Hi Everyone,

We've plucked up the courage to start writing the blog...its been so long we have a mountain of stuff to say so we'll just start from the beginning and see how far we get! We have been sampling the local western eateries as we figured this is the last time we will get a chance as in Indonesia we will be curried out. We found a pub called Tuskers, run by an English couple that raise money for the local Elephants. They have saved 7 Elephants since they started, and addition to this incentive to give them our money they do the best ribs on Earth! We've never seen such portioning! (rations) Needless to say we frequented this pub a few times! We also discovered a good mexican restaurant where Hayley tried 'sloppy joes'. (It was nearest thing to a bolognaise cheese baguette which she was craving from - Good ole Brasserrie in Aber...). On Thursday night we attended a pub quiz in the local Irish bar (run by Americans. We didnt get it either...)We came last as predicted, which is why our team name was 'wooden spoon'! Unfortunately for us the penalty for the losers was a free pitcher of beer...damn.

We also watched the charity sheild, What a shoot out that was... it feels wierd to have your side win on penalties - it doesn't happen often does it!

On Tuesday after recovering from the lurgy, I (Hayley) went on the meditation retreat and left Dan to watch England losing the cricket badly. I only decided to go 2 hours before i had to be there, and rushed about madly getting all my stuff together. Got a soengthaew for 60 baht and got there with enough time to have spring rolls for lunch at the posh organic cafe next to the temple which were delicious. I sat there for a while and amused myself by watching the monks running past due to the inconveniently placed sprinkler that they had to dodge. When i got to the meeting place i was the 1st one there, and got to meet everyone as they came in one by one. There were all nationalities from Canadian to Dutch to English to Spanish..it was really nice to be in such a diverse group of people.

The first part of the course was to have a seminar by the 2 monks that would be teaching us and their master the main 'Phra' (Monk) Saneh Dhammavaro. They introduced themselves and we then introduced ourselves in turn. They gave us a summary of what Buddhism was mainly about, such as that it is not a religion strictly speaking but a way of life and philosophy that you are in control of your own destiny and reality and that if you have a problem you should look within yourself for the answer not outward to the world, and similarly not blaming others for your circumstances. Therefore, they dont pray to a God - they meditate. They believe in the middle path - that is not living in the extremes of materialism and other self-indulgences, or self-mortification (copied that from his book i'm not that clever) but a healthy balance of all. This path is based on function. i.e. he was using the benefits of technology such as aircon for comfort, a microphone because he had a throat infection and we would not have heard his teaching otherwise!, food for living (not living for food!), clothes for humility and protection from weather not for fashion. etc.

After these teachings, we went to the temple retreat which was an hours ride outside Chiang Mai. We were riding in a back of a pick up and we joked on the way about what fate awaited us as we had no idea where we were going. We decided they were going to sell us at the border! Luckily they didnt and we arrived at the most beautiful scenery, and tranquil place with gardens and water fountains. We paired up to get our room key (2 in a room). I was with a Dutch Lady who was travelling alone to find some relaxation from her busy life back home and re-assess what was important to her, and so was spending a lot of time in temples and places to find herself. She was really nice and we had lots of interesting conversations when we were aloud to speak!

We put on our white robes that were provided for us and met up with the others for dinner. We chanted before we ate, so as to be conscious of the fact that we were eating for the function of staying alive, not because we enjoy it or because it looks good. We then ate in silence. Here it is rude to talk when you eat, quite different to our social culture around the dinner table.

After that we practised chanting and meditation till bedtime (10pm). We did sitting, lying and walking meditation. Walking was a revelation to me as i didnt know it was possible, and although it was the hardest,as obviously you cannot shut your eyes and therefore block out 90% of the distractions, i got the most out of this one. It involves up to 10 stages of the walking pattern i.e. 'heal up', 'lifting', 'moving', 'treading'... which the monks chanted as we did it. I will never forget the sound of them chanting it was beautiful. I thinked this one worked for me because you can only go as fast as the person in front of you, and concentrating on just the function of simply walking, and being completely present and mindful on that only, puts a different perspective on life. It teaches that rather than worring about what others around you are doing and about just getting from A to B in an impatient way (me all over!), being calm and patient and focussed on what you need to be doing, will get you where you need to be just as well, but you'll probably arrive in a better state than if you rush. I loved every minute of it! it was so different to anything i have done before.

They also used a tibetan bowl for meditating and expelling negative energy and 'cleaning the mind'. I dont know whether you guys are familiar with it but you have a stick with a black end that you rub around the outside rim in a circular motion and it causes an eminating noise and vibration. You hum the same tone. We saw them in the night market a few days later and the buzz you get off them is amazing! Went to bed so excited at what i had learnt i couldnt sleep!

The morning gong went off at 5am! i found it quite easy to get up this time but i wouldnt make a habit of it! by 5.30 we were all dressed and meditating and chanting in the hall. We also did yoga to wake ourselves up and exercise which was great! The rest of the day we practised meditation, and were shown the alms offering traditions of Thailand which happens every morning where lay people offer food to the monks (they eat what they are given, they do not prepare food). The monks have clay pots and we lined up and put a spoonful of rice in each of their bowls as they walked past. We also did this for lunch before we ate ourselves. Before leaving, we had a question and answer time with the monks to learn more about Buddhism which was really insightful. The main Phra was so wise and gentle voiced (mostly due to his throat infection bless him) but he had a wonderful presence, just like you would imagine an old wise Buddhist monk to have. He reminded me a lot of Grandad and Father John. Before we left i bought a rosery with 108 beads to aid in my future meditation, and gave a donation. It was a truly amazing experience and i reccomend it to anyone.

(Dan) We lost the cricket - not surprised but disapointed.

The next day (thursday) we went to 'Care for Dogs' shelter and talked to the owners for 2 hours only, as it was far away and the driver had to wait for us or we wouldnt be able to get back. I was expecting to be cleaning out kennels and preparing food and walking the and helping anyway i can, but the shelter was so different to what you get in England. As you can see from the photos, they all shared one big living space and were lose in the compound, with some quarantine areas and separate cages for puppies and shy/ill dogs. therefore they had a strong pecking order and they were occasional scuffles but they pretty much lived in harmony together! we were amazed. The owners were keen to know anything Hayley had learned in her studies that might help them, so she had 20 questions! it was hard work being thrown into a kind of exam and putting her knowledge to pratical use, especially as this scenario is so different to what she's used to i.e. Thais attitude to dogs are different so they require different things from the dogs, the dog themselves have all been street dogs and are much hardier than our pets at home. I think we managed to give them a few tips hopefully that might work. We arranged to get picked up the tuesday after for a whole day there and just spent 4 hours playing with them all and giving them some loving attention which they all crave. They were all gorgeous little flee bags with wonderful characters and i managed to get one to start sitting for food on command (just a little). They are not used to working for commands, just staying out of harms way so it was really hard! At one time, the oldest puppy that was now growing up with the other adult dogs found a piece of rope and managed to get a huge tug of war going with the other dogs (see picture). Our hearts melted it was pure heaven!

We also managed to get back to the zoo again, (see photos) and saw the Pandas. They were in 5 star accomodation to say the least, they had created rainforest inside, but with aircon and mist spraying down on them. I didnt realise they needed such a cool climate but i guess its cooler in the mountains. You had to be silent because they are disturbed easily and also because they had managed to artificially inseminate the female, poor girl. At the moment it is touch and go whether the foetus will make it through the initial risk period so fingers crossed. There was an eery sadness that we both felt while watching them because it is probably the first and last time we will ever see a Panda in the flesh as i'm not even sure if there are any in the wild anymore, just in zoos and they cannot successfully get a good breeding program going coz they are so hard to breed due to their sensitivity. So there you go Georgia, a real Panda. Lets pray she has her baby.

Our next adventure day was a Thai Cooking Class! It was excellent...we chose the cookery school taught by a chef himself, who had a hilarious and very cringeworthy sense of humour. (similar to Dad both Michael and Martin) He had no qualms telling everyone he was the best! We got a cookery book at the end with all the recipes and a certificate. We even got to cook flambe style! When demonstrating he said we could choose whether to cook in the 'adventure style' as he put it, which invloved putting veg and water into boiling hot oil in a wok! when he asked who was going to do it only 3 other people put their hands up....too bad.. we all got water in our veg! Hay was sooo scared! but it was really fun and we still have our eyebrows so thats a plus! (Hay) My only regret is that i didnt shout 'Fire in the hole!' like you Mat! lol, We got a market tour at the beginning which was really educational, i just hope we can find half the ingredients back home so we can cook it for you guys! That evening, we went for a drink with a couple that we met on the course and watched the footie. (Spurs - Sunderland)

The next day was even more eventful as we went trecking!!!! This has to be the most action packed, exciting and exhausting day we have ever had in our whole lives let alone on this trip, it was truly awesome! We were picked up from our hotel at 8am, and after picking up 6 other people we went to the orchid and butterfly farm (ok this was not exciting but it was only for 15 minutes and we got a nice picture of some orchids and butterflies for you....). After that we went to see the Karen Longneck tribe in a village that was actually a refugee camp as they have come here from Burma for safety. They cannot leave, and spend their day making souvenirs fr tourists to buy so that they can make money to send back to their families in Burma. It felt a bit strange really like we were walking around a zoo and staring at them. It's a wierd one because on one hand if visitors dont go, they dont get money to send to their families. On the other hand there is a theory that they only continue their traditional dress with those (up to 7kg) neck rings on to attract visitors. The females wear these neck rings from the age of 4! We still don't know if maybe we shouldn't have gone....It did cost an extra 400 baht to see them which will go straight into the fund to cover the costs of their food. medicine bills etc so i dont feel like it is all bad. At least there they are alive and safe. We notcied there were only puppies everywhere and asked the guide if they were eating the dogs to which he reluctantly replied yes. We're not judging though they are doing what they have to, to survive.

Next was an hour elephant ride, in which they let us ride on the neck/head of the elephant like the Mahouts! Hay went first while Dan sat on the comfy seat and then we swapped although due to most of the ride being up a hill we didn't swap half way so she was bare back riding for the most part. It was really uncomfortable after a while and when the elephant decided he was going to try and get that branch to eat that was hanging over a cliff we nearly had a heart attack again! It was an amazing experience though (i knew we had to wait for Chaing Mai to have that ride! in Lampang you had to pay 3500 baht to have the privelege of riding an elephant like that!).

After that we went on to do 2 hours trekking. Hay found this really tough.. Not physically, she can hike as good as the rest of them but around every corner was something to test her fear of heights. Every 5 minutes we had to rock climb around a corner with a drop beneath us or walk over a log with nothing but rocks beneath us, or jump from one slippery boulder to another and keep balance. It was realy good though because she got a real buzz when she succeeded everytime. Challenging but fun. At the end there was the most beautiful waterfall we have ever seen and we swam in the plunge pool was was not as cold as expected. Annoyingly we didnt manage to get a photo of the whole waterfall as we didnt take the pictures our guide did. We shall leave that to your imagination. After our swim we did the whole trek in reverse (oh joy!) but we survived.

Next was lunch (pad thai) and then water rafting! i cant tell you how scared Hay was and how much she was praying!!! We were in a boat with a Korean couple. Now with all due respect, these guys were tiny, and they put the two men in the front of the boat as they are meant to be the strongest....personally i would have swapped Hay with the Korean guy. The girl was counting 1....2...1...2 so that we were rowing together, although the rush of the rapids were drowning her out and after we went down the first one sideways and backwards!!!!!!! (Hayley nearly had a heart attack!!!) She then took control of the counting with a much louder voice from the fear! lol  Dan was giggling to himself.

We did survive (obviously) and she really started to enjoy it after we got the rowing sorted. After that we had bamboo rafting for half an hour, which with us fat westerners was more like sinking bamboo rafting (we looked like we were sitting and walking on water). It was very relaxing and the scenery was beautiful (green mountains with misty clouds sweeping over them). After drying off we went to see the Akha village tribe and got the photo are the cute little boy blowing bubbles at us! After that day we were so tired and buzzing at the same time. We went home, had a shower and went to the pub to watch Man Utd draw with Reading! Hayley was so tired she didn't even want to walk around the Sunday Market and go shopping. (Ideal)  The next day we had a long lie in and then we discovered that we couldn't move and our whole bodies had seized up. Hay slept most of the day due to the pain! the next day we decided to have a Thai Massage to help our bodies recover....It definitly helped but my god do they hurt you! Dan loved it but I cant help feeling just got beaten up. They really dig their fingers in, and make things click that i didnt know could! Was definitly an experience though. Think i might stick to foot massages though.

So...as you can see we have had a great time in Chiang Mai and now we are in Lampang at the Tip Inn Guest House again, and are going back to the Elephant Conservation Centre tomorrow to get some more paintings for souvenirs. If anyone wants one, speak now are forever hold your peace! (and put the money in my bank account!) They are 10 pound each. We are making our way down to Bangkok now to fly out next Friday and are staying in the same places we did on the way up pretty much so wont have much to say until we get to Bangkok.

Right then, well all the photos should be up now, excuse the fact that some might not be named thats our next job!

Mum, we only sent stuff home yesterday so you wont be get your present for about 4 weeks, sorry bout that. Dans mummy we have sent the parcel to you, so if you dont mind could you please get the present to my mummy?? We wil e-mail you and tell you which bits.

 OK quick update, we have just got back from the elephant sanctuary, we bought two more pictures and have decided we love all three and don't know which one to give to you mum, you might have to choose your favourite, will be sending them home at the next opportunity.

Jake how are your fish, we haven't heard much about them recently...... I'll expect a message!!!!

Love to all, and bye-bye for now

Hayles and Dan xxxxxxx