Well, blow me down! I’m really enjoying this cycling business!

After a healthy leisurely breakfast Marion and I ended up doing almost the same trip again, but with more stopping as it was really sunny and hot.

We were so sweaty and out of breath we stopped in a little bamboo shack for a rest, and also found out some more about elephant trekking and normal trekking. (We found out it was expensive.)

But I just love this little town... it’s so quiet, traffic wise, and so pretty.

It’s small enough that you often bump into people you’ve met before, to the extent that all day we I’m able to wave hello to loads of people I've met here, couples and also people that we’ve met in other areas of Thailand. Everyone has advice on where to go to next, or who you can ask about where we want to go. Got chased by a beautiful rain storm all the way home.. Was a spectacular view as it approached us over the valley, and wonderfully fun cycling madly through wonderfully sunlit sparkling rain when it caught us.

So after we got back having had a jolly good soak in the skankle improving mineral springs, and then again in the rain we went home to clean up etc, (gave Lester a call for his birthday) Marion and I had a nice dinner and then rode out of town to a bar everyone said they were going to , called the Bebop bar... but sadly they were having an open mike night where a possibly horribly misinformed, and unfortunately, mistakenly encouraged, undeniably negatively talented (or should I say talentiallychallenged) girl kept getting on stage to unleash upon the audience, her terrible hummed “harmonies” or backing vocals to all other performer’s otherwise passable efforts.

It was like hearing someone singing along to their ipod when you have no idea what the tune their singing to is, but a song with a song that you do recognise being played to you at the same time.

At first it was tolerable, then uncomfortably funny in an “office” or “borat” kind of way before rapidly becoming so unutterably dreadful we were forced to leave. These aforementioned stages all happened within the time it takes to drink one beer you understand.

In all fairness, she did have a go on the bongos for a while which was also jaw droppingly hilarious in it’s awfulness, as she clearly had no clue that there is supposed to be some kind of rhythm there, and her efforts were simply some randomly added "bop" sounds throughout the songs, but performed with the same kind of earnest, brow creasing, eyes closed "I'm really performing soulfully" expression that she used whilst singing, did add to hugely to the comedy value. However the explosive laughter this caused was very short lived, as it became abundantly and devastatingly clear that she was getting on stage for every song regardless whether she knew it or not.

But dammit maybe I misunderstood. Maybe it was an open mike comedy night and this was actually a sophisticated piece of comedy genius, and I simply left just before the punchline was delivered... should I actually be kicking myself??

I need to go and renew my visa as I've just realised it runs out on 29th August, and I'm not leaving until 20th September, which I can only think that you do by leaving the country and coming back in, so I will pop over the border to Siem reap again maybe see some more temples or perhaps just chill by the pool.

Then I shall come back to Bangkok and head off down to the islands.

Oh! I have been listening to a cracking podcast called “Make it So” which is basically 3 geeks discussing aspects of a star trek; (who are the best baddies/ the most useless characters/ worst continuity mistake of all the series... etc etc) Very funny. I am addicted! (Check it out all ST geeks!). Who needs TV?!??

Just don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow!

Back for more “make it so”!

Engage.