Well normally i would say hello from Thailand or Laos or wherever i may be but i am actually in Morley and the weather is mierable but i decided to catch you up on my last few weeks Travelling..

Since i last wrote on here from Laos Vang Vieng (which was mental by the way everyday just a huge party but they still do make the best fried chicken sandwiches ever) i have been to Luang Prabang, Chaing Mai, Bangkok, Koh Phangan, back to Bangkok and then to Moscow for a quick stop before heading too heathrow. Ill begin to tell you the best bits before coming home and skip out the dull bits of bucket drinking, fire dancing etc etc.

So Luang Prabang was next and on the way there we had to pull over for an hour (i am not sure if there had been an accident or what) on a big hill in the middle of mountains and and jungle. To be honest we could have stopped in worse places the view was good and we got to escape the bus that was playing music by Blue atomic Kitten and west life! Anyways it was that hot that when sat on the floor on the tarmak it stuck to your bum. Bad times.

Luang Prabang was nice and pretty and the night market was worth a look and it is very simular to Hoi An on a night in that its lit up with paper lanterns and looks very tranquil. But there was not bags of things to do. While there it rained alot on a evening too and when it rains in Laos it pours so that was nice for a cool down after the heat through the day.

While there we did what all tourists do and visited the Waterfall and the cave. The waterfall did not fail to deliver it was crystal blue water that was freezing too and we all enjoyed a nice refreshing dip folllowed by a trek in the jungle in our bare feet to the top of the waterfall to see the view. The view from the top im affraid is no where near as good as the view from the bottom but if you look at my pictures i think you will agree that that would be pretty hard to beat anyway,. At the waterfall they also had a bear sanctuary which was really big and they were well looked after. I have never seen brown bears so close it really was an added bonus.

The cave unfortunately was not as impressive as the waterfall. You get a boat across the Mekong to the cave and inside the cave are lots of Minature Buddahs, We had to walk up a lot of stairs to get to the top of the cave and i have to say we were all a bit dissapointed and it wasn't worth the hassle.

Moving on, from there we began our journey to Chaing Mai. This involved a horrible bus journey where they played Laos Music on the way there so you couldnt hear your IPOD and turned the lights off so you coudnt read. they also during the 16 or 17 hours did not stop for a break only a quick stop off if you wanted a wee n the bushes. We then hopped off here in the early hours on to a Tuk Tuk, from a Tuk Tuk onto a Boat, from there onto a taxi and after that a mini bus for around 4 hours until eventually arriving in Chaing Mai after what seemed an eternity.

To say Chaing Mai is in the hills and normally cooler than the rest of Thailand it felt like the hottest place we had been,. The heat was really ristricting in how far you could walk and what you could do in a day it really was unbearable at times. Whlst in Chaing Mai i did a cooking course where i learnt to make Pad Thai, Red Curry, Papaya Salad, Spring Rolls, Yellow Curry Stir fry and Mango sticky rice, I vistited an elephant sanctuary where i saw elephants play football, Paint, play the harmonica, play darts and Dance (i still dont know what to make of it all) I visited several temples one of which had a wax work Buddha and i saw one with Donald Duck. I watched a Muay Thai Boxing Match, in which i saw two knock outs and lots of lady boy boobs. But mostly in Chang Mai i drank lots of fluid from seven eleven and cooled down from there air conditioning and asked Rob if he was any better from day to day as he has ill and was wasting away through his a*******.

From Chaing Mai another quick stop was needed before heading to Koh Phangan. The quick st.op involved meeting up with some girls from Manchester and regretably going to watch a ping pong show in Bangkok. It s still to me my worst Travelling memory and the most horrid thing i have ever done, I just presumed it would be fun to watch and the girl would be enjoying herself. How naive i was. The girls, who each performed a different trick looked miserable and forced, I felt sick when i came out early and cried as i was ashamed i had funded sex tourism in this way.

So Koh Phangan. Well like the other islands we have been to it was truly beatifull. Everytime i waked on the beach on a morning i coudnt help but get a little choked at the view. We stayed there for around 9 days. We wanted a nice relaxing time before coming home after the constant moving about. To be honest there is not much to say bout what we did because reflecting back we did nothing but chill on the beach or by the pool and enjoyed a bucket or two on a night. We did go to a Black Moon Party which was Trance music so not great but i can see how amazing the full moon partys are with house music and i will definately go back for one. Koh Phangan was pretty much like Phi Phi on a night with the fire dancers on the beach but there were not as many bars on the island and therefore the musc was the same everynight. All stuff can't bare like AKON, Lady GAGA that kinda crap. Phi Phi still remains my Fav as its just got so much character and Koh Phangan only seems to be "happening" during the full moon party and is geared around that. While there though i made a really close friends with a dog, i took him for a walk on the beach everyday and he slept outside our room, he would follow me around everywhere and came to say bye on the last day, sad i know but tears were nearly shed.

So back to Bangkok, it was the first time in the three times we had been there that we really noticed the trouble and the affects of the protests and that night at 8 they set a curfew and everyone had to stay in there rooms and everything shut down(even seven eleven) admittedly it was quite scary and I had a sleepless night listening to the helicopters hover over Khosan Road and Rambuttri. An early journey to the airport in the morning saw the aftermath of two shopping malls that had been set on fire. Its really sad as Bangkok is such a great, vibrant city that was going through such turmoil.

Flight on time and to moscow we flew where everyone seemed rude and abrupt. Luckily we were not there long and landed in Heathrow when expected.

Il write a final blog to sum up my time travelling but have been putting it off as it wont be anywhere near as good as Robs an his seems to say everything that i want to. Maybe ill copy and paste it..

Chow for now x x