Hey, Well we took the overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, with a slight engine failure the journey took 13 hours - not as bad as it sounds!! In Chiang Mai we found "Kavils hostel" and booked in for 3 nights, it is basic but is well run by some really nice ladies and their brother. The first evening in Chiang Mai we took a Songthew to 'Doi Suthep', a mountain which frames the city from the west. It has a temple built right at the top - 'Wat Phra That Doi Suthep'. The road was a little bit scary - very steep and curvy. The temple was very ornate and at the time we went the people of the village were meeting to pray. Also that evening we went to the night bazaar, they do appear to be common place in Thailand!! On the 2nd day in Chiang Mai we set off by tuk-tuk to see the main sights in the city. It was 250 baht for the 3h round trip (4 quid). First we went to 'Wat Chiang Man' - a georgeous temple with 2 large Buddhas with the walls decorated with murals. Next we went to 'Wat Chedi Luang' a crumbling pink (i thought more orange) chedi that once held the emerald Buddha that we saw at the Grand palace earlier in the trip! Third was the temple of 'Wat Phra Singh", the roof was multi-tiered and very ornate in design. The day that we went a huge gathering of monks were also present, some prayed next to the tall bell in the gardens, others were dancing and singing in the tent nearby - it was surreal but fun also. Next was 'Wat Suan Dork', a whitewashed chedi. Near that was the whitewashed kingdom, apparently that is where some of the early kings ashes are buried. 'Wat Umong' was next, it was more of a park than anything else. It had caves running underneath and above them a huge chedi and a fasting Buddha statue. Finally we visited 'Wat Jet Yot', it was garden temple that had 7 chedi - all in various states of crumble - that were angled so that they pointed into one another. The chedi had great detailed stone carvings on the side. On our last day in Chiang Mai we decided to do a day trek. Up at 7am we left for Chiang Rai and the "Golden Triangle". We visited some hot springs on the way, but they were not that impressive. Next we went to the ancient city of 'Chiang Saen' which was 600 years old and built by a founding royal figue in Thailands history. 3h30 later we reached the "Golden Triangle" - the point at which Thailand, Laos and Burma meet. The view from the river bank was very scenic, one one side was Laos and the other Burma! We then we to 'Mai Sai' on the Burma border, I stood at the northmost point of Thailand. Finally 1h from Chiang Mai we visited the village of the Akkha tribe, who were originally from Tibet. The village was full of little wooden huts with thatched roofs. Very old ladies came out to speak to you, and try and sell the dolls that they had been making. One man in the village was smoking opium - a product that is grown in this region!