Another enjoyable overnight train journey to Chiang Mai, helped by having the lower berths which have so much room plus the window to look out early in the morning when you arrive. I woke up at about 0630 and was joined by Isla who wanted to snuggle and said she had been wondering when she could come into my berth.

We tried to enjoy the view together but then the train staff came round and wanted to collapse the beds down, so we ended up just sitting and looking out the window.

Once we arrived at Chiang Mai we evaded the keen tuk tuk drivers and walked 30 minutes to the main part of town, where we found a place for breakfast with wi-fi so that we could book a hotel/hostel. This is the first time that we have arrived in a place without having accommodation booked. Not bad for best part of 5 weeks!

We found a cheap hostel that had a private room and walked the 20 minute journey, taking in he sights as we went. Chiang Mai is a nice little town, not to hectic but had lots to offer. We reached our hostel which actually looked more like a prison. It had 3 floors, a staircase in the middle and rows of rooms on opposite sides of the stairs. Picture the typical prison set up in a movie and that's what this place looked like, very bizarre.

We had to wait about 30 minutes to check in as the cleaners did not speak English and the manager was not on site. Once she arrived we checked in and then hired pushbikes for £1 to explore the town. We cycled around looking for the main strip and a good tour agent to book an elephant trip with. We found a place called Night Bazaar which was recommended by the Kiwis we might, it is a small square with restaurants on the outside, hay bales and oil drums as seats and tables in the middle and a band stand for live music. We made a mental note of the location to visit this evening. Whilst looking for tours we read some reviews which confirmed our suspicions that the elephants are treated really badly so we went against the norm and booked to visit an elephant sanctuary where they care for orphaned or elephants released from bad conditions.

On the way back to the hostel we visited some temples and found a lady who was selling cages with small birds inside saying that releasing them would bring you good luck. Asia is not a very nice place for animals, which is bad considering how many of the endangered and exotic animals they have in the wild.

After changing our plans with the Elephant tour we had two days to spare so we did some research and decided to go to a small mountain town called Pai which has been described as a must see stop in Asia.

Whilst cycling around, isla' chain kept coming off, I did some roadside repairs but the bike was knackered so we went back and swapped the bike. We then headed down to the Night Bazaar, which was buzzing. The restaurant bars where busy, people were sat on the hay bales and a one man band was rocking it. We got ourselves some recommended burgers, a bottle of beer and sat on the hay bales listening to the live music. The man was then replaced by a 5 piece Thai blues band!!!!! Very good actually and one of the members had a good voice and we found it hilarious when he tried to pronounce Chicago. His accent just didn't allow it lol.

We headed back to the prison to get some sleep and await what this place called Pai is all about and if the hype is worth it.

Thursday 28th January 2016

We had to get up early as our mini bus to Pai was collecting us at 0800. It already had 2 guys onboard and we collected a few more on the way. We then made the 3 hour journey up the winding mountain roads with the driver thinking he was Lewis Hamilton. Absolute nutter! It was strange as I read a report about the American pilot who landed a plane on the Hudson River saving all those on board and how he was granted keys to the city of New York. Thailand has a long long way to go before they realise that they are responsible for the lives of the people they transport around. He was overtaking on blind bends and crests of hills. Somehow we made it to Pai without crashing and without Isla being sick which was a miracle.

Once we reached Pai we got to see what the fuss was about. Absolutely stunning scenery, probably the best scenery we have seen on the hole trip. It also had an energy about it which just makes you feel really chilled and laid back. We immediately wished we knew of this place before and had planned to stay for longer.

90% of the accommodation in Pai is wooden huts and I booked one that was described as being out of the way and good for couples. We walked through Pai, over a shaky bamboo bridge and up hills on a very hot afternoon, walking past hut after hut with hammocks in the porch thinking we were going to end up at something rubbish. We reached our place and were not disappointed, we had our own hut and the views were just breathtaking. It had a lovely sun porch made of bamboo with two hammocks overlooking a valley and mountains in the distance.

We dropped off our bags and headed straight into town to make the most of our time in Pai. We found a place for lunch and also a place to rent mopeds. Although we were back in Thailand the process of renting mopeds was much more like Vietnam rather than the islands of Thailand. Somehow I think the drunken yobs that visit the Islands and treat it like Ibiza, driving the mopeds drunk has something to do with the way they treat you.

We got our moped and headed north towards a natural hot spring. After about 30 minutes on a lovely scenic road we found the hot spring. Which was actually a bit hazardous to get to due to the extremely steep hills. So steep that the moped couldn't carry us both so Isla jumped off. Once at the hot spring it just looked like a normal stream and didn't appear to be hot but once we got in it was lovely and warm, just like a bath. We bathed for a while and watched local Thai children about 3yrs old swimming naked and doing front flips of off a broken branch. Very funny and cute, think they were showing off some what.

We then headed back to the wooden hut to watch the sun set on the porch, Isla got in the hammock and I grabbed a beer. What a way to spend the end of the afternoon. If there is one recommendation I can make, you must visit Pai. Very easy to see why so many people return to Thailand and why so many don't leave.

We then walked into town at night to enjoy another night market. We saw lots of hippies busking on the street and making crafts. We brought a nice curry for dinner and enjoyed the atmosphere, feeling super chilled and not wanting to leave, especially if the journey back is as bad as it was getting up.