Joel: We've just been out for dinner with Fritz at our favourite restaurant, an Elvis-themed place that serves up the most fantastic Thai dishes. When we left our house it had just got dark but the sky was clear and the temperature was baking. Halfway through though, the clouds boomed and the heavens opened. It was a downpour. Since we've been here, every time it's rained it's really rained. There are no half measures, no light drizzle or intermitent showers, just proper heavy rain. We decided not to wait for it to go off and set about riding home, a difficult task for me with being fairly new to motorbikes. I could hardly see a thing. It's not too far to travel but we had to negotiate lakes and streams where earlier there had been none. And the rain drops actually hurt. They were so big it was painful. Anyway, we made it home safely and took these photos as a record. Should really get a brolly for Rakhi to hold for these kind of journeys.

Today was a national holiday so last night we went up to Lop Buri for a house warming party. Mihaila and Joelle, friends we met in Ban Phe, have moved out of their hotel and into a place that really is like something from Deadwood. The kitchen is a solitary tap and the whole upstairs is made of ancient wood. There's a cool balcony but on reflection, seeing their place has made me feel quite lucky to have a house as modern as ours. I'm sure everyone gets little visitors from time to time but at least we have a real toilet, air-conditioning and a washing machine. It seems they're going to be living seriously Thai-style.

It's nice to get out of Takhli when we can so we don't have to behave like teachers. Last night, our train was half an hour late leaving and the station seems to be a hang-out place for young Thais. We were approached constanly by groups from our school, pleasantly inquiring where we were going. It's clear already that everyone in the town knows us and if we so much as bought a couple of beers I'm sure the news would get around. When we finally arrived in Lop Buri we walked straight into Tesco Lotus and bought a big bottle of gin. It's nice to be anonymous.