Of course the wake up call will happen, you tell yourself and after-all, this is 21st century Thailand not bloody Timbuktu but still we awoke, as you do every ten minutes or so from about 3.45 AM. Why do we do that??? The call goes on time as planned and we pack, check out and jump in a tuk- tuk with our 'breakfast snack box' which consisted of a hard boiled egg and a Mateson's meat paste sandwich - cuisine is very BR circa 1978. During the short ride the tuk-tu...

Ancient Chiang Mai the cultural capital of the north was once the capital of the Lanna Kingdom. The food, traditional clothing and Wats are different from central and southern Thailand. Surrounded by mountains, it is for many the gateway to the north. Having checked into the rather nice Decharme Hotel we wonder around the local vicinity to get our bearings. Although a large city it's buildings are on a much smaller scale than Bangkok, the air is clean, and at t...

Returning to Mae Hon Son was our stepping stone back to civilisation; cars, shops, people etc... Checking back into Sarm Mork we are welcomed warmly by the owner. We are quiet excited by the prospect of a hot shower, a bed, and most of all a western toilet. Although Sarm Mork is a basic guesthouse we feel we are in relative luxury - who needs 5* hotels? Legs, knees and hips shot from the 3 day trek we head off for a much needed foot massage; sorry Kirstin we kn...

Up early again thanks to the farmyard animals, we pack, breakfast and thank our hosts and wave goodbye as we head off for the long journey back to Mae Hong Son. Pordee has warned us that this is the longest and hardest part of the three day trek. I'm feeling a little nervous as Pordee is not wearing his flip-flops but rubber lace up shoes; his version of hiking boots. After a good hours trek Pordee explains that the cooing we are hearing is gibbons calling to one...

Awoken by cock-a-doodle-dooing at 4 am we try and get some more z's - no luck as the cockerels crow every 10 seconds for the next 2 hours!!!!! Untangling ourselves from the many blankets and mosquito net we get up off the floor and have a good stretch. It is so cold up in the mountains that we wear our trousers and fleeces to bed. After a huge breakfast of 3 eggs per-person, a whole loaf of bread (between two as Yunn is not back yet), butter and jam not to mentio...