Back in Kolkata we checked into the Red Brick Guesthouse. This was about 1 km down the road from the Central B&B and turned out to be just as enjoyable, if completely different. It was recommended to me by Raj Buarah in Guwahati. Having long been disappointed with the accommodation available in Kolkata, I had now found two favourites for future visits. This Guesthouse was very much historical in its setting. The house itself was over one hundred years old and had several rooms on its two floors. Dad and I were located on the second floor, with a private lounge, balcony and landing. Dad’s room was vast, ensuite with a four poster bed, antique furniture and an old two seater sofa. Mine was smaller, but no less comfortable with a nice big bathroom, plenty of hot water and fast wifi. The big high rooms and antiques gave the Red Brick House a colonial era feel and Dad immediately felt at home - especially when the air con kicked it.
Nando was the man charged with looking after us, as Mr Roy the owner was away in some hill station . Nando (who possessed a passing resemblance to a short Freddie Mercury) was as helpful as anyone could be. His breakfasts were vast, his organisational skills great and he was able to organise taxis for us which did not rip us off (a challenge here in Kolkata). That afternoon (as promised) I took my father for a shave - Indian pavement style and after a long wait and a lively conversation with the queue of waiting customers, he eventually got the razor treatment. He did seem to enjoy that but it was the massage (of which he had two) this he really enjoyed - all for a total of US$ 1.50. It would have been half that if he had only had one head massage.
We then caught a taxi to Kewpies Restaurant. This would be my third visit here and one I had been looking forward too for quite a while, but true to form the taxi driver got lost, lied and dropped us of at what he said was the restaurant but in reality was further away from Kewpies than when we started. As Kolkata streets are confusing, especially at night time, this all took a while for me to work out. All in all it cost a fortune to get the restaurant, but when we did my meal was completely worth it. Dad was a little less enamoured.
The next morning we were up early to met with Mr Kaushik Chatterjee from Kolkata Story Trails. In order to maximise my father’s time in Kolkata, plus fit in a trip to the Sandarbans, the Photographic tour and the food safari - I had decided to engage a guide for the big long look at the cultural heritage of the city . Mr Kaushik Chatterjee had glowing reviews and on the phone he was so pleased to hear that my 80 year old father was coming, that he waived Dad’s fee.
As it turned out Kaushik was excellent, his knowledge immense and his ability to gauge what we were interested in was also quite exceptional. He organised a car for the tour at my recommendation and we started off by leaving the Red Brick Guesthouse and making our way over to the Shahid Minar, Raj Bhavan (Governors palace), Akashbani Bhavan, Kolkata High Court Building, St John’’s Church, Treasury House, GPO Building and the famous Writers Building. These give you a good feel of both modern Kolkata as well as the by gone era of the British Raj. We also spent time looking at the Kolkata trams, which are a little the worse for wear. Later on we continued over to the Flower Market (Asia’s biggest) and the bazaars & trading zones before reaching the Kumortuli suburb. This is the clay idol making hub of Eastern India and definitely one of the best examples of its kind in the world . Dad had been here on his Photographic tour (which I had missed through illness) and I too found this area fascinating.
We then decided to have some lunch and let Dad have a siesta. Kaushik therefore took us back to the guesthouse and suggested we eat across the road at the Corner Courtyard Restaurant opposite the Red Brick. And very nice, friendly it was too, with a focus more on western cuisine, rather than Bengali. It was during the meal that I felt the ground sudden move. Actually I thought initially I was dizzy. I mentioned it to Dad - who just looked at me weirdly and said “no” firmly and returned his gaze back to his mountain of food. But it reminded me of an earthquake I had experienced in Italy at night when my bed had moved. When I looked up the lampshades above the table they were all swaying and it was then that the staff rushed in. Actually this was just a violent earth tremor after the Nepalese earthquake. We had missed the main one as we had been in the car with Kaushik. Soon the restaurant TV was on and we were made aware of the full horror in Nepal.
After Dad’s rest we resumed our tour with the Victoria Memorial. As the clouds were gathering we dashed inside the vast building to escape the first downpour and throughly enjoyed the history of Kolkata exhibition tucked around the back. The rest of the displays were forgettable, although the building itself is quite extraordinary. Kaushik collect us and took us straight towards the Howrah Bridge also known as the Rabindra Setu . From here we will proceeded over the bridge into Howrah but again the heavens opened and the rain came bucketing down. For the rest of the tour Kaushik did his best, but the rain was so heavy we could only sit in the car. We passed the Maidan or the Lungs of Kolkata, and gazed at the clubs and race course ground also from dry interior of the car. We also went past Eden Gardens and the Botanical Gardens before we decided to call it quits. 
