My education has taught me many things. One of these was that a cockroach was one of the strongest things on the planet - in terms of the fact it could probably survive a nuclear blast. However - little did the cockroach no it had, until now, failed to factor in one thing in its plans for world domination: me and my trusty size ten sandals! Ok - so far my kill tally stands at 2 - but since our move to the north of Thailand I can only expect this to increase at a rapid rate, especially if I stop being such a girl about it and actually attack the things hard and fast like the natural predator i should undoubtably be! (I would also like to admit that despite my 2 kills, 2 other attempted kills - manslaughter then, if you will - were not succesful in the slightest, and i was rescued by Jammo's monster size 13's) Kanchanaburi was 'roachless' in fact, it wasn't until we were back in the steamy metropolis of Bangkok that we (we being me and the cockroaches of the world) went to war. In fact, Kanchanaburi presented me with a set of different challenges, mainly a climb 1500 meters up to the peak of a 7 story waterfall in the Erwan national park. Didnt sound too high to me either - i know what your thinking, but the climb from tier 5 to 7 was up and over rocks, through the water, over trees, rickety wooden ladders and wobbily wooden bridges! And we all know what I'm like with wobbily wooden bridges - if you dont, then ask my mother, and if you cant then just assume my fear of heights has a lot to do with it! For me it was the biggest challenge, and as a result the most rewarding day of the trip so far. As such, i treated myself to a swim in the cool clear waters back down at tier 2 of the falls - taking care to avoid being bitten by the huge fish population of this particular pool. Care which keith did not take, unfortunaltey for him! To celebrate further Jammo and I began the world pool league upon our return to the town, and whilst I was slow out of the blocks after our bumpy public bus ride, i still feel that i am in the game at 5-1 down...! A few beers later and i had quickly forgotten this defecite - as we began a thai-english pool battle with 2 of the bar staff - a battle we thankfully won, especially as we were playing for drinks - tequila in fact, which we drank happily and easily, no hangover in the morning whatsoever and up fresh as a daisy........ So, having missed our train in the morning and eventually abandoing our accomodation 40 minutes late at 12.40pm, we made our way down to the bus station back to bangkok where we met Keith, who had been drinking scotch with Austalians when we got back. Apparently. It wasnt until we were en route to chiang mai that the war kicked off. Just before bed a cockroach nearly got a nibble of my left foot before i crushed him with my right. I didnt sleep too well that night, i blame the movement of the train, although when i did sleep i had a wierd dream about being tortured by a cockroach with a face like Dale Winton...! An army of a different kind greeted us in Chiang Mai next morning, and line 30 wide and 6 deep of Tuk Tuk drivers, desperate for our custom, some screaming the manchester united benfica result - just incase the football mad Jammo didnt already know! It was a case of keeping the head down - and barging through to the clean air the otherside! I say clean, well - noticably cleaner than Bangkok - where we witnessed real monsoon rain for the first time before the train - the smog and dirt of the city seems to really show itself when you add water to the mix! An hour later I couldnt honestly tell you why we had kept our headsdown and not taken a Tuk Tuk, but we did eventually find the accomodation we were looking for - and are staying in for the next week or so at the price of 1.20 a night! That said, id prefer more space - if only for when i am swinging my arms to bat the next enemy trying to infiltrate our headquarters. I remain convinced i was bitten by a Gheko the other night, however unlikely this may seem! It really has become headquarter in the last few days as well - rain and recovery time has meant we have spent most time indoors watching tele and just chilling out - wathcing quality movies like Hot shots and Shallow Hal - its wierd what you can find on Thai TV it really is! I expect the cockroaches control that as well......