Had the BEST DAY EVER today. Literally my dreams have come true - not only did I get to see tigers...I GOT TO CUDDLE, LAY WITH, STROKE, PLAY WITH, AND SPOON THEM!!!! It was UNBELIEEEEEEEEVABLE!!! First we met Lu-Lu and La-La the 2 month old cubs - sooooooooooo cute!!! They were quite boisterous - I definately got nipped a few times which I thought was hilarous!!! Ben was a little scared so didn't get too close but I was just in my element!! We got 15 mins with them, then we moved on to a bigger enclosure and got to see three 7 month old cubs, they were a fair bit bigger and we had to be more careful with them. We weren't allowed to stroke their heads or their paws but we got to lie next to them and rub their bellies and take hundreds of photos. Then on to the BIG tigers and they were BIG - even though they were only 21 months old!!! There was Edward, Oliver and moody Leonardo. We got to spoon them and basically lie on top of them and take a million more photos. They were so beautiful, their paws and teeth were massive, Ben didn't like to get too close but I just acted like they were massive cuddly bears!!! It was so much fun, so surreal - still can't believe it actually happened!! I was very close to stealing the little baby ones!! After that we made a quick stop at a monkey show where we saw them perform various tricks with coconuts, numbers, shooting basketball hoops etc. They asked for a volunteer so Ben volunteered me to go to the front, have my wrists tied together and one of the monkeys had to untie me, then he gave me a kiss on the cheek!! Got a little upset afterwards though cos saw the conditions they were kept in and they were all on chains running around in circles and looking a bit crazy. After that we headed back to our hostel and spent the afternoon "working on our tannage" on the rooftop sunterrace and dipping in and out of the cold jacuzzi!!!

So going back to the days I missed out: The rest of our time in Bangkok we spent sorting out our lives, squeezing the contents of our suitcases into HEAVY backpacks and posting Ben's suitcase full of our leftover crap home. We met up with Jemma and Steve (friends from Uni) who had flown into Bangkok the day before to begin their adventure. Was really nice getting to chat to familiar faces about past nonsense rather than having to go through the same old "where are you from, where have you been, where are you going next" etc! We went for lunch, had a wander and a few drinks and then bid our farewells before heading to collect our backpacks full of lead and heading to the coach to Chiang Mai. It was a pretty painless journey compared to the traumas we've faced before and we managed to get a fair amount of sleep. We arrived in Chiang Mai at 6am yesterday morning and headed to this great hostel (recommended by the fabulous Jess Edwards - great shout mate!!). As it was so early we couldn't check in so we got some breakfast then went for a wander around the city and the local markets. After we checked in a bit later on we wandered some more, saw 4-5 temples (which got a little tedious after about the 3rd) but was good to get out and about. Last night we headed to