Blog 1 - Uploaded in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

First things first, Thailand is not called "the Amazing Thailand" for no reason. It's beautifully unique, bonkers, disgusting and almost unbearably humid with temperatures to match! During our first week, all three of us have seen, smelt, heard, tasted and experienced things we never thought possible. I speak for all of us when I say it feels as if we have been here for a much longer period of time.

I will always remember the moment we walked through the the airport arrival lounge into the savage humidity and smog of Bangkok, our faces were priceless! We couldn't quite believe what we were feeling and I remember wondering if I'd ever get used to it. (I'm still not used to it)

Fortunately we already had a hostel booked for that night and as we were faced with hundreds of taxis, we decided to approach one of the drivers and ask that he take us to CAZZ Hostel on Sukhumvit Road. The driver quoted 600 baht but we managed to barter down to 400, we still paid too much!

The drive was interesting to say the least, all I really remember was the intense taste and smell of the thick smog which blankets the whole city, also the madness of all the different types of transport available from Tuk-Tuk's to motorcycle taxis. That evening we decided to head out for some food, it only seemed appropriate to order three portions of Pad Thai and a Tiger beer, it set the bar pretty high… delicious! With bellies full of food it was time to catch up on some well earned sleep.

Tuesday was our opportunity to explore Bangkok as best we could. We hopped on the skytrain towards the main hustle and bustle as Jerome was booked in for his final rabies vaccination, they hustled him for 1800 baht, it should of been 1200 but he took it well and we got a photo with the nurse! We then decided to have a good look around the streets on foot, it wasn't long before I came across my first green coconut stall, it was an easy yes from me and it tasted so good… definitely the first of many! Half an hour or so later we stumbled across a street which was entirely lined on each side with food stalls, this it what Bangkok is all about! We followed this street which led to what I can describe as a warehouse filled with stalls of all kinds. Finding some half recognisable food was our first challenge, we paced the market a few times to make sure we knew what was what (we didn't) before deciding to just go for it. I approached a stand displaying noodles and broth, I must have said the words "vegetables only" at least five times and after the lady nodded her head I agreed to purchase said noodle soup… I had just been served the most bizarre pork noodle soup I have ever seen in my life, the pork in my bowl made a saveloy sausage seem like a good idea, I didn't dare eat it! We spent the rest of the day exploring and also popped into Bangkok's central park called 'Sanam Luang', after some more photos we aimed to get some food at a local night market before heading back to the hostel and meeting some great new people - we chatted for a while and ended up gaining some valuable travel advice.

From Bangkok we found a mini bus to take us to 'Kanchanaburi', the next stop on our itinerary. We paid 120 baht and the journey took at least two and a half hours. On arrival we decided to try a popular Thai food - green mango which is incredibly un-ripe, chopped up and served with chilli sugar and salt… so strange and with a similar texture to an apple, just more grainy. That evening we met a 40+ year old dutch veteran and alcoholic turned traveller called Andre. He took us out for dinner with some locals and the food was incredible, not to mention cheaper than the other local restaurants. I paid 40 baht for my meal!

Before returning to the hostel, we explored a local night market where I tried some really strange food. First was a date/nut/raisin mixture which was rolled into balls and covered in what I can only describe as tasteless slime, definitely one of the weirdest textures I have ever had in my mouth. Dessert was fresh ripe mango and multicoloured rice served on a banana palm with warm coconut cream… incredible!

The next morning we woke up at 5am to catch the 6:07 train to Nam Tok station via 'Death railway' which takes roughly two hours. It is easily the most uncomfortable train journey I have ever taken but, at the same time, the most beautiful without a doubt! The scenery is like something out of a movie, especially as we witnessed a multicolour sunrise over the mountains as we trundled on through.

After stopping for a quick breakfast, we then walked for around 15 minutes to 'Sai Yok' waterfall to take some photos. Just after, we met a taxi driver and bartered for a price to take us 20km north to 'Hell Fire Pass' and then back the opposite way for another hours drive to 'Erawan National Park', we agreed on 800 baht which we thought was fair as it was a long way.

I am so glad we visited Hell Fire Pass and the memorial museum just above, we took on so much information and got such a better insight as to what things would have been like having to work on the railway. For the record, I am truly blown away by the sheer mental endurance of the workers and how they carried on for up to 18 hours a day for 3 months with no break. It was also such a privilege to stand where they themselves would have all those years ago.

On a lighter note, Erawan national park consists of seven waterfalls/lagoons each set at different altitudes. We trekked through the tropical jungle to 2000m and probably lost half our bodyweight in sweat! It was definitely worth it, the lagoons were a pearly green/blue and filled completely of fish that eat your skin, I had my go pro but forgot I was filming… I caught myself screaming like an absolute little girl as these fish surrounded my feet. We must have spent at least a few hours visiting each waterfall and lagoon, they got better as we moved on, it wasn't long before we were jumping off of ledges and attempting back flips.. what an adventure! To end the day we sat down for some food, I had my first Thai green coconut curry. It was by far the hottest food I have had on the journey so far but, the flavours were so intense, I doubt you can find green curry like that anywhere other than Thailand.

Again on Friday we decided to wake up at 5am to walk 20 minutes north west to the bridge over the river Kwai, we watched the early train depart and gazed at the sunrise, again truly beautiful and tranquil as we had the river flowing past beneath us… sunrise is the best start to anyones day!

After some food we moved our bags to the coach station and caught the next bus heading to 'Suphanburi', it was supposed to take two hours but ended up taking nearly four, we travelled with no air conditioning in the midday sun…. it must have been a silly temperature in there, GRIM!

