Mostly we were in Bangkok, so that I could spend some time at Chulalongkorn University. Then we took the train down through Thailand, reversing a journey we did back in 2012.

Here's a list of things I liked, in no particular order:

1. Benefiting from the expertise at Chula



2. Taking in the MBK area by night...









3. Finding a mango-and-sticky-rice vendor right outside the hotel

4. Feeling that the excellent breakfasts and happy-hour beer-and-salty-popcorn really did compensate for the rather poky room at the Ibis Bangkok Siam

5. Walking and riding the Saen Saep Canal, which turned out to be really close to the hotel







6. Taking early morning walks in the Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park and round the National Stadium









7. Popping into the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre for the exhibition of digitized Caravaggio works (held in conjunction with the Italian Embassy to mark 150 years of Thailand-Italy friendship), and remembering long-ago trips in Europe when I'd seen the originals







8. Enjoying the ambiance of the Mahakan Fort area















9. Sitting on the steps of Wat Mahannapharam, listening to the chanting of the monks





10. Chilling at the very pleasant World Cafe opposite Wat Ratchabophit, and discovering butterfly pea flower tea (now very fashionable, apparently, but we had previously known this beautiful blue only from nasi kerabu)





11. Braving the stuffiness of the Grand Palace area long enough to visit the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles (I was primarily there for the exhibition of US-Thai gifts, but the 1960s outfits, and the goals behind them, were also interesting)





12. Finding nice stuff to eat in Phraeng Puthon Square (I particularly recommend the coconut milk ice cream at Nuttaporn)







13. Slogging up to the roof of the iron pagoda (Loha Prasat) at Wat Ratchanatdaram



14. Enjoying the ride down the elephant's trunk of Thailand to Padang Besar (railway food is tasty; the little curtained off sleeping cubicles are quite comfortable; and wonderful snapshots slide along outside, especially at the southern end of the journey -- karst soars, a flock of egrets takes flight over gem-green rice paddies, a heron perches in a sugar palm, an old man leads his buffalo to the fields...)