Chiang Mai.

The train arrived, after a 12 hour trip. It was surprisingly comfortable, even if it was freezing cold and I did manage to sleep. We went straight to our hotel but didn't even get time for a shower as we were straight off for lunch and elephant riding!! I had really been looking forward to doing this but I was utterly horrified by the way in which the elephants were treated. The riders had a hook much like a fish hook with them. Originally I thought that they were just using this behind the elephants ear to steer him and even that was bad enough, but when we saw them sticking them into the animals' eyes to get them to move when they stopped for a bit of food I stopped enjoying myself! It was really sick and everyone was quite upset when we dismounted. I know that they have to be able to control these powerful animals but surely blinding them is not the way to go?! Intrepid heard it from us all anyway! There are other sanctuaries that treat the animals brilliantly but this was not one!

After the elephant riding some of us went bamboo rafting. This was really relaxed and Sarah and I managed to stay relatively dry compared to some of the others! Our van broke down on the way home and we were stuck on the side of the road waiting for a replacement for an hour and half. We kept ourselves occupied by watching a frog try to cross the road and get squished! We had bets on on whether he'd make it or not! The this little old lady came along on a moped which was overloaded with stuff and the guides spent 20mins trying to balance her out so she could drive without falling over. It was hilarious!

We finally got back to the hotel but it was straight out for dinner and the night markets (which are brilliant in Chiang Mai).

The following day was another brilliant day where we went to a cookery school for the day! We learned to cook 5 dishes and we had to eat them all of course. It was divine and I'm addicted to Thai food. We even made our own curry pastes which is no easy feat, it involves lots of pounding with a mortar and pestle! It was really great. That evening we went to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep which is on a mountain overlooking the city. It is really beautiful up there (once you climb the 306 steps).

Everyone really enjoyed Chiang Mai, but alas we must be off on our next leg which involves trekking in the jungles of northern Thailand!!

Rice Barge Trip.

After leaving Kanchanaburi we had a 3 hour songthaew drive to Ayutthaya (not a very pleasant experience). From there we were brought to our Rice Barge.It was really beautiful, a lot more luxurious than we were expecting. It was so hot though. This provence is the hottest in Thailand and the humidity was really suffocating! We sailed for about an hour and then we got off for a short bike ride through the local countryside. We went to an elephant sanctuary, which was really amazing. We watched the elephants painting, playing in the bath and we fed them. It was really great.

The following day was a long day which started with a funeral procession at 7.30am. We sat with the monks and locals and presented gifts for the one who had died. Then we headed off on another bike ride, this one was 3hrs long and it was roasting! Well it was ok til we started playing football at a local school, that just killed me! We also saw a temple that was built by the same guy who built Ankhor Wat, but it's nothing like it really.

We left the Chao Phraya river that evening and went back to Ayutthaya where we had a tour of different temples in the area before catching our overnight train to Chiang Mai.

Sa wat dee ka Thailand!!

That means hello Thailand! So I arrived here safe and sound, even if I was sick and spent the first two days in bed! It is a complete and utter culture shock when you arrive in bangkok, not to mention the attack on your senses! The first day I had a walk around the city I couldn't wait to get back to the shelter of my hotel room! It's loud, it's smelly, there are hundreds of people and you nearly get run over every two minutes!! When you get used to it though it has a great appeal and one that I've really come to enjoy.

The first day of the tour was a pretty long one. We started off with Wat Po, home to the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. It's a pretty amazing temple and is where the phenomenon of Thai massage started. Later that day we got a bus to Kanchanaburi, where we were collected on bikes and brought to our accomodation. That evening we went to see the bridge over the River Kwae (not Kwai as is said in English!) It is exactly as it looks in all the films but I honestly thought that it would be much longer! It was great to see it though.

The next day we hopped on our Sonthaew and were brought to the Jeath War Museum. This museum depicts the life of POW's in the Japanese camps during WWII and how they built the Siam-Burma railway. After this we went to the Erawan national park to the famous 7 tier waterfall. Sarah and I headed straight to the 7th tier thinking it would be an easy enough hike. An hour later, dripping with sweat and breathless we arrived, but it was definitely worth it. We didn't hesitate in diving into the lovely water and we sat there for a fabulous half hour before making our way back to the bottom and lunch! We treated ourselves to a Thai massage that evening after our "hard" day!!