So after all the excitement of Sukothai we headed back up north to Chang Mai so that we could go to the mediatation course we had booked ourselves onto - held over two days and one night at a temple nearish the city centre. Changers was packed to the rafters when we arrived - we hadn't clocked that in the north they celebrate the last day of Loi Krathon the day AFTER the full moon. We had a fab time meeting up with our Thai friends Top and Cheep Cheep and we...

Arrived at Chang Mai quite late and was a bit worried about the accom issue. All guesthouses we had dealt with would close at 10pm and it was already gone midnight, so we checked in at a proper hotel instead (Top North Hotel, near the Tha Pae gate) with porter service and pool and TV in the room! Although it was more expensive than we were used to paying at 650 Baht a night (instead of our usual 200-300 baht), it still works out than less than a tenner a night so...

We arrived at a very civilised 9.20am in Chang Mai having caught the sleeper train from Ayuthaya the previous evening. I was particulalry excited as I had never been on a train like that before and couldn't resist waking up early so as to watch the sun rise as the train steamed ever notheward. Just as the sun had risen I was rewarded by the sight of about a dozen farm workers in their conical hats walkign in line, tending he ricefields with a slight mist ...