We then discovered that the plane was not really a plane, but a time capsule that took us from 19th century Calcutta to 21st century Bangkok with high rise serene tower blocks. The roads were wide and long and we soared down the motorway onto the spaghetti junction (or should I say noodle?) at 120kmph - reaching our destination Khoa Sang Road AKA. Tourist-Haven. This road has everything a foreigner wants neatly bundled into one long street - and evoked memories of my mother leaning over with that knowing wise smile 'be careful of what you wish for........"

The stalls offer fake designer watches, T-shirts, jeans and every type of modern gadget and cigarette lighter you could imagine. Cafes and bars line the streets offering dishes from every continent and videos and even soccer matches live from Europe. Taxis and Tuks-Tuks (Thai equivalent to autorickshaws) wait for their prey alongside overpriced and unreliable travel agencies with the occasional couple coming out of the glass door screaming "Don't go in there they take your money and don't deliver they rip you off" - apparently a common occurrence here. Trust No-one!

So we trekked to the south bus station and purchased our tickets to the idyllic island of Kho Phang Nang leaving Christmas Eve at 8pm and arriving at 10 am on Christmas day at a cost of 320 B (about $8). En route to our hotel we happened across a McDs and a cinema complex complete with 20 foot digital Video wall showing how films were made etc.... We bought tickets and stocked up with popcorn and took our positions for "The Jackal". In Thailand before each film the audience must stand as a picture of the king appears on screen and the national anthem is played - I haven't even seen a photo of our Mary McAleese - but we stood respectfully.

> on to Thailand