I have just read your entire journal on Thailand, very amusing and very informative! <BR><BR>

You're travel journal was absolutely brilliant !

the best journal I've read!

Thank you all for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed reading my journal.

Would love to get an email copy of your <BR>thai journal. Have never been to SE Asia &amp; would like to travel independently in Jan/Feb? Good months, safe alone, can one get day tours thru the hotels, etc.help,help.Thanks. johanna

Hi!<BR>How much did you tip the driver and guide during your tour - a per person per day rate would be useful.<BR><BR>Ingrid :-)

I remember being quite generous to the guide who took us on the Elephant trek. Tipping in the region of 500 baht.<BR><BR>The other driver and guide only did half a days work, so I did reduce my tip accordingly!

Most hotels can help arrange day tours for you. Everyone is eager to please.<BR><BR>Have an amazing trip to Thailand !

Loved your journal !!<BR><BR>Thanks for taking the time to write it all up !

I'm leaving for 18 days in Thailand and have tried to read your travelogue but can only get to WWW.Bangor.ac.uk<BR>From the home page can you walk me to your info? Would love to see the pictures but will request you email it if it is not possible to for me to get in.

Colin:<BR>I'm still in the process of reading your journal, but so far, I love it!! You have a great wit!<BR><BR>To all those who have had trouble getting into the site: I had trouble too. My browser would not let me go directly into the address Colin gave. Go first into www.bangor.ac.uk. Once you are there, type in the whole address. It's worth it.<BR>

Thanks Joey !<BR><BR>I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply. It's a shame that many of you are experiencing problems logging directly to my web page.<BR><BR>I'll have to do some investigation as to why it may be happening ?<BR><BR>________________________________________< BR>Thailand Travelogue<BR>http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~fos007/fb2b.htm<BR> <BR>

Thank you, Joey, for the suggestion; it put an end to my frustration.<BR><BR>Colin, your humourous journal was a pleasure to read. It gave me a good idea of what to expect in my upcoming trip to Thailand. A bit of apprehension has crept in due to accounts of your many dashes to the loo, but I suppose that could happen anywhere. I'm looking forward to the travelogue on your next trip, again with great photographs. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Colin<BR><BR>Thanks for an excellent read, thoroughly enjoyable! We have just booked to go to Bangkok followed by Chaing Rai in Apri, and also intend to book the Baan Boran. It is somewhere I have wanted to stay for years, and after reading your fabulous description, there is no way we will stay anywhere else (here's hoping they are not fully booked already!). Anyway, my question is about the travel company you used for your excursions. I have done a search and found this website - is it the one you used?<BR><BR>http://www.diethelm-travel.com/thailand/index.html<BR><BR>Thanks in advance!

Hi Louise!<BR><BR>The major operator we booked through was Kuoni, but all the Bangkok excursions were done by their representatives in Thailand. They were called Tour East. <BR><BR>All the excursions we booked in Chiang Rai was with a company called DITS travel, and they had an office in the Baan Boran hotel. (Contact details can be found by e-mailing the hotel. [email protected]. www.baanboran.com)<BR><BR>I have no experience of using diethelm-travel.com. Perhaps others on the board may be able to share their knowledge on them.<BR><BR>I did use asiatravelmart.com to pre-book a boat ride to Ayuthaya. This went terribly wrong as I wasn't picked up from my hotel, and missed the boat. It was the fault of the local tour company, and asiatravelmart.com were very professional in dealing with my complaint, and fully refunded the money. <BR><BR>But I wouldn't worry too much about pre-booking excursion, you'll be able to book them when you're there.<BR><BR>Have a fantastic vacation in Thailand. It truly is amazing!

Hi Colin<BR><BR>Thanks for the reply. I will e-mail the hotel direct about the tours. I was thinking that I may be best to prebook rather than wait until we get there as we are only staying at Baan Boran for three nights. Do you think that we can go to the hotel tour office the day we arrive, and do a tour the next day, are they that flexible? When I did a search for DITS, it led me to the site I mentioned, that was my only reason for mentioning it!

Yes, the tour office will certainly be flexible enough to provide you a service to suit your plans. Next day would not be a problem. <BR><BR>Like you, I personally felt happier having prebooked my excursions, but having been to Thailand it has made me realise that I could have booked all my excursions when I arrived at each location.<BR><BR>I remember with the Baan Boran office, I booked the excursion via e-mail. (They did not have their own web page.) They also required a 50% deposit transfered into their bank account, which I trustingly did through my local bank. It was a bit of a hassle.<BR><BR>The bonus was that we were prepared, and knew the what, where, &amp; when of our stay!<BR><BR>_____________________________________ __<BR>Thailand Travelogue &amp; Photos<BR>http:/www.bangor.ac.uk/~fos007/fb2b.htm<BR>

Just finished reading your long and very informative travelogue. It was excellent! Great photos and a great sense of humour!!