Despite the weather the tour with Kaushik had been informative and excellent. He got on very well with my father and was very helpful. I would recommend his tours to anyone. He dropped us off quite close to the Red Brick Guesthouse in front of a local Bengali restaurant where we enjoyed an inexpensive and great dinner before returning to the guesthouse - so Dad could pack.
The next morning we were up and enjoying another of Nando’s gigantic breakfasts when the old Ambassador taxi arrived. Dad was off on his next leg of his trip to Delhi and then Amritsar, whilst this was my last day in India. As it was a Sunday the roads were pretty deserted and we made quick time to Kolkata airport where I said goodbye to Dad and returned to the Redbrick Guesthouse. The rest of the day was spent organising my backpack, writing my blog and generally catching up on some chores. A lot of the city was shut so this made good sense. At night Nando cooked an enormous meal for me, before I retired to watch the soccer.
The next morning the same Ambassador turned up and again in no time I was checking in at Kolkata airport . I did have a scare when Indigo Airlines told me that my passport was now “no longer sufficient proof of your (my) identity and that I needed to produce a credit card” - or, rather surprisingly “a photocopy of one”. Consequently. I had to unpack everything in front of the checkin counter. Indigo further annoyed me by not accepting Rupees on their inflight service despite being an Indian airline - only “Dollars or Baht” said the air stewardess.
It was a welcome relief to arrive in Bangkok and get my passport accepted, quickly and efficiently. With little trouble I bordered the airport train and was soon in the heart of Bangkok a short walk from my hotel. I have had issues with all the hotels in which I have stayed since moving out of the Atlanta, but the icheckinn Studios were great and good value. I was also in the same road as my friend, Joan from Barcelona, who is working at the Rembrandt Hotel. It was good to catch up with him.
As usual I spent the time in Bangkok either shopping or catching up with Joan. I did also meet Nukshi Naro, a friend of Langa Chuba Chang’s from Tuensang who now lives and works in Bangkok. We had a great coffee and a good chat on meeting each other. Strange that it already seems such along time since I was in Nagaland and its actually just three weeks.
After three nights I was off to Koh Chang to relax and catch up with the blog. I was into my final ten days before flying back to the UK. Koh Chang could not have been more different to where I have been on the trip and in a way, was exactly what I needed . After the electricity issues in Nagaland and then meeting up with Dad, I had been struggling to keep up with my blog, let alone the many the other things I have promised people and myself I would do on this trip. Consequently as my door to door minibus parked on the ferry heading to Koh Chang I knew I was in for both a rest and plenty of work.
Koh Chang had been recommended by several people as a good quiet destination, so I could do some writing and have a relaxing week before braving my flight back to the UK. It was certainly nice to be back in Thailand where top end modern Toyota minibuses fetch you from your hotel and the drive you to your next destination, depositing you at your next one. These services were getting underway when I last travelled the length and breadth of the country in 1989, but it was still surprising to think that many places I have visited in the last 6 months in the North East of India have yet to offer something similar. Although I know they are starting to in Itanagar .
On my minibus there were three slightly unsociable French tourists and an Israeli policeman, who was very nice. Eon was his name and it was first trip overseas. The ferry itself was largely empty. However the free tourists maps handed out when I climbed on board, immediately suggested that Koh Chang was going to be rather more touristy than I had initially been lead to believe. It transpired that the north eastern side of the island is virtually untouched by any development, but the south is heavily developed. As we exited the ferry and turned toward the southern end of the island it quickly became all too clear that it would be the most touristy place visited on my travels. The first bay, White Sands was just like Costa Brava with bars, an Irish Pub, massage parlours, t-shirt and souvenir shops, restaurants, internet cafes, tour agencies and other paraphernalia. Eon got out at one of those and I thanked my lucky stars I was not in that area.  
As it turned out I was about half way down the island at a place called Klong Prao. Here the village (and this was a small modern village) was situated at the mouth of an inlet which split the beach of Klong Prao almost in half. Unlike White Sands, this area seemed to cater for a wide variety of tourists such as those premium ones at the two resorts and then some basic long term hippy settlements dotted along the beach. However I was staying at the inlet, in a guesthouse converted by Ian and his Thai wife from traditional fisherman’s huts . These renovated huts were all perched on stilts facing the salt water inlet and surrounded by Mangroves. Of course I knew all about these after the Sandarbans and I was pleasantly pleased to see two Collar Kingfishers fishing on the opposite bank as I walked in with my bags.
