After a bit of a lie-in - the Bangkok heat is making us even more lethargic than usual - we ventured out around mid-day. The first stop was the Museum of the Royal Barges. We got dropped off on some backstreet in the middle of nowhere, and asking about 5 Thais the way and following the arrows on various walls we got there. Once a year these 8 barges are joined by a number of others and basically go up and down the river. Some dated from the last century (well the 19th but you know what I mean) and some more were being painstakingly restored. What was a bit bizarre is that these are national treasures, right? So, in the UK, would you have yours stored sitting over stagnant water and piles of old crisp packets etc...? No, oh well they do here. After being convinced (not) by some long-tail boat man that 'no ferries stop at this pier' we duly boarded a ferry. The constant lying and hassling for Farang pennies and pounds is starting to wear us down again - roll on Australia...

After jumping on said ferry we changed boats and visited Wat Arun - the Temple of Dawn. It is best viewed from the river but close up it's pretty impressive too as it's coated in lots of pieces of ceramics. It's like someone just got a load of bathroom tiles one day, smashed em up and built a temple. But prettier. The hawkers were in full effect here - we had our photos taken in those hilarious, Blackpool-esque face-cut-out-tradional-Thai-costume thingies. Then realised there was a charge. We donated to Buddha then paid the entrance fee. Worst of all was when Pat had his photo taken with a snake and a Thai woman (!) and they changed the pre-agreed price straight after said photo was taken. Hilarious. Needless to say we didn't pay and walked off to a stream of abuse. I know, when there's no tourists let's try our hardest to alienate the ones here...fantastic logic.

After what seemed an eternity (yesterday was the hottest day of the year in Bangkok - 38.6 degrees) waiting for a boat to get us to Skytrain, we finally boarded and enjoyed what will probably be our last views of the river for a few years. The usual few people washing and fishing in the pollution made us glad for what we've got back home...

In the evening we ventured out to a restaurant we'd always meant to go to but somehow had always missed - Cabbages and Condoms. The restaurant's name derives from the fact they are a registered charity and give all their profits towards sex education as Thailand currently has one of the highest HIV rates in the developed world. It was nice to support such a good cause especially as the food was excellent and relatively cheap, hell we even splashed out on a bottle of wine. At the end of the meal instead of mints they give you a condom each. Thought they tasted a bit rubbery but boy the bubbles you could blow...

So we're nearing the end of our time in Bangkok - we do love this city loads although the constant hassle does irritate the hell out of us as you may have guessed by now. Our train leaves at 7.15 tonight and arrives at 4am - it's then a couple of hours on the ferry. We're booked in at Ban's - where we did our advanced course a few months ago.

Below are a couple of piccies I've nicked off my brother's website - we'll upload ours at some point. Still not done those vid files...will try and get them done today.

Us on the Baiyoke Tower and a group shop at Cabbages and Condoms.