We then transferred to a minibus to take us to 'Ayutthaya' and spent 45 minutes walking around with our backpacks trying to find a cheap hostel, we finally settled at place called 'Green Hostel'. Having been in town for no longer than a few hours, we quickly decided to book a temple tour river cruise, it's the most convenient way to get around and see all the best spots in one afternoon, we walked our feet off and finished at a night market where we tried some more local food, it had been one hell of a day and I had managed to rack up at least 8 mosquito bites - they love me. We finished our big day with a few well deserved beers at a great bar with a good vibe not too far away, to put it subtly it ended up being a much later night than we had planned.

The next morning we all woke up feeling pretty fuzzy. We were due to check out, so dragged ourselves out of bed and packed up all of our bits. We organised a night coach ticket, this time we didn't mess around… it was a good nine hour slog to Chiang Mai so we decided to book Asia's equivalent of VIP, it cost us 650 baht but came with food and air conditioning, we were due to depart at 22:40 that night.

We still had plenty of the day left so we decided to head out to a local floating market, it wasn't what we expected at all! As tourists we got stung with a 200 baht entrance fee, I found it so annoying as asian residents just walk through willy nilly… oh well, we didn't have a choice. It was a beautiful market to look at but I have to say, there wasn't much floating going on! There were probably three boats in total. We were there for around 20 minutes before deciding to head back and sort something else out for us to do.

After chilling for a little bit, we thought it was a great idea to hire bikes for the rest of the day, Jerome came up with a great itinerary for us to cycle, we would see all the local streets and squeeze in a few more temples, it all sounded great… until it all went wrong!!!!

We had been cycling for around 15 minutes before coming across our first scheduled stop according to Jerome's itinerary. It was supposed to be a temple worth seeing, however on arrival we noticed it was in a pretty bad state. There was scaffolding up, no one in sight and no sign of any worthwhile cause to enter, Jerome still insisted that we enter as we were bound to "see something good". Needless to say, we took Jerome's advice and cycled through the main entrance - which was basically a wide gravel forecourt which spanned the width of the "temple".

The moment we entered we heard barking and within seconds we had close to 20 snarling dogs bounding towards us, we couldn't have panicked any more if we tried. Unfortunately for me, I was still facing the wrong way and had no time to put my legs down to turn the bike around, In my panic I just tried cycling in any direction I could hoping that I wouldn't get followed. By this time Dugs and Jerome had already made their escape, the dogs that were chasing them had now turned around and set their eyes on me! I was in a right mess… I was trying so desperately to escape whilst also trying to stay upright on the bike, the back tire was spinning freely in the gravel flicking it up here there and everywhere and the front wheel wasn't going the direction I wanted it to in the slightest. My heart couldn't have been beating any faster if it tried. I could see and hear all of the dogs around me and to my amazement I finally managed to detour around the temple and head the right direction back towards the main entrance. All I remember from this point is peddling as hard and fast as I could, my teeth were grit and all I could do was hope that I didn't get bitten, I had that classic feeling you get when you know you are being chased! I finally made it out of the gate and luckily decided to turn left where 100m down the road Dugs and Jerome were waiting. As I arrived I could see blood seeping from Dugs ankle, he didn't need to say anything… he had been well and truly bitten! Next stop, Ayutthuya hospital!

We spent the afternoon getting advice and organising a trip to the hospital, after dugs had had a shot of rabies vaccination and a tetanus jab along with a prescription for antibiotics and some painkillers we were on our way back, unfortunately dugs was 2000 baht down and still has 4 more rabies vaccinations to go.

We still managed to catch our coach and hopped on at around 10:45pm and to our delight the coach did have air-conditioning and seats that reclined slightly further than usual. We slept fairly well and arrived in Chiang Mai at 7:30am the next morning. Chiang Mai is another big city and I definitely favour it over Bangkok, it's way more airy and seems to be much easier to navigate. We quickly found a hostel we wanted to stay at and dropped our bags, its called 'KIKI's house' on Rachapakinai street. We went for breakfast with our new friends Mathilde and Vilentan, they are a couple from Toulouse in France. After eating some really good local food together we set out to visit some temples in and around the city. After a few hours and temperatures hitting the high thirties we all decided to hire 125cc mopeds at 200 baht for 24 hours, Jerome ended up splashing out on a 250cc motorbike. Its been a crazy experience driving on the roads with the other local Thai people, especially as its public holiday for the next four days. There aren't many rules when it comes to driving or riding in Thailand, they manage to stay on the left but thats about it.

All five of us rode 40 minutes out of town to the grand canyon, it's a vast open space that looks like an old mine which is filled with fresh water, it has a depth of 32 meters and looks stunning. We spent the afternoon jumping off the 7.5 meter platform and attempting backflips, the water was so warm so I'd say it had to be around the mid thirties. It wasn't long before we discovered I'm sunburnt and donning a t-shirt tan, it definitely needs sorting out.

After getting back after sunset we hit the EPIC Chiang Mai central market. It's without a doubt the biggest and busiest market I have ever experienced. The food is incredible and at such a good price! I paid 10 baht for a Pad Thai… thats 25p!! Overall I must have eaten five or more different foods that evening from rice covered banana to a Thai omelette cooked in a banana palm moulded into a boat… I was so full!

Finally its worth mentioning that the three of us now have a proper kitty purse, we've been talking about getting one for the last few days! It's very girly and has elephants on it - 10 baht though… bargain!

All we did that late evening was chill in our room which believe it or not, had air-conditioning. It was well and truly time we got some sleep as we were getting up again at 5am to watch the sunrise from the mountain overlooking Chang Mai. What a week it's been, all I can say is who knows what we will get up to over the next seven days…