I landed in Chiang Mai and got a taxi to my hostel where the Americans were having a big thanksgiving dinner. I was a bit late to join in so headed out for some food with a Canadian guy Jamie who was leaving at the same time for the same purpose. We found somewhere for beer and noodles when Jamie remembered it was his birthday! Funny how you lose track of times and dates whilst you're travelling. Even more random was it turned out he had been on a tour with Skye and Rochelle in Phi Phi, the girls I travelled through Cambodia with! Definitely a small world!

The next day a large group of us all went to Noom, one of the owners, villages to learn how to make paper lanterns for the festival the following day. We went to the temple where his cousin who was a monk helped us all with the blue peter project which included lots of glue and tissue paper and a bit of trial and error. We made the base with bamboo the ignition was created with toilet roll, beeswax and kerosene. This was a whole day task, for what the monk could probably make in 10 minutes but it was a great learning exercise and good to get to know others from the hostel. We even posed wearing them and it's safe to say it was like a sauna in there!

Back at the hostel a group of us decided to go out for Indian food as a couple had never tried it before, including Noom. You soon learn that service in Thailand is pretty hit or miss, Noom had finished his meal before some had even received theirs but I guess you get used to it!

We were releasing our lanterns that night as we wouldn't be able to take them with us to the festival the next day, sadly the wire we used made them a bit heavy so only 3 of them actually set off, one of which started descending rapidly in the distance and Noom had to get in the car and chase it. It was a shame as you write all the negative things in your life you want to release on them and meant to send them away, but at least we had another opportunity at the festival the next day.

The next day a group of us decided to go to tiger kingdom, which was a place that reared tigers to be used to humans and you could go touch them and have your photos taken with them. We were worried they would be drugged in order to do this, but they make it very clear from the beginning that they aren't. This was a pretty crazy experience, hugging tigers! We went and saw big ones to cubs and there were a few sketch moments when you felt a bit unsafe, think it's safe to say you wouldn't get anywhere like this in the UK!

When we got back a very large group of us all got in the trucks to head to the lantern festival. A truck that seats about 8 comfortably had 22 of us in it. 22!!! It also took over an hour to get there so it's safe to say it was quite an intense bonding experience! At the festival it was so busy, and we knew it would be impossible for us all to stay together. A few of us went to purchase our lanterns and hunted for food, when a group of Thai teenagers gave us some for free! Was so kind.

The actual lantern festival was one of the most breath-taking things I've ever witnessed. Firs there were prayers and a few hundred lanterns were being released, and at 8pm there was a massive firework and thousands and thousands of the lanterns were released at the same time. I've never seen anything like it, it moved me in a way I can't even describe. We lit our lanterns as a little team and set them off, letting go of the negative things that we wanted to release. We re-joined the rest of the group and lay on the ground just watching them float away in the sky. As we got back in the truck the heavens opened, I can't believe how lucky we were with the weather. It took over 2 hours to get home in the traffic in our cuddled truck but it was all so worth it.

The following day one of the girls I met at the lantern making, Clare, and I had a day learning how to be an elephant trainer, also known as a Mehout. We started off by stopping in a market to buy bananas for our elephants, and then on to the sanctuary. We were handed Mehout outfits which we had to wear over our bikinis that made us look like prisoners. My trousers were meant to be below my knees but were down to the ground. Ah the wonder of being short.

Our first job was to feed the elephants bananas, you can tell they were spoilt as if one was slightly brown they would throw them away. The next task was learning to get on the elephant, you could do this either by getting them to lift their leg up and climbing the side, or getting them to lower their head and going up the front. Clare and I both opted for the side approach, but it was still difficult as it was a long way up! Getting down I managed to cut my leg open on her skin, and our guides fix for this was chewing some weird leaf and spitting it on my leg. Not quite the bandage I was expecting, but 'when in Rome' and all that.

The next step was to learn the elephants language and steer them whilst riding. Back on the elephants we managed to make them go forwards, left right and backwards as well as the most important, stop. After lunch and clearing out their poo, we made them protein balls to eat and created our own soap out of tree trunks. This time Clare and I got on the same elephant and we rode her down to the water, where she rolled over and we got off pretty sharpish. It was now time to bath them but the guides made sure it turned into a full on water fight. It was fun but is even funnier on the video where you can hear Clare saying 'oh my god I'm going to get pink eye' and me yelling 'I can actually see a turd floating over there' again, I guess it's all part of the experience!

We rode our elephant through jungle terrain and into a massive mud pit where we were meant to rub them down with it which seemed strange after having bathed them, and my cut was really stinging so I thought it best to get out of there! We walked our elephants back to their home and got changed and handed our certificates that we were basic mahout trainers. Was all such an awesome experience!

Back at the hostel, Noom was doing a lecture on thai culture and language which was really interesting, and makes you realise how naive foreigners are when they travel about other countries cultures. Clare and I then headed to the weekend market which was very busy but we ate some great food, and met up with Dirk and went for a few beers before calling it a night.

After a needed lie in the next day, Clare, Gianna, Maeghan and I headed out and went to an amazing Veggie restaurant where the food was amazing, before having a walk around that area. We were recommended a market for cheap clothes and hopped in a tuk tuk to check it out. When we arrived it turned out the market wasn't open for an hour or so and decided to pass the time somewhere until it was. Low and behold across the road was an English pub! Clare and I hugged when we walked in, it was seriously like being at home! They sold pints and everything!!

We stayed in here a while and treated ourselves to English food, (pie, chips and gravy! Vinegar and HP sauce!) and decided we weren't too bothered about the market anymore and made plans for our evening activity, going to the Muay thai boxing. This was truly an experience, there were children, midgets, women, everything was happening. All whilst ladyboys served drinks. I even had a little wager and won 10 Baht (about 20p). Was a good way to spend my last night in Chiang Mai!

Before getting my train the next day, the girls and I went to get a massage at a well-known parlour. One of the reasons it's so well-known is because all the masseuses are female prisoners in a rehabilitation scheme. It wasn't a very relaxing massage, I got pulled and pushed in every direction but was probably a good thing as soon I was off to the train station to spend 16 hours on a train to Bangkok for my next adventure…