Having been to the cinema and had such a great time there, we decided to go again the following day. This time we saw Lord of the Rings III: Return of the King. I really enjoyed it. And what was best about it was the heaving piles of sushi I ate beforehand! I have been craving sushi for some time now, but nowhere have I found any at a price I was willing to pay. Enter Food Hall of Shopping Centre, with a pick'n'mix sushi counter! Heaven!

I was feeling a bit peaky the next day - perhaps it was too much of a good thing - and had to take it easy while Frankie sorted out her things (in fact I was asleep for a lot of the time). I think a combination of so many exciting things, so much oppressive heat, and the constant temperature fatigue of going in and out of air-conditioned environments had finally taken its toll on me. Anyway, luckily I was back to full fitness after 24 hours, and ready to head up to Ayutthaya with Frankie.

Ayutthaya was once capital of Thailand, and has the wealth of temples to prove it. Only when the Burmese sacked the city in 18th century did the capital move to Bangkok. Today, it is another example of harmonious development with preserved culture like Chiang Mai. We took a tuk-tuk tour of the town. This enabled us to see a great many more Wats than we could have managed on foot - particularly given the extremely hot and humid day it was. Then, in the evening, we did another quick tuk-tuk tour, this time to see some of the temples lit up against the night sky. Very nice! We met two delightful English ladies on this evening tour and two students from Tokyo.

The next day, after breakfast, Frankie & I took local buses to Nakhon Pathom. This was how I imagine bus travel in Mexico to be: brightly painted clapped-out vehicles, music blaring, the only fresh air coming in from the door that has been bolted open. The bus conductor lady was very lovely. I felt she had a motherly love toward all the passengers, and she took great pains to make sure everyone was sat comfortably as we bounced along between all the many stops en route.

Nakhon Pathom is a town that seems to have almost totally escaped the tourist trade, even though it is home to the tallest Buddhist structure in the world: the Great Chedi. Standing over 120 metres, this pagoda is the focal point for the relogious life of the town. It happened to be the start of a Full Moon festival when we arrived. The whole complex had a family outing feel to it as we wandered between shrines, bells, images of the Buddha, altars, all the while with the sweet scent of incense floating into our nostrils on the light breeze.

That evening we decided to be naughty and eat Western food. After all, it was to be our last night together, so we thought we could afford to push the boat out a bit. We opted for pizza and weren't let down. It was exactly like a Pizza Hut at home, and made both of us think of England with a little sadness.

On our last day together, we got up at six so we could get an early start to the Floating Market. This turned out to be almost an hour away by bus, so it's a good job we did get up early! When we arrived, we found a boat to take us around and then sampled some of the delights of the market, including these crazy mini-pancakes made out of coconut milk with egg and chives. There was a whole lot of tourist tat on offer (it's a popular day-trip from Bangkok) which we managed to avoid purchasing. Then a shortish bus ride back to town.

Our last meal together turned out to be delicious! We were looking for a restaurant recommended by our hotel (even if they were possibly the most dour-faced hoteliers I have come across in Asia) but we gave up because it was just too hot. So instead we walked into a standard Thai place that looked okay. The proprietress spoke only enough English to offer us "two rice sauce" and, given that our Thai is even less extensive, we decided to go with it. And boy, are we glad we did! It was magnificent: a mound of hearty perfumed rice surmounted by slices of tender Chinese-style pork and a delicate sweet sauce, served with a wonderful not-too-hot chili dipping sauce and a light clear soup to wash the palate.

We said our farewells standing at the foot of the chedi, and then made our respective ways to the bus stop; Frankie towards Kanchanaburi and me towards Bangkok. It was a very sad moment: we have spent over six weeks together, and experienced so much together, that I am sure I will think Frankie is there even when she's not any more. Don't you agree, imaginary Frankie sat at the next computer to mine in this internet cafe?

Our last day in Chiang Mai was spent visiting the beautiful temples located on a hill overlooking town at Wat Phra Tat Doi Suthep, one of the most important monastic sites in northern Thailand. We made our way there after another sumptuous French style breakfast by first taking a tuk-tuk from outside the guest house to the minibus station on the west of town. It was so nice to actually give some business to the tuk-tuk driver who had cheerily waved to us every morning as we left the hotel!

We walked around the many temples and other buildings, then sat and had a well-earned rest in the shade of a bougainvillea tree. As luck would have it, we ran into the French couple we had met on the trek just as we were leaving. We ate together and said our farewells. Then Frankie & I took the pick-up truck back down into town.

The afternoon was dedicated to relaxation: we had the most amazing blind massage: it left me feeling simultaneously sick and exhausted - but in a good way. Then later on we treated ourselves to a foot massage in Chiang Mai's Sunday market. I felt supremely pampered. It's a pity putting my rucksacks back on for the trip to the railway station seemed to undo much of the good of the day's treatments.

Amusingly, our train was two hours late leaving. This left us time to play cards and get accosted by a random drunk Thai soldier who, without a word of English (and we naturally not understanding a word of Thai either), proceeded to take our cards and (we think) tell our fortunes. Thankfully, the episode didn't turn nasty.

The sleeper car on the train was a bit weird: instead of the usual layout of four beds in a separate compartment, the whole carriage was one big compartment, with beds aligned the length of the train. Thank heavens I had my earplugs handy! The fans in the ceiling were on the loud side; but the air would have been unbearable without them.

We pulled into Bangkok's main station just after lunch the next day, then took a taxi (ah! air conditioned bliss!) to Khao San and returned to the trusty New Siam Guesthouse, my usual (ooh! hark at him! twice in Bangkok and already he has "usuals"!) abode.

That evening we went to the cinema in the Siam Centre and watched a Thai film called The Overture. It was truly amazing!! It dramatised the life of one of Thailand's premier traditional musicians. He played the Ranat Ek, which at first sight looks a bit like a xylophone played with felt hammers. But what sounds! It was hypnotic. The story played up the rivalry between the main character and another famous Ranat Ek player, culminating in a show-down virtuoso concert before the King. I have never heard such powerful hammer work. It was electric. Quite incredible. And the cinematography was superb as well, as was the acting. The subtitles were great - only a few amusing typos.

Frankie & I had a nice evening in Huay Xai, walking around a bit, seeing the obvious overflow of wealth from nearby Thailand in the form of exquisite teak houses and plenty of fresh tarmac. The charming Hotel Pornwijit had such thin walls that I can confidently say it was a misnomer. It did have great breakfast though.

The crossing to Thailand was my first international border by canoe. Having almost fallen into the mighty Mekong whilst balancing on the thin wooden plank that served as boarding gate to the diminutive vessel, we then did a fifteen point turn out of the parking area before chugging over to Chiang Khong and jumping onto a Thai beach. Then, after immigration formalities, we were whisked to the bus station in a friendly pickup, and then had a relatively comfortable (and very air-conditioned) bus ride through northern Thailand to Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai is delightful. A proper city, with historic centre (flanked on all four sides by a well-maintained moat and ring road) and sprawling new town / suburbs. And there are temples bloody everywhere! Somehow, I thought to myself whilst munching on a huge American-style submarine sandwich and gazing out at a glittering monastic complex, today's Thailand encompasses the best of its native heritage and global commercial development. That sounds like a load of bollocks, but I really mean it! I like it here a lot.

We spent an afternoon acclimatising - wow it's hot here compared to Lao! - and getting our bearings. And oh! the joy of ADSL internet access! Much mailing was done. Then we popped out for a bite to eat and a drink before retiring to our noisy but acceptable guest house room.

The next day was pure, undiluted sightseeing. There are many beautiful temples here, of which the most notable are Wat Chiang Man (founded in 1294) with its ancient relics and Wat Chedi Luang (founded in 1411) with its massive earthquake-damaged and partially restored tower. But equally charming are the streets of the old town, with many a quiet villa set in lush gardens and traffic restricted to the wider roads.

We went on a three-day trek into the countryside in a group with eight other people and two guides. There was a French couple in our group, and they were both relieved to discover that Frankie & I speak good French because their English is a bit sketchy. They turned out to be lovely people, and I will definitely be visiting Guillaume and Delphine this summer in their native Bourgogne - well, it was the promise of excellent steak, cheese and wine that decided it for me really!

The trekking was not as arduous as I had secretly feared: day one was possibly the most strenuous, with a three-hour hike through steep jungle and hot sun, not to mention the raging forest fires - oh yes, we found ourselves on two occasions leaping as nimbly as we could through carpets of flame that licked at our heels! And I wasn't even the slowest person there, so actually I felt quite good about it all.

Our destination was a Karen village. As soon as we got there, we all jumped in the river and had a wash (yep, no running water, no electricity, so naturally lots of kids) and then tucked in to a scrummy dinner of locally-produced rice, curried potato, stir-fried vegetables, tofu chili and lashings of Chang beer. Later on, we gathered round a camp fire and our guide Goh told us about the Karen people.

That night was most definitely the coldest I have ever suffered. It wasn't so much the temperature outside - I'm sure I've had colder nights in my old house in Kenilworth - but more the fact that there was only one blanket between me and the floor of the stilt house we were all in, and only two blankets to partially cover my body. I had a choice of slightly less cold feet or eyelids that didn't freeze shut. It was a bit parky, shall we say.

The next day we all emerged to a sunny morning that quickly defrosted us. The local green tea was tasty, the people were friendly and we saw many interesting facets of life in the village, notably the rice pounding implement (to separate the husks) and the weaving of many-coloured fabrics by hand. Then it was another couple of hours' walk to our lunch stop, during which time we passed through forest, bamboo stands (Goh stopped to fell a bamboo and then cut & carved each of us a teacup) and rice fields; waded across a tadpole-infested river; and picked our way carefully across a wire rope bridge. But it was all fantastic! And the prize (other than a hearty noodle soup) was a two-hour ride on elephants to our next village stopover.

That night we partied like it was 1999. And in fact, we were told it was going to be New Year the next day (don't ask me what calendar they use thereabouts) so it was appropriate for us to be festive. We ate, drank and made merry by the side of the river and in our stilt house. As night drew in, Goh and our other guide Soh got out the guitar and drum and taught us all the Elephant Song, complete with moves. The only lyrics we can remember are "Chang chang chang chang chang..." but I think we will all still be doing the actions in twenty years' time! Later on, I wowed the audience with my rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, ably assisted by Frankie. Yes, we were all pissed by then. It was a good night and fun was had by all.

Day three of the trek consisted of perching on rafts of bamboo tied together and praying we didn't fall in the river. It was dead good! The views of the river valley were stunning, with tiers of various trees leading up towards the higher peaks and regular runs of rapids to keep us on our toes. We saw immense butterflies, some black, some yellow, some purple. And occasionally we came across local people washing or fishing.

The bus ride back to Chiang Mai was something of an anticlimax. I suppose that was always going to happen after such a thrilling time. But at least we kept in touch with the French couple.