We havn't written on here for quite a while, mainly due to having very little internet access while we were working at an elephant park and then in Laos. So..... here's what we have been up to...........:

Spent a few days exploring Bangkok; visiting temples, shopping centres, Khao San Road, the zoo, and went on a boat trip down the river. We had an enjoyable few days, but were very glad to leave the city and head North to Chiang Mai on an overnight train where we met two crazy Japanese boys, an English boy on a similar trip to us, and two Americans; making the journey go faster.

On arrival in Chiang Mai, we checked into the 'Nice Guesthouse' and went for a walk around the old town visiting numerous amazingly decorative temples. Spent the evening at the Sunday Walking Market, where they shut of the main street in the old town, and tried some of the local delicacies from some stalls, including some strange looking black jelly! Then headed to the night bazaar for some clothes shopping and lots of haggling.

The next morning we started our weeks work at the Elephant Nature Park, about 1 hour North of Chiang Mai. Tasks included clearing up elephant and buffalo poo from their shelters in the morning or helping out in the kitchin and with rubbish collection. We also fed the 31 elephants by hand after preparing their food, then bathed them in the river. One morning we took a few of the elephants for a walk outside the park to where they were able to eat plants not available in the park, and later we walked them 2 hours up a mountain to where they are able to roam completely freely while we slept in a hut in the middle of the jungle!

At the park they rescue elephants from illegal logging, trekking camps and street begging. All the elephants have different stories, all amazing but horrifying. For example, one elephant (Malai Tong, 21 years old) lost part of her back foot when she stepped on a land mine and could therefore hardly walk as the foot got so badly infected. But instead of letting her rest the owners continued to use her for logging! Another of our favourites was an elephant called Medo, aged 21, who broke both of her back legs in a logging accident. While she was recovering from this, the owners tied her up with a bull who was on must (where their testorterone levels rise by 75% and they become incredibly aggressive) and who broke her back and hips! Even after all this, she was still made to continue logging until Lek (the lady who has devoted her life to setting up the park and rescuing the elephants) found her a brought her back to the park.

At the park the elephants are pretty much allowed to roam free. Each has it's own Mahout who's job it is to know exactly where his elephant is at all times. There is no fence around the park so the Mahouts are responsible for making sure 'their' elephant doesn't wander out. Also at the park is a herd of buffalo, 45 rescued dogs (who roam around the park in packs!) and about 25 cats! So night times were crazy with the elephants making all kinds of noises right outside our room and dogs howling!

The week was amazing, although it put us off ever doing elephant trekking anywhere in Asia after we learnt about the horrific traditional ways in which elephants are trained.

After the elephant week, we spent a few days in Chiang Mai doing a cookery course (learning how to cook spring rolls, pad thai, red curry etc) and a day zip lining through the rainforest canopy. We then headed to Laos with the ENP founder, Lek, to an elephant festival where we observed the treatment of working elephants in Laos. This was an amazing experience, despite the fact that we saw hooks and knives being used to control elephants. The festival itself took place in a town called Pak Lai in South-west Laos. It took us about a day and a half to reach the town from Chiang Mai which meant that everybody was tired and slightly annoyed. There was a marked contrast between the 2 countries when we crossed the border with the smooth wide roads in Thailand changing to dust and dirt tracks that could barely fit 2 vechicles on. The roads were also surrounded by dense jungle although these were a miserable bornw and grey coilour as a result of all the erratic driving. One great contrast was the fact that the Lao Beer was half the price and twice the quantity. Both nights were spent relaxing over a home-cooked meal and a couple of beers.

We returned to Chiang Mai 2 days later where we visited the Elephant park for another day - this time to relax and see our friends. The following day we took 2 internal flights to Bangkok and finally Krabi where we intended to relax on the sun-kissed beaches. This brings us pretty much up to date as we are currently on the island of Koh Lanta which is 2 hours off of the west coast of Thailand. The beaches here are beautifully sandy and the waters are very clear, although we expect clearer ones ion other parts of Indonesia and Australia. We have been staying in a quaint beach bungalow run by an english-family which has a beautiful view of the beach and sea when we wake each morning. The roads are extremely quiet and we have been able to rent automatic motorbikes which has enabled us to explore other beaches and parts of the island. On one side of the road we have rainforest and on the other we have palm trees, golden beaches, and turquoise waters - this really is bliss. We have also made friends with 2 more Australians who know Mel Gibson really well and another English couple who are doing the same trip as us - we expect to be close by the time we all reach the USA!

We will leave it there for now but we will update you of our adventures from here to Panag via boat in the next few days. Adios.