BKK

If I'd been dumped on the infamous Khao San Road (elephant trousers, McDonalds, gap year students drinking out of buckets) by myself I'd have left Bangkok on the next bus anywhere. As it happens, Elaine who I was at Durham with and David, her boyfriend, have been living in the city since earlier this year and we had arranged to meet on the Saturday night.

In the meantime I visited the Royal Palace, still in use by the much loved king of Thailand and his wife, whose most well known outfits are on display in a lovely museum showcasing the sustainable Thai textiles that her foundation supports. As ever, the palace was overrun with Chinese and Korean tour groups but I fought through the crowds and saw the famed Emerald Buddha (actually made of jade), which has a different bling outfit for each of the seasons.

I met Elaine and David that evening to get the skytrain out to a vintage market complete with beer, snacks, retro cars, vinyl and creepy Seven Dwarves dolls. This is where hipster Thais come to hang out and it was great to see the non-tourist side of Bangkok.

After a considerable lie-in I spent Sunday visiting the Vimanmek Mansion and the museums in its grounds, the entrance for which was included with the ticket for the palace. The mansion is the largest teak building in the world and was constructed without a single nail. The highlight was the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, which houses the Arts of the Kingdom exhibition and is itself fabulously decorated with no expense spared. Sadly cameras are banned in all of the buildings.

That evening Elaine and David took me to Soi 38, a streetfood night market. After satay skewers, noodles, pork and more I was introduced to the bizarre dessert of sarim, which is a surprisingly tasty bowl of shaved ice in coconut milk with neon green jelly vermicelli, candid coconut and some unidentified crispy pink thing.

Having been dubious about Bangkok's merits I now have huge affection for the place and I owe this almost entirely to Elaine and David for showing me that there is life beyond the Khao San Road and can't thank them enough for adopting me. However, it was time to venture north to Chiang Mai, from where I will enter Laos and use the Mekong River to slowly make my through the countryside.