Hi everyone! Into day 8 of our trip so far and so much has happened!! The first two days we spent in Bangkok. It wasn't the nicest of cities, it was very very busy, polluted and humid. We were staying in a hostel which was down a little smelly alley off Khoasan Road (which was the main backpacker road). We spent quite alot of time just lounging in the room as it had aircon and it was so Hot everywhere else. In Bangkok we visited the Grand Palace which is where the king used to live, it was amazing! I huge mosaic, very elaborate and impressive, quite alot to take in. Half the palace was closed though because the queens sister had died recentley, and it was open to thai's dressed in black only. They are very into the king here, there are photos of him everywhere. We also went on a river tour on one of our days, it was just me and emily on a long boat, which took us around the canals, many where people were living, lots of houses on stilts etc, it was very interesting, but also nice a breezy which is a reason why we especially enjoyed it. We are currently in ChaingMai which was a 12 hour train journey north of Bangkok. Its alot nicer than Bangkok, a bit more laid back and less humid, but still full of cars and mopeds! We have just finished a 3 day trek in the national park near by. We did elephant riding, which was great fun but a little scary. We did some tough hiking, not hours and hours but it was either very uphill or downhill and thirty something degrees so it was tough, however we had lots of breaks where we went swimming in waterfalls! One of the nights we stayed in a hilltop village which was only accessable by foot or moped. Our hut had great views of the valleys and mountains. Our group was really nice, a mixture from all over the globe, we got on really well and our tour guides Didi and Dat were a good laugh too and cooked lots of nice curries! The village was nice, it seemed quite well off as it had a school and lots of solar panels etc, so obviously the treks going there are benefitting it. The second night we stayed in a hut next to a waterfall. The evenigns included lots of singing around the camp fires, and playing games including one called black pancake which resulted in getting black soot all over your face, which happens not to wash off very well in the rivers! The nights were cold but very clear, the sky was amazing! youb could make out the millky way easily. On the final day we went bamboo rafting along the river which was really really fun, we didn't fall in but managed to get soaked from other rafters and we kept crashing as well. It was quite surreal and one point we went past some elephants and it felt like jurassic park! Emily has become a favorite meal for the local mosqitoes however we have been assured there is no malaria where we are... We've had two thai massages which are great and only about 3pounds! However they are more like doing yoga than the average realxing massage! Tonight we have a 14hr trainride followed by a 14hr bbus/boat ride to an island called Koh Toa where we are going diving! Will let you know how it goes! x