Bangkok, Thailand: temples, Brick Bar and the highest stage in the world.

We've just seen the back of the hottest two days of the trip so far, and we're now killing time until our taxi to the airport. Our flight is at an unappetising 6.15am. Yesterday we did the touristy thing and checked out all the most important and spectacular temples in Bangkok, including Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and the enjoyably bizarre Wat Arun, which is decorated with loads of random Chinese ceramics that ancient traders had been using as ballast on their ships but no longer wanted. Maybe more important religious buildings should be decorated with another people's discarded tea-set.

Perhaps the highlight of yesterday was in the evening when we went out for drinks. Down a little alleyway off Khao San Road (Bangkok's backpacker district) we stumbled across a place called Brick Bar, which features live Thai bands every night. It was absolutely rammed inside, but encouragingly, as we approached we could see that it was almost exclusively Thai people inside. Khao San area is convenient for those on a budget, but if I wanted to go on the beers with English, Irish and Dutch guys every night, I'd go to Amsterdam. It was good to be inside a place where you really felt like a foreigner. Everybody, even the women, was drinking a brand of scotch called 100 Pipers, which they would slug liberally into glass tumblers with a token gesture of soda. The band were superb - launching into soul, ska and disco numbers with gusto. And the crowd were going mental. Jacqui was particularly enjoying how when one trendy girl would start doing a particularly 'hip' dance move, people near her would point and then start dancing in the same way. And so dance moves could potentially spread from one side of the club to the other. It sounds rather naive and innocent, but it was strangely exciting and fun to see.

Tonight we went to see Bangkok's most famous show, Siam Niramit, which was Jacqui's Christmas present to me. The entrance price included transfers in a luxury minibus (if that's not an oxymoron), access to a credible if touristy recreation of a traditional Thai village on the same site as the theatre, and the greatest all-you-can-eat buffet known to man. We stuffed ourselves on poached fish, green curry, steamed vegetables, a carvery, pasta, sushi, salad, Indian curry, cakes and ice cream. I am still full some six hours later. The show itself was insane. The world's highest stage (and surely one of the widest) saw 150 performers (plus two live elephants and a few goats and roosters) recreate scenes from Thailand's history. To give you an idea of how bonkers it was, there was a deep river built into the stage, heavy rain at one point in the performance, and an elephant walked behind us as we sat 24 rows back. If this was in London it would blow all the cruddy musicals out of the water.

It was a fitting end to our latest stint in Bangkok. I imagine we'll be back, once we've conquered Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur and the south of Thailand. We fly to Bali this morning, where I think we'll head straight to Ubud for a few relaxing days in (hopefully) the type of accommodation that we haven't been able to afford in Thailand. I think its fair to say we've not stuck to our budget so far, but we should get back on track in Indonesia where a pound is 15,500 rupiahs and a nice bungalow with fresh mango outside your front door each morning will generally only set you back 85,000-100,000 rupiahs. Better than a punch in the face.