The opposite bank was cacophony of old and new fisherman’s huts on stilts. Some were converted into restaurants, others holiday houses and there was one high end resort. At night the place lit up with lanterns. My room was constructed from traditional thai polished floor boards, with a large bamboo bed, basic furniture, a great shower and bathroom. The wifi was of a speed I can only recall from Europe and the half a dozen rooms fronted onto an elevated seating area over the river. Perfect I thought.
I started to get on with my writing. Yet it was about six thirty when bars started. Of course this was the long May Day public holiday in Thailand and the Thais were just starting to enjoy their six day break. By seven the place was so loud, it was now reverberating to a vile mixture of karaoke, Thai rock and covers of old 1970s hits . It sounded like the final of X- Factor and I wondered how I was going to survive.
I slept through the first night, which super impressed me and the next morning Ian pointed out two things. One - my room had complimentary ear plugs and the second was that the music finished at 12 o’clock each night and it would be over in another five days. I relaxed somewhat. Actually as my stay progressed I got used to it - must have been all the noise training in India. Several other guests though could not cope though and promptly left. Unbeknown to me, the village had also swelled to accommodate hordes of mainland tourists.
Sure enough six days later it was the peace and quiet which Ian had promised, plus all the domestic tourists had gone, so I virtually had the place to my self. The first five days I got my head down and caught up on all my writing plus several chores, so for the last few days I was able to truly relax.
Certainly Thailand has changed enormously since my backpacking days of 1989. In fact if I have visited the country since I have not been outside Bangkok and rarely been here for longer than three days . The exception was in late 2014, when I was waiting for my Indian visa and became so ill I had to leave Bangkok for Ayutthaya. Koh Chang is not on every tourists radar (the south being a bigger draw card) and I know that compared to any countries there are huge numbers of foreigners her (5x the number that visit India alone), but I was still not quite prepared for the numbers here on Koh Chang in this, the rainy season. Ian was saying there “are actually not so many tourists here this year, the Russian economic problems have affected our business, although they are starting to come back.”  Russian menus and signs were a testament to this tourist business in the village.
However the village was certainly miles better than White Sands up the road. There was still a Thai market, no theme pubs were here and the locals did not have that Bangkok scowl which I believe comes from dealing with too many rude foreigners. One other indication that this area was still not swamped was the food. Having enjoyed Thai food for many years, in my favourite restaurants in both Thailand and in London (Nam in Victoria springs to mind), I was shattered to be given food that had huge quantities of sugar added. And I don't mean just a smaller mount of sugar but shovels of the stuff. On the first night I had a Papaya Salad that was sweeter than any desert I had eaten in India. It rivalled some of their Chais. It was so disgusting. The red curry was similarly afflicted. At other beach restaurants I had the same problem. In the end I had to get Ian to get his wife to write me a note saying “do not put sugar, brown sugar, palm sugar or any sweetener in this man’s food, he is diabetic and could have an medical emergency if you do.”  This certainly worked and finally I got the style of food I enjoyed. I also concentrated on a few more upmarket places. Ian also explained (and I heard that this is common) that the country folk especially in central Thailand like their food sweet and will ask for extra sugar in everything. This certainly made sense as I have not had this problem in Bangkok, but Ayutthaya in the night market I did encounter sweet food. Gujarat in India favoured similar additions of sugar, but nothing as sweet as here. Actually Nukshi Naro told me in Bangkok that this was one of the things she could not understand about Thailand.
As to the rest of time here, it was great just relaxing. I did nothing really special. The excursions were all very expensive and I was not interested in the trekking that was on offer to small waterfalls and certainly not in elephant trekking. It was though great being in the Mangroves. When I was not writing I spent plenty of time trying to photograph those collared kingfishers, but was not hugely successful. I unfortunately never spotted the blacked capped ones which are also meant to be here. However the sunbirds were much easier as they darted in and out of Mangroves and low and behold there were many Racket-Tailed Drongos. I was amazed after having spent so long chasing them around Nameri National Park to find them all over the place here. Sadly the last four days on Koh Chang were wet, with the monsoon again appearing to arrive early. This made photographing these birds - difficult.
Here, I was in package tourist land. No one really talked to you here, it took me seven days before another guest truly spoke to me and this was not due to a lack of trying. The collection of foreign tourists in the main areas were on the whole embarrassing, some quite disrespectful to the locals and generally acting like they owned the place. The days of deserted beaches in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Phi Phi are surely long gone. I was though pleased to have a rest and finish my blogs etc. Then it was back to Bangkok to catch my plane.