In the last week we have become fully accustomed to a list of Thai traditions: waing frequently (thai greeting), never point you feet at anyone, never touch someone on the head, don't step over anything and we wouldn't even think about entering a room without leaving our flip flops outside.Our Thai is limited but we try, squat toilets no longer seem odd to us and the sight of 4 people on a scooter, the driver usually holding an umbrella and a large household appliance strapped to the back and a baby to the front no longer stop us in our tracks in bewilderment.We have even gotten used to a hundred different smells all in the space of 10 meters, some delightful and others that have you gagging, as well as climbing into a bed that sheets have obviously not been washed for months evident by the numerous curious stains.All of this I can deal with, but I have to admit I still jump out of my skin when I see a huge cockroach scurrying towards me.

Since our last blog we had a long grueling day of planes, trains and automobiles to get to Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand.On first arriving we were pleasantly surprised at the cooler climate, now, hover we realize that the rain and drop in temperature was probably due to the huge cyclone that was skimming the edge of Thailand and utterly ripping up neighboring Myanmar, with an estimated 100,000 dead it is truly devastating.On a brighter note, Chiang Mai has been action packed for us.The first day here Greg went for a two hour Thai boxing training session.I think we thought it would be pretty chilled, but Dech (his trainer) kicked his ass and had him sweating profusely within seconds.An hour and a half warming up and a half hour in the ring; I was glad it wasn't me.It turned out Dech would be fighting the Japanese champion in 2 days; I think Greg was his warm up, so we got tickets for the bout.The following day, needing an activity that didn't involve moving much, for Greg's sake, we took a Thai cooking course.Our teacher, the Master Chef, took us to a market in the morning to learn about all the essential ingredients in Thai cooking and how to pick the best rice, fruit, veg and noodles a the market.A 30 minute drive out of the city took us to our cooking stations for the day.Within 5 hours we were pros.You name it, we cooked it, hot and sour soup, sweet and sour chicken, chicken with cashew nuts, green curry, Penang curry, spicy papaya salad, spring rolls, mango and sticky rice…and we ate it ALL!That night we ventured to the Sunday night market.It was really overwhelming - every direction you looked was just a carpet of people and stalls.For the first time in SE Asia, every stall wasn't selling the same exact thing and you could pick up some gorgeous handicrafts, and the street food, not that we needed any more food, was delicious!

In the morning we were horded onto a sawagthew (fancy Thai word for pick-up truck) for our day safari.We had been given "very good price" and we had paid before even really knowing what we were paying for (happens a lot in Thailand).We stopped at a "hill tribe village" which wasn't anything more than 20 people selling the same junk.Luckily the day got better from here.Net we walked for 30 minutes into the jungle to a waterfall for a refreshing dip.We know we have been spoilt on this trip when we get to a pretty waterfall and think, "yeh, its nice, no Karijini though."After retracing our steps we were taken to an elephant conservation camp where all the elephants whose jobs have been taken over by machines now do elephant treks.We climbed aboard the littlest one but we still seemed to be pretty high off the ground.The difference between riding an elephant to a horse is that you have no control over where it goes.Ours was a little misbehaved to say the least and had a strong desire to climb off the trail onto loose rocks.We did not feel stable at all.He also seemed to get pleasure out of lifting his trunk up and sneezing all over us, so gross.Add a little water followed by mud and you have a very dirty Greg and Jo.We bought some bananas for him and were soon being engulfed by the other greedy elephants' trunks.After a Pad Thai lunch we moved onto our final activity, some brown water rafting.Even though it was only a grade 3 we nearly lost it at least once.Back in Chiang Mai, after a drink with 2 of our fellow elephant trekkers, we headed to the Muay Thai Boxing Stadium to see Mr. Dech fight.He ran over to us a little flustered saying "E-Ka a lady! - I can't fight a lady!"Turned out the translation on the Japanese part wasn't too good and they sent over a girl to Thailand for Dech to fight.After a lot of confusion, they swapped a few fighters and he was quickly wrapping his wrist as Greg was giving him some last minute advice and encouragement.Before the fight though, 5 guys entered the ring, were ceremoniously blind folded and when the bell rang, started punching whatever was in front of them, including the ref - it was hilarious!Dech was next to enter the ring, he looked confident and so strong.After 5 close rounds, they announced the Japanese fighter the winner by split decision, however, in our professional opinion Dech won.After the fight he was crushed that he didn't win for us.Soon we were surrounded by Dech and his fellow boxers, drinking beer and having a great time.I think the other tourists were a bit jealous that we were getting the VIP treatment.It was about 2:30 when the lady-boys were finishing up their cabaret show in the ring and Greg lost his third consecutive pool game to Dech that we dragged ourselves away to get some sleep for out 9:30 bus.

9:30 came way too early and the last thing we felt like doing was sitting on a bus winding up the mountains for 4 hours - all in the name of travel, we kept to our plan.We arrived in Pai, close to the Myanmar border with a fellow traveler, Kevin.Once we settled into the Baan Pai Village where we got a cute clean bungalow for just under $10, the three of us took a walk around the town.Pai has a very laid back atmosphere, a mix of long lost travelers and hippy/rasta Thais.Every restaurant and guesthouse was empty due to low season, but are full of employees; makes you think, how are they making any return?It was apparent by the hundreds of scooters for rent, that hiring a scooter is the thing to do.And so the following day, we did - 100Bhat for the day (that's about $3!!), we passed on the $2 insurance excess.The three of us, in very sexy looking crash helmets headed off for the hills.The surrounding area is really beautiful, rice paddies and mountain backdrop, and the open road, doesn't get much better than that.We stopped along the way at cafes and restaurants on stilts to quench our thirst while taking in the views.Lets just say for Kev's sake that there were no falls, and we made it back to Pai safely.To celebrate we explored the bars that Pai had to offer.Walking past a bar to hear, "Free alcohol!" being yelled at you is enough to encourage three thirsty travelers to stop in. Thai whiskey, in my opinion, is free for a reason!The boys weren't feeling the 'drink 10 24oz. beers in 3 hours and get them free' challenge so we moved onto Ting Tong Bar, where we wondered, Are we Ting Tong?A good night was had by all.Our last day in Pai was spent by a pool recovering and at night we rented out a private TV room for a movie session.

We returned to Chiang Mai the next day.We wandered around the night bazaarmarket, picking up more items that we probably don't need, but at these prices it's hard to resist.When our feet got tired of walking, we picked from one of the 50 people asking us "Hey mister, you want masaaaage?"Being night time and in an effort to avoid a "masaaaage with benefits" we shelled out $2.50 each and sank into a reclining chair on the street to have our feet pampered.It was during this relaxation session that we contemplated one of Kevin's business observations:if there existed a single masseuse in Thailand that by-passed the usual advertisement stated above and instead took the time to learn to properly construct a single sentence, they're business would quickly increase ten fold.If ever we were to be greeted by "Pardon me, but would you be interested in a relaxing massage sir/maam?" we would know that Kevin has been sharing this advice to the locals.

Tonight we have the long 10 hour bus ride to Bangkok, where we are meeting up with Irene (Greg's sister).I hope you're ready to party with the lady-boys Irene.