We got up at 5:00 AM (23:00h Belgium time) and started what turned out to be a 30 hours long journey. A long tail boat brought us to Ao Nang , where the first of a row of mini vans would pick us up. Apparently the system of the minivans and busses does not look transparent at all to a 'farang' (= white face or English people for the Thai), but it seems to work very well. A network of little busses connects various places though the country, although it remains a mystery how they interact with each other. It must be the drivers themselves who are kept up to date through their mobile phones which they use half of the time (and of course hand free is not an item of discussion here, though I saw several construction sites and petrochemical industries with a 'safety first' sign. Of course their not 'beyond zero' yet.

Anyway, we switched regally busses drivers and of course travelling companions, which is always nice. From a speed devil to a calm driver, from no music to a real disco bar with a complete eighties revival (eye of the tiger, forever young, the final countdown, la isla margarita, and last but not least one night in Bangkok), we covered a pretty wide range.

Regardless the many changeovers, it was difficult to get food, since the stops were very short and unpredictable. However, near the border with Malaysia we managed to find a little Chinese shop for a take out meal. After 2 weeks Thailand we are getting rid of our initial precaution and prejudice against food prepared and served on the street, and our acceptance criteria for food was considerly lowered so we eat now about everything which is cooked. Unfortunately the Chinese served only noodle soup, and take out meals are served in plastic bags. So there we ended up back on the bus to continue our journey with a bag full of little bags filled with hot little soup and noodle bags floating between our feet. Of course engineers find solutions for this technical problem, and we poured the soup into our plastic too brush beakers. The whole bus smelled, but after 2 weeks Asia you do not care anymore. The only problem is that we cannot get rid of the noodle soup smell in the beakers. (Ma can you please send some eau de javel?)

The landscape changed to more agricultural as we went further south. The formalities to get over the border to Malaysia were time consuming but went smooth. Immediately the landscape become much more cultivated, almost clean. At the bust stops, we noticed restaurant with a dedicated Halal area for the moslims.

After the second to last bus change we found ourselves back in the absolute luxury of a sleeping bus, with seats, that could be inclined to allow a good night rest. Unfortunately we had seats in the back on top of the very noisy and hot engine block. The bus tended to be overbooked as well, but finally everyone got a seat and the bus went off.

One of the unfortunate travellers who was ending up on a seat on top of the engines next to us was Simon. He is a docent English literature and drama at the Bangkok international school, and was (and is) heading back to the UK for his brother wedding. Due to the situation in Bangkok, he decided to take the bus to Singapore. When we met him he was already 24 hours on the road. But he will (likely) make it to his brother wedding (congratulation by the way).

Around 6:30h Singapore time we arrived at the border and after passing the formalities, we took another bus to the centre and took a decent break fast. As you can imagine, the only one of us who had a good night rest and was alive and kicking was August. He actually enjoyed the whole journey, still working on his benchmarking study to compare all means of transport he experienced the last couple of days. Anyway, after a real crispy (and not spongy) French Baguette and 3 cups of strong coffee we started to feel human again and able to face the day. At noon we checked in at the Changi Village Hotel and dived into the pool.

Bye bye Thailand, and: Vietnam, here we come!

MESSAGE FROM STEVEN, THE PHOTOGRAPHER: PICTURES WILL FOLLOW WHEN WE ARE IN HANOI. After a good night sleep.