On Sunday we left Singburi to go to Umphang, where we spent our week with the elephants. It was a long journey, we left at 7.30pm and had a long bus ride until 5am then a few hours in the back of a pick up truck through the mountains. It was an uncomfortable ride as not only were we in a pick up truck but the roads had a lot of twists and turns. We got very bored and when we came to the conclusion we were never going to get any sleep, we decided to liven things up by sitting on the roof! That definitely made things more interesting, especially as we had to be constantly on the lookout for branches heading for us! Luckily breakfast was waiting for us when we arrived and then we were allowed a couple of hours nap before we met the elephants! There were 8 of them, and after we'd gone to collect corn and sugar cane for them, we went to feed them. We spent a long time there before going for a walk around the village to see the locals. The next day we were split into 2 groups to make it easier to manage, with 4 elephants per group. We first went to collect food, though this time we had to chop banana plants with machetes and carry them to the truck. We spent a long time feeding them again, they eat so much and take their time noisily munching through it. Then it was time for a ride! We both got on the same elephant (Bundi) and went for a walk. We rode bareback, so much fun! And just to top it off, after lunch we went swimming with them! We helped to bathe them and also sat on them while they were in the water. Our last chore of the day was to chop up more banana plant ready for feeding the day after. The next morning was the same: we collected the food we'd chopped down then fed and rode the elephants, however it was a completely different experience! We had a much bigger elephant with 3 of us riding together, we all held on to each other as we slid all over the place because they made us sit so far forward we couldn't hold onto the rope! We were very surprised not to fall off, it was so different from the calm, enjoyable walk we had the day before! In the afternoon we went to a small waterfall (though not with the elephants) where we had a swim with the whole group which was really nice. The next day was the same as the first, only this time we traded elephants with the other half of the group and went to a different place. Here the elephants were younger more naughty and playful. You only had to go near them with a banana plant before they tried to grab it off you with their trunks! One of the elephants was only a baby, who was of course adorable and we all got pictures with her! While bathing the elephants we were also allowed to sit on the baby one, well we say baby she was 3 years old but far from fully grown. That night we went camping! We trekked up a mountain from which we could see the burmese border. The landscape was very beautiful and we stopped to rest a lot so we got plenty of time to appreciate it (the path was steep and hard going carrying our bottles and bags) At the top we cooked delicious chicken kebabs and pancakes before staying up late, playing drinking games and chatting. One of the guides lent us his music, it didnt take long before we were all belting out a bit of westlife and then the Dutch girls taught us a song about a crocodile that we feel we need to introduce to the UK. This was definitely one of our highlights so far despite the fact that the whole point of the night was to see the sunset and sunrise from the top of the mountain, but it was very cloudy and we didn't see either. There was a big storm that night and nobody really slept much, if at all so we were disappointed when we didn't see the sunrise! After traipsing back down the mountain we went back for breakfast before making the 2 hour drive and 40 minute walk to Thailand's biggest waterfall. The waterfall is on different levels so we took some time to climb between them and swim in the water (it was nice to see what was in the water with us after the brown rivers we swam in with the elephants) , as well as sunbathing of course! The terracing effect makes the waterfall look high and glorious in the sun surrounded by national forest. Back in Umphang, the other half of the group went off for their camping adventure (which was of course much more successful. They saw a beautiful sunrise and sunset and got a full nights sleep!) so we treated ourselves to a meal in town! We ate a little food where we were staying first so as to not offend the cooks, then went to a beautiful little restaurant owned by 2 German men who moved to Thailand a few years ago. They had delicious food and although everything arrived separately as the 2 men were the only staff and there were 9 of us, we had a lovely evening, but it was definitely time for bed by the time we'd finished seeing as we hadn't slept the previous night! The next day we left Umphang for Bangkok, where we had a short stopover before travelling to one of Thailand's many islands, Koh Tao! We said our goodbyes to the adorable Loki, Jasper and Milo, the 3 cutest puppies in the world, then once again made the 5 hour journey through the mountains in the pick up truck, before a couple of hours waiting at the bus station, then an 8 hour overnight bus journey. After arriving once again in the crazy city of Bangkok at 5am, we found a taxi driver who agreed to take all 10 of us in his 'minibus' which ended up being a small truck with no seats in the open trailer-like section at the back. However, we were too tired to argue and he took us to our hotel, the very nice Viengtai Hotel which was included in our tour. Here we finally got a few hours sleep after waiting up for an hour for the delicious included buffet breakfast. There was even a bath! All too soon our time in luxury was over and we had to check out. We had another overnight bus, but not until the evening so we had the afternoon free. We decided to go to the famous Chatuchak weekend market. We took a taxi to the market who offered to take us for free if he stopped at 2 jewellery shops along the way. The companies give him gas coupons for taking customers there and it wasn't like we had to buy anything. We agreed, always looking to save money, and actually found it fun spending just the right amount of time at the shops so the driver would get his coupon. The driver was lovely, he spoke perfect English and even put on a Cockney accent for us! The market was good, but we seemed to keep going around in circles! It's a huge market and whenever we thought we were somewhere different, we recognised a stall and realised we were still in the same place! To get back to our hotel we got our first tuk tuk! These motorised carts are one of the things not recommended to tourists as they are usually charged much higher prices than they should be, but we knew how much one should cost and found someone who would take us. After all, riding in a tuk tuk at least once is an absolute must do for any traveller to Thailand! We got some street food to fill us up for our long journey, then caught an overnight bus at 9pm to Chumporn, where we waited for a couple of hours before catching a ferry to take us to Koh Tao in the morning, where we will be spending our last 2 weeks!! It's so weird to be thinking we only have 2 weeks left, we're definitely going to make the most of them!