Happy St George's Day

I couldn't let this day pass without wishing you all a happy St George's Day. As a treat for you all here's a rare picture of my goodself wearing this t-shirt in Sukhothai on this very day.

To celebrate we cycled from Old Sukhothai to New Sukhothai - a distance of some 10 miles - to lunch at the 'Dream Cafe', one of Thailand's best restaurants. We had spring rolls to start and I had the red snapper for a main, with Mrs Toque opting for a chicken and cashew dish. With a few beers the total price of this feast was about eight quid - scandalous!

You can't tell from the photo but the snapper was the size of a small dog, and much much more delicious.

However, it was not all plain sailing. The 10 mile bike ride in scorching heat resulted in some rather red skin (I now have a 'farmer tan' quite in keeping with the red and white motiff of this auspicious date) and we reluctantly had to hire a tuk tuk to carry us and our bikes the 10 miles back to Old Sukhothai. The humiliation of arriving back at our hotel with our bikes in the back of a tuk tuk - that and the uproarous laughter of our hosts - only served to heighten my redness.

Still, I at least have supper to look forward to and the possibility of trumping the red snapper with a sumptuous green curry at the cost of about a quid. Call me shallow, I like the temples and stuff, but I'm here for the food.

If you would like a nice Buddha for your desktop wallpaper (and who wouldn't?) I have a nice shot of the little fella here.