Thanks Sash for taking the time to show your appreciation.<BR><BR>Colin<BR><BR>________________ _______________________<BR>My Thailand Travelogue &amp; Photographs<BR>http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~fos007/fb2b.htm

Colin, Loved your travel report. We have been to Thailand twice and fortunately had no stomach problems. I have become quite careful about where and what we eat and it seems to work. I think your problems came from the fruit you got on the street. But, you may have brought it with you from Wales! The only time I had food poisoning, and I was so sick I was taken by ambulance to the hospital, was from a Hyatt in San Francisco. On this last Thailand trip we did have one child down with chicken pox. The excellent Thai doctor said that he seldom sees chicken pox because Thai children are immunized. Our poor child lived in uncivilized London. You write so well and your pictures are excellent. Your daughter is darling. Thank you for sharing with all of us.

Thank you for your kind words Elainee!<BR>It's always a pleasure to hear from people who enjoyed reading my journal.<BR><BR>I think you're right, it may have been that banana potato thing I ate that upset my stomach!<BR><BR>Thailand is such a beautiful place and I'm itching to get back. Hopefully next year I'll make it!<BR><BR>

Funny dung stories, but can't help to notice how anal you seem to be. Couldn't help noticing how much you despise Americans. Not all of us are fat and rude. My holiday to London revealed how icy and abrupt many British people are, even though I won't go on generalising.

You met British people in London ? Wow! That's an achievement in itself! ;)<BR><BR>It would be easier if I discarded you as a troll, but that wouldn't be fair. You are entitled to your opinion however misguided.<BR><BR>Relax Mango7, don't be so Paranoid. I love Americans. <BR><BR>I did not make a generalisation when a fat american walked into Hard Rock Cafe with a Thai Bride, the guy was an American from Texas, and he was grossly overweight. <BR><BR>How else should I have described him? A girth-challenged Texan ?<BR><BR>_______________________________________<B R>My Thailand Travelogue &amp; Photos<BR>http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~fos007/fb2b.htm

So you were a troll after all!<BR><BR>

I really enjoyed your travelogue Colin. It is really helping me to plan my trip to Bangkok/Phuket. One question, when you went on the tours, were there many singles?? I am going mid April/03 and will be on my own for a few days, taking tours, before hooking up with my brother. Just wondering if there are many other Brits on these tours? It's alway nice meeting fellow countrymen/women away from home. I now live in Canada and miss the British sense of humour which you undoubtedly managed to convey in your great travelogue. My first trip without my husband in a far off place so am just a little apprehensive about trekking it alone through the streets of Bangkok!!

On the tours we took there were certainly many singles, and everyone, from the Thai people to the visitors were all very friendly and amienable.<BR><BR>There's an ambience about the whole country that relaxes you, and probably brings out the best in people.<BR><BR>Phuket is by far the most popular destination for British people and I'm sure you'll meet plenty of Brits on the beach. (They'll be the lobster red ones!)<BR><BR>I do hope you have a fabulous time, and don't worry about the streets of Bangkok, you'll find them surprisingly safe.<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Thanks Colin - I am really looking forward to the trip and feel much more confident about getting out and about on my own! Thanks for taking the time to post the answers and information that really helps first time travelers to Thailand like myself. P.S. Good one for Wales that C Zeta J got the Oscar!! (my grandfather was Welsh - ever heard of Donna Ewin the page 3 girl? - my younger cousin, resembles Catherine quite a bit, I think!)

I must admit to being a spotty eighteen year old when I last knew the names of all the page three girls, and confess I haven't heard of your younger cousin, but in doing an internet search I must agree that she certainly has that Zeta Jones look, amongst many other wonderful attributes which can not be compared!<BR><BR>I hope you have an amazing time in Thailand. Do let us know how it went!

For those of you who enjoyed reading my Thailand journal and would be interested in reading my other travelogues, I have now completed my Rome journal, and nearly finished my St. Petersburg and Moscow journal.<BR><BR>They can be found at:<BR><BR>http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~fos007/travel.htm<BR><BR>

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I have now finished my Russia journal for any one who is interested.

Rome and Thailand are also covered.

They can be found at:

http://www.bangor.ac.uk/~fos007/travel.htm

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Just to keep an up to date entry on here. I am near completing my Travelogue of my visit to Florence.