Hi everyone.

The overnight train got us to Chiang Mai at 7.00am and we had just enough time to get changed and showered before Hayley headed off to a Thai cookery school and Rose went shopping.

The cookery class was amazing. Our instructor was a young Thai lady called Po. First of all she took us to the local market where we got some ingredients for the day and learnt out some of the Thai food. Then we went to the cooking school. We learnt how to cook, Pad Thai (a noodle dish with egg), Yum Ton Soup (spicy noodle soup), Yellow Curry (the mildest of the curries), Green Curry and Red Curry (the hottest curry) and Spring Rolls. It was all delicious and we were all stuffed once we had finished.

We spent the afternoon chilling at a nearby hotels roof terrace swimming pool, its just a shame the sun wasn't out.

On Thursday afternoon we picked up sleeping bags etc from the trek shop then headed to the night safari! We went round the zoo first and saw white tigers, flamingoes, leopards and kangaroos! Thengot driven around and there was a spotlight on the truck/train so we could see the animals in the dark, not quite like the real thing. After that we headed out for dinner then a very quick look at the Chaing Mai's night market before we went to bed and packed our bags ready for our trek into the village hilltribes.

Friday, day 4, started with us meeting Wit and Gun, 2 porters who were coming with us on the trek. Then we all got in 2 converted utes and went to the tourist police to register with them. Then we went to the market to buy some food for the journey and to feed the monkies with! We also bought some toys to take to the children in the villages and water bottle holders for the trek.

After that we drove to Mhok Fah waterfall where we had a swim before lunch. The waterfall was amazing, you could walk right under it. After a quick lunch and our 1st encounter with a squat toilet, we started walking. We had a 2.5hour walk to the village we were staying in that night Baan-Mae-Jog. We were very lucky with the weather, it only started raining after we got to the village. We went on a walk round the village and met some of the local people. You really got a feel for how they lived, a complete contrast to the UK. Apart from all the animals they keep to eat there was also a pet monkey that one of the local kids had found abandoned in the jungle. After our walk we went back to the 'Riverside Hotel' our overnight accomodation. Which was a bamboo hut on the river side, with one room for cook, an outside table, one room to sleep in and an outside toilet. Our dinner was cooked by our tour guides and some of the local people. The meal was like a banquet, we all sat on a long table lit by candle light and tucked into a feast of Thai dishes including Thai green curry, Thai omlette and vegetables. It was probably the best Thai food we ahve had so fair, amazing what they could cook with basic facilities. After dinner Tony did the Tony Copperfield show and showed us some magic. One of the local guys also showed us some matchstick logic games. It was definatly a good way to bridge the language gap! We all slept in one room together on matresses under mossie nets.

Day 5 started early with the roosters waking us up before dawn! We had a simple Thai breakfast of toast, boiled eggs and fruit, which the children from the village came to serve us! We had a great time after breakfast playing with the children with ballons we had brought. We left around 9.00am and started our 4 hour walk to the elephant camp. We had to climb up Mama Hill, which was quite exhausting, but worth it for the view at the top of it. We also climbed over some rice paddies. The trek was quite tiring but we saw a few interesting insects on the way including a big orange bug and a black and yellow spider. We were glad when it came to the last decent and we could see the elephant camp below.

We had a lunch of noodle soup with the elephants and then it was time for our elephant ride. They seemed to be well cared for and some of the elephants were just roaming free around the camp, they are obviously very used to humans. You sat in these iron baskets that were tied around the elephant and your bags were tied to the back. We then had a guy sitting on the elephants head and he seemed to control him with his feet and voice. The ride was a lot bumpier than we had imagined and some bits when the elephant was going downhill you really had to hold on so you didn't slip out. The ride was amazing a once in a lifetime experience.

After another short 15 minute walk we arrived at our second village, Pa Khoa Lamm. It seemed to be a bit more established than the first villae and it had a local primary school. First activity on the agenda was having a 'bath' in the local stream with the buffalo! A one of those i can't believe this momnets. Some of the guys also jumped off the bridge with the local kids. After we were 'clean' we went for a walk around the village and gave our presents out to the kids.

We had another fabulous Thai dinner, we eat by candle light sitting on the floor. After dinner it was game time.

Day 6 started a bit later than the rest. Again breakfast was egg, toast and fruit. At 9.30am it was time to board the bamboo rafts, which were literally maybe 10 pieces of bamboo tied together with a pole in the middle for your bags to hang, no sides of anything. We had Wit and Gun steering our raft. Little did we know at the time ours would become the joker raft. The whole journey involved various pranks to get us all in the water. We had one hairy moment when Tony took a turn at steering our raft and we became beached against a rock in a strong current and the raft nearly capsized, luckily our bags were saved. But after that out raft became a little like the Titanic. AFter 3 hours i think we were glad to get out the water.

After a quick bite of lunch we started the 2 hour journey back to Chaing Mai. When we arrived at the hotel we had to say goodbye to Wit and Gun. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon getting clean! The 3 days we spent in the hills was an awesome experience and i think we got afeel for real Thailand.

In the evening we went for a group dinner and then browsed around the night market.

Day 7 was a free day in Chaing Mai. In the morning we went to Doi Suthep temple which is situated in the hills to the North West of Chaing Mai. It was a very windy ride to the top. The temple was very impressive and we learnt a lot from Tony waling around. It was a shame it was cloudy because we couldn't see the 360 degree vies of Chaing Mai that you are suppose to get. We took part in a Buddist ceremony where we were sprayed with holy water and recieved a bracelet from the monk (or the guy next to him as monks aren't allowed to touch ladies) for safe travel.

In the afternoon we went for an Thai oil massage a slightly different experince from the UK.

At 4.30pm we caught our overnight train to Bangkok, another 13 hours. Tony read our palms on the train, there are no end to his talents! And that concluded Day 7.

Love Hayley and Rose x