It is straightforward to book tickets from Pakse to anywhere in Laos or the surrounding countries of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Several agencies offer minibus trips which mean that tedious visits to the bus station are not required. I read online that our ‘go to’ transport booking app 12go was not reliable in Laos, so… Read more

We had booked a daytime 13 hour coach ride back to Bangkok. We needed to be up by 5:30am, ready for the Bolt taxi to take us to the bus station for 6:30. I thought the journey would be ok, but with only a twenty minute food break (two drivers in tandem) it was brutal.… Read more

We spent four nights in Phuket and probably that was a little too long. The old town is gorgeous, but also very touristy. All the sights it contains could probably be covered in two days, We added one day on the beach and also had time to hang out in cafes and watch the world… Read more

We caught the speedboat rather than the slow boat back to Ranong from Ko Phaymam. Although faster it was also a lot more uncomfortable, especially as the sea was a bit choppy. It was thrilling to whizz like James Bond across the Andaman sea. The boat was not quite as luxurious as the ones that… Read more

We hired bikes for another outing on Ko Phayam. This time we headed straight for Aow Yao/ Long Beach where we had a swim and enjoyed the waves. We decided to head over to a small cove, Aow Ko-Kyu, that we spotted on the map. It was a bit further than we expected, through a… Read more

After a few days of lazing around we decided we wanted a bit of action. We intended to hire bikes but none were available so we decided to walk to Long Beach, the main resort town on the island instead. By the time we set off it was midday, so although it was not a… Read more

I thought that the story of Ko Phayam/ Payam (both spellings seem to be used) being one of the last places in Thailand free of big resort development might be over hyped. I was prepared to be disappointed. I need not have worried. The island reminds me of Ko Phangan in the 1990s. The cheapest… Read more

I had booked tickets from Bangkok South bus station to Ranong online via 12go agency. I used them a lot for train and bus booking in India and found them very reliable ( I learned about them from another website: ‘The man in seat 61’. This provides invaluable information about train travel all over the… Read more

I had booked a hotel a few minutes walk away from Khao San Road. Even twenty five years ago I didn’t stay on the actual road, just in the area. Tim stayed there in the 1980s, in a house that was still occupied by a Thai family who were renting out rooms. I am not… Read more