So … Chiang Mai is such a breath of fresh air compared to Bangkok. Not that the air is fresh. There is a constant smoke haze as it is nearly the height of summer here in Thailand, and the farmers are burning off their crops in preparation for the coming season.

The streets are less busy and if you tell someone that you don't want to buy anything they will leave you alone.

Our hotel is super nice. The kind of nice that is too nice for us eg. A man opens the front door for you.

Straight across the road is the night market. There is great food there and lots of handicrafts, not just knockoffs and pornos like in Bangkok.

Our first full day in Chiang Mai, we hired a motor scooter and tried to follow the suggested tour in the Lonely Planet guide book. We were mot so successful at following their directions so we gave up and did our own thing. To make us feel a bit better, there were a lot of other lost people walking around with Lonely Planet in their hand.

Today, Friday, we took a tour up to the Golden Triangle where Thailand, Myanmar/Burma and Laos meet. The name Golden Triangle comes from the days when Opium was traded here for Gold.

Along the way we also visited a new temple which was very impressive. It is made of white concrete and decorated with pieces of mirror.

We travelled by boat along the Mekong and crossed the border into Laos. In Laos we were offered to try Cobra Snake Whisky, which is made there. It tasted a lot like Sake or Vodka.

Back in Thailand we visited a gem factory where we were shown raw jade and how it is shaped into figures like elephants & rings etc. We were also taken to visit some of the hill tribes such as the long neck people, with the gold rings around their necks.

Tomorrow we are off to help out at an elephant sanctuary which I am pretty excited about!!

xoxo Jess & Stu