Chaing Mai, Northern Thailand.

After wasting away another day of my life in Bangkok I finally was able to board the night train up to Chaing Mai. The train was fine, uneventful and freezing. We arrived at Chaing Mai around 10 in the morning and I headed straight to the guesthouse I had booked called Spicy Thai Guesthouse. I had been recommended it by loads of travellers I'd met so I thought i would check it out. And i am so glad I did! I LOVE it! It's essentially like a big house with a living room and kitchen. I am staying in a mixed dorm and it is fabulous. They have a huge widescreen TV and lots of DVD's to watch (I am in the process of catching up on around 6 series' of 'House') as well as free internet. Its really great. The thai guy who owns it,Pong,is really lovely as are all the other staff. Everyone speaks really good English and everyday there are some sort of outings or activities booked which pretty much everyone at the guesthouse goes to. I've been here nearly a week and we have been out for dinner together every night which is great,especially when you are travelling on your own. It is located in a small village about 15 mins drive away from the centre but the area immediately surrounding us is great! Lots of really nice bars restaurants and cafes where young trendy thai people congregate to drink ice coffee and study. Its really lovely here, and not at all like Bangkok.

Anyway (I should get commission from Spicy thai!). I got to Chaing Mai on Tuesday and pretty much straight away went into town to have a mosy round and do some Wat viewing. I went to Wat Chaing Man, Wat Chiedi Lungh...and another one. They were all very nice. I honestly do like Wat's, i find them really peaceful and some of really beautiful, but I wouldn't be too devastated if I never saw another one again. I've seen so many! Anyway,to break up the temples i also went to a museum of culture (I paid lots of attention...) and then to the Prison Spa! That was fun! its essentially a room in a women's prison in Chaing Mai where you can get a massage from the inmates,and all the money you pay goes to the prisoners. It is quite surreal with all these prisoners around you in their prison wear and guards walking around. But they were really really sweet women, some really young and giggly and friendly,it was quite sad really. I don't think any of them are hardened criminals or anything,well i hope not anyway. I had a foot massage as I am a wuss and cant handle the severity of Thai massage,and it was lovely. (Although I have to admit, and I swear I am not making this up,but my heart skipped a beat as i looked down and saw my masseuses (inmate?!) poking something into the my toes that looked quite a bit like a gun wrapped in a pink flannel. Turned out it was a comb.) That evening we all went out for dinner at Chaing Mai University campus where I had one of the nicest, and definitely the cheapest, seafood Pad Thai ever. The next day I engaged in some serious sofa and movie appreciation,and in the afternoon we went to a forest temple which was nice and fed some MASSIVE catfish and turtles. Pong from the guesthouse told us some stories about Buddha and Buddhism which I find so interesting. It just all seems to make sense. I think if I wasn't so lazy and didn't get board of things so easily I would like to become a Buddhist. Watch this space. That evening we went out to dinner at this gorgeous restaurant on a hillside with a great view and which was absolutely covered in the most beautiful colourful flowers. That evening was a little bit of a late one, and a messy one,thanks to the evils of buckets of vodka and coke.

And the best way to cure a vicious hangover is clearly to go to a National Park,and up a massive hill and see another temple! With a Japanese man who knew everything about anything and who had a deep appreciation of all things Manchester United ("football! Manchester United! Do you know who won the Champions League?!" I wasn't very helpful). This temple actually, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (obviously) was seriously beautiful and probably the nicest one I have seen (apart from the Angkor temples in Cambodia which are breathtaking). There wasn't really anything particularly special about this Wat,it was very gold,but i really loved it. It had a massive gold Chedi (stuppa) and little rooms with lots and lots of buddha images and little bronze bells. That evening we went out with for Noons (who works at the guesthouses) birthday and i had another superb Pad Thai!

And those were my first few days in lovely Chaing Mai.

Hope you are all well,thanks for your lovely messages and emails.

Lots of love

Ella

xxxxxxxxx