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After a few days in the capital we headed out to our favourite little island; Koh Tao. We'd been dreaming of returning to a secluded little group of huts on a small bay but when we arrived we found a 2 metre long green tree snake in the room plus a 12 inch gecko! So we moved down the beach and found ourselves much more comfortable and less wild accomodation.
We passed a week happily snorkelling all day and trying out our new undewater camera housing. On the 4th of March as the sun was setting, while overlooking the bay, Rosh got down on one knee and proposed! Fortunately Loz said 'yes' and the rest is history.
We had another week on the island though the weather turned a bit rough and then headed back to Bangkok. We took a day trip to Ayutthuya, the ancient capital for a bit of sightseeing
An overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai, on which we got to play with a pet boa constrictor, was a great start to our backpacking. In Chiang Mai we took a Thai cooking course and spent a few days just wandering around the old walled city. We also did a 24hour Vipassana retreat which was a great introduction to Thai Buddhism.
From here we went north to Chiang Rai and had a great time chilling out and doing a 1 day treck through a giant bamboo forest (which wasn't chilling out). Just as Loz was saying how much she didn't like snakes one sprang from almost under her foot and climb the mud slope next to her! We finished up in a natural hot spring but not before Rosh had managed to cover himself in stinking, muddy water from a miss timed jump over a stream.
We moved from Chiang Rai to the border with Laos where real travelling begins. The plan being to go from the north to south through Laos before crossing into Cambodia.
Check out the photos below!!!