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?