HOMEWARD BOUND - VIA BANGKOK

Ross, Warren and I made the wise decision to break up the horrendous flight back to Sydney by staying in Bangkok for 3 nights. We stayed at the 5 star "The Davis Hotel' in sukhumvit 88. It was so exclusive that the taxi driver and the 10 people he pulled over to ask didn't know where it was!!! We started to panic as we drove into downtown Bangkok where pretty boys like warren would have been snapped up and sold in a second. Thank Buddha for flash packing Ross and his blackberry and we were soon ushered into air conditioned bliss.

Our first day of sightseeing was a battle of wills - between Ross jumping into the closest Tuk Tuk for any price and warren haggling up a storm! The drivers are crafty buggers who will stop at nothing to get you to shop in there stores. The temperature in the city was almost unbearable and we were soft after 2 years in England - sweating up a storm after 2 minutes outside.

We visited many temples including The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew- the gold reclining Buddha. To reach the next monument we had to pass through a busy local market selling pigs ears and other stinky ingredients - we looked down and saw that the only thing between us and the raging river was a unstable wooden boards!!. We were weaving through this market and were completely lost until we rounded a corner and stumbled upon a lady having a bath! Were were very apologetic and thankful as she calmly pointed us in the right direction!! We then caught the ferry to Wat Arun and climbed this very steep 82m high monument where both Ross and Warren got a cramp - so funny

We had some great nights out one in particular we found ourselves in an expats bar surrounded by aging men and working ladies - they must have a six sense for money however as they completely ignored Warren and Ross!! We danced to a local 'Black Eye Peas' tribute band and almost had to pinch ourselves when they broke in to a full 8 minute rendition of Queens Bohemian Rhapsody!!

We spent some time shopping in the many market places the city is known for. We went to the Saun Lum night bazaar - a series of stalls on wooden planks covered loosely by many tarps - and got caught in a tropical rainstorm!! The heaviest rain I have ever seen bucketed down completely saturating us in minutes - the flood waters rose quickly to ankle height and the cockroaches ran for higher ground! We decided to wait out the rain and so continued shopping, an hour later when the shops closed and the rain continued we rain out to try and hail a cab - ever the opportunists the cab drivers doubled the price and dropped us off looking like drowned rats to our luxury hotel - very funny night!!!

GOODBYE LONDON

We intended to stay 6 months but after 2 years the time has come to leave London. England quickly felt like home and we made some really good friends that we will miss. Favourite memories are DJ mix offs at Ross's, Button Down Discos at KOKOS, Saturday's at Topshop, summer days in Regents Park and pushing past lost tourists on the underground!!

Living in the UK gave us the opportunity to travel around Europe and have amazing experiences and to witness different cultures. Warren and I have discovered much about each other both from traveling and living in a 3m x 3m "studio" Warren is the master of the map while Amanda can ask for vegetarian food in over 10 languages!!!

We will always remember our 2 years in London but are very excited to begin the next stage of our lives - in SYDNEY!!