of the boat (maybe to keep it afloat). The first leg of the trip was to visit Railay Beach and some caves. The caves were really just overhangs, but the beach was very pretty. Railay beach is one of the flashest ones down there, and is only accessible by boat. It is also home to a resort where guests pay 190,000B a night ($6,000NZ) and get 2 maids and their own personal barman.

Next it was off to another nice sandy island for lunch of chicken and rice. Then we went for a swim and endeavored to find some fishy's. The fishes at this island were far and few between and we thought we'd been had, but it was all resurrected later in the day.

After lunch we headed past Chicken Island (the only island I can remember the name of, you can see why in the pic) onto the snorkelling. The snorkelling was pretty good, we were in the water for about 45mins and saw all sorts of tropical fish and coral. Some of the coral was dead (probably from the boats, which is sad), but there was quite a bit of life down there including some anenomes which were home to Nemo fish.

On the way home, we went to 3 islands quite close together that you could walk between when the tide was low. By then we were starting to feel the sunburn on our backs and the backs of our legs from the snorkelling and were pretty ready to head home.

All and all, and awesome (and exhausting) day. Can't beat the value we got for 300B ($12) each - the boat trip, snorkelling gear, water, lunch, and fruit. We were out from 9am - 5pm.

Up early in the morning, we headed north to Ban Bor Thor (about an hour drive). Jumped in a double canoe, there was one other couple and our guide. We causually drifted around the maze of mangrove forests. They seemed never ending, and we never actually did find the end.

As the always, it was hot and the sun was beaming. So avoiding sunburn with great skill, we got to enjoy some fantastic views. We plotted out some caves before lunch, they were almost pitch black except for the constant flashing of our cameras.

The whole day cost $NZ40 each, which included transport, the guide, the canoes, water/fizz and food. The food was amazing, the four of us sat down for lunch and a good 8 plates of different dishes was presented.

After lunch, we hit the mangroves again and saw some native cave paintings which they claimed were a couple thousand years old. We might believe them, maybe not. On the way back, we stopped at some fresh water springs for a swim. By this time we were so exhausted from the days kayaking that we just used it as a tourist stop and watched a swarm (it was Sunday) of natives go for a swim. At the spring, one of guide treated us to some local foods, a sticky sweet coconut paste and some friend banana slices. It was pretty good, but you wouldn't want to live off it.

Well, it seems that we managed to stay in about the nicest hotel in AoNang. As off-season started on the 1st of May, we paid about 1/3 of the normal rates, and only had to walk through the hotel to get to the beach and had the choice of 2 swimming pools.

AoNang beach is about 1/2 hr away from Krabi, and is far, far nicer. It is pretty small, and the main street is only about 1km long, but it is a perfect location to base yourself if you want to go island-hopping.

We were pretty lucky with the weather considering it is the start of rainy season. Of our 5 days down there, it only rained twice on the same day (for about an hour each time). The first time was early in the morning and the second time was after lunch, so we ducked in for a quick Thai massage. The massage lasted 1hr and cost 200B each ($8NZ). It was pretty good, but also pretty weird. Thai massage involves a combination of normal massage and also some weird stretching - I wish I had photos!

Big hello to Jason and Yoila, a couple of Canadians over here in Thailand for a few months of hard-core kick-boxing training. We managed to bump into them quite a few times and went out to play pool one night. These guys are machines, they go for 10km runs each morning (in the Thailand heat!!!) and when they go to Chang Mai to train their day consists of a 6am start, a 10km run, 3-4 hours morning training, 1hr of skipping with a lead-weighted rope, then a couple more hours of training. Hope to catch you guys again some day, send those photos through and we'll put them on the sight.

As Carmen mentioned, once you jump in a tuktuk you are at their mercy. Instantly (as a torist) you are transported to shops where the driver gets gas you get your time wasted. This was no exception.

We started the morning by looking around the Grand Palace. It was very impressive (Photos), and hot. As we walking out the door, one of the gaurds indicated that our tickets allowed us into other sites. Into a tuktuk, he will take us their for 50baht ($2). First stop, a tailor. As we walk into the building, I sense some deja vu, its out first tailor mates we managed to insult somehow. Back into the tuktuk, it was hot, we are escorted to the Golden Mountain. A temple created on a man-made mountain, at the centre of which is a cemetry. It had very good views of the city. Carmen is going to blend some photos together to create a 360 degree photo. Did I mention it was hot? After decending the thousand odd steps (they were so close together you had to take 3 at a time). Jumped in the tuktuk again.

A few shops later, the driver took us to Pan-Siamese Gem Co. It was actually very interesting. They gave us a quick tour of the process of making rings and other jewelry. Thy even had some nice silver jewelry with presious stones set for Carmen to look through. She found a very nice Sapphire ring which cost 1100Baht (NZ$40).

Well so far I've been very very restrained, the theory is that we'll save actually buying clothes etc until the last few days we have in Bangkok. That way we won't run out of money before then. The purchases so far seem to be mainly for me (we'll resurrect that later as Aaron slowly runs out of clean clothes in his pack).

The perfect accessory for the geek in all of us was the first purchase. Salt and Pepper shakers - for those that are non-geek (or pretending to be), NaCl stands for Sodium Chloride (table salt) and if you can't figure out Pe(Pe)r, then you really need help.

Even though Aaron is faltering in the shopping stakes, he has spent the most money with 2 suits and a trench-coat - see the posting about the tailor for that one.

Then, there are my thai silk black trousers - that are great for temple hopping (where you have to wear pants and have your shoulders covered). They tie at the front and back and have no side-seams so you get a bit of air in, check them out in the Grand Palace photos, anyone that wants a make-shift pattern from them (cos they'd be soooo easy to make) - let me know.

A pair of "Diesel" shoes set me back about $8-10, really comfy and sure beat the $300 that Radford spent on his. They also come in a number of other labels, including addidas and some funny thai writing.

There are sure to be more purchases in the near future - watch out for the upcoming features; fake watches, fake t-shirts, fake wallets, and fake shoes...

One of the things I wanted to do while in Thailand is get a suit made for my upcoming engineering career. Two days ago, we decided to find a tailor and get the process started. The door man of the hotel (under commission no doubt) recommended one, and 5 mins later we were there. This is when the games began. My dad had gone some suits made while living here a couple of years ago for about NZ$300, and they were pretty hiddious. So I was expecting to spend approximately NZ$400 for a nice tailor made/fitted suit with two pairs of trousers.

At first the Indian tailor was saying about $600 for each suit, at this point Carmen stepped forward and started to almost abuse the poor fellow about his ethics, craftmanship and first born. She had negotiated us to about NZ$500 for two suits for me (Jacket + 2 trouses for each suit). I still hadn't said a word. Every time he turned away Carmen would flash me a smile, obviously enjoying the bartering. I am at this point thinking how often she is just manipulating me. By the end of the 'discussions', I was getting two suits, each with two pairs of trouses, a winter overcoat and Carmen was getting a suit (Jacket, skirt and trouses) for about NZ$950. We got measured up, paid (on afterthough, I was/am nervous that I had paid before recieving the goods...we will see how it all turns out..a hard lesson may have been learned, I can always burn down their establishment). It may not be a rock bottom price, but it is fantasic in comparison to prices in New Zealand.

Yesterday we went in for a fitting. It was all very cool and exciting. I am extremely happy with how the suits are starting to look as well as the overcoat.

For those that have never been to Thailand, here are a few of the things I've learnt about the way of life here... For those of you that have been here, here is a chance to reminisce and to add comments about the things I've missed...

-Things are cheap, even though the thought of hearing prices in 10's, 100's or 1000's sounds ridiculous compared to home - eating, travelling, sight-seeing etc are cheap. Basic rule of thumb is that if it sounds expensive - you're getting ripped off.

- Having someone with you that speaks just a little bit of Thai is FANTASTIC. Aaron's thai is pretty limited - he can count and give directions in a taxi, and it makes life a lot easier.

- When you jump in a car at home, the first thing you do is put your seatbelt on... Here, the cabs don't have seatbelts in the rear and tuk tuks don't have seatbelts at all - although we did find one with 'Jesus Christ' handles today.

- We have seen sooooooo many buddhas!!! Probably tens of thousands of them. "More buddha's than you can wave a blue-gum stick at" ah Warren?

- There is a tailor on every corner, and when you jump in a tuk tuk, they will find you at least one tailor, one jewellery maker (and a candlestick-maker, just kidding) but every time you go to one of the shops in a tuk tuk the driver earns about 15L of gas from the shop (so once you've gone to a couple, the tuk tuk driver gives you the trip for free.

- Another plentiful retailer is the world-famous 7-11. You find one every couple of blocks, and where there is one, there is usually two (one on each side of the road).

I'm sure many other thought will spring to mind later, but I thought I'd give you an insight, and welcome any comments or questions...

Day one started pretty early when we woke up at 5am - we had to wait until an hour to get up as the hotel restaurant didn't open until 6am. However, we woke up in a pretty flash hotel room, so it wasn't all bad. We're on the 18th floor, which means a fantastic view (especially at night) and have a king size bed (it's seriously huge!). The bathroom is all marbled tiled with a granite vanity, and the hot water pressure literally blows you away. Of course, the most important thing is the air-conditioning, which is a saviour after a long day walking the streets - which we were soon to discover.

After a leisurely breakfast, it was almost 7am and we (ok, I) were (was) ready to explore. Bangkok doesn't seem to get going until around 10am - the shops are all closed before then, and even though there are plenty of people walking the streets and traffic on the roads, it's not really clear where they are all off to. None the less, it was still interesting to soak up the sights, smells and heat. From our hotel, we headed towards the World Trade Centre (Mall), and were accosted into a tuk tuk to jump in a boat to go up the Klongs (River) system. Tuk tuks are a fantastic way to travel. They are very cheap, and offer more options to take in the sights and atmosphere than a taxi - they also seem to like going round the other traffic and travelling into on-coming traffic which is great for the adrenaline junky. By cheap I mean, less than $2 to travel all over the place (we spent 2 hours looking round for $1.50).

So, enough about the joys of tuk tuks... during our river 'cruise', the main features were the very extravagent temples and the very non-extravagent housing. The water is disgusting, but the locals still have no problems swimming, bathing, washing and cooking using it. The houses are up on stilts and one hates to think what happens when it floods. (They saw us coming a mile away, "stupid Farang (Foreigner)". In taking my dads, 'everything must trickle down theory', I/ we paid approx $40 for this river trip. Can we say 'taken' - Aaron)

Climbing off the boat near the Grand Palace (about 1 and a 1/2 hours later) we were accosted (yet again) into another tuk tuk to go see a giant buddha. Seems that it is New Years here (or something like that) so we got to see quite a few other people sized buddhas, where people go to say blessings. Poor buddha's obviously get thirsty and someone had gone around and left them all bottles of water - with a straw of course. The buddhas are covered in small squares of gold leaf, and are quite impressive. The 'ever-so-kind' tuk tuk driver then took us to a tailor, which we managed to offend and be kicked out of - no idea why, then onto a jewellery store. Here we said goodbye to our tuk tuk driver, paid him 40B ($1.50 NZ) and jumped in a taxi to go to the Siam Centre.

What a busy day, and it had only just ticked over lunchtime. From here, the decision was made to slow down and enjoy the scenery a bit more, so we had a leisurely afternoon perusing the shops, and I was generally trying hard not to buy anything as my pack is already far too full. I did, however make one purchase, which all you science/engineer geeks will appreciate... Headed back to the hotel, about 5pm just in time to miss a bit rain storm. Blobbed out in front of TV and the big bay window, and hit the sack pretty early.

So day one down, I don't know if I can handle this pace for the next two weeks - might be off to England for a holiday.

(We had learned our lesson in eating breakfast at the hotel, it is over priced. So we made a couple of trips to the 7-11 to get some snacks and breakfast. Tomorrow we will hit up a local Supermarket - Aaron)

As expected, some family came to the airport to see us off. My parents and a small army of Carmens family including parents, grandparents, siblings and aunties. It was an emotional time for some, with tears welling in the eyes. I personally think its was the thought of me actually leaving home for my parents.

The flight(s) went pretty well. We headed off from Christchurch airport at about 10:30am and were effectively in the air for 18 hours. The stops in Auckland and Sydney were brief, almost to the point where we were running between terminals to catch the connecting flight. The flight to Sydney was only half full, so we managed to spread out and take up as much room as we could. However the next leg of the journey was packed. I managed to find a fat old man to sit next to, although I wasn't sitting next to him as much as I was under him. Got to watch Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King again, as well as Along came Polly.

Neither of us managed to sleep much on the flights, so when we got to the hotel (Century Park Hotel) at 12pm (6am New Zealand time) we almost hit the bed already sleeping. Unfortunately, we awoke at about 5am fully awake, stupid body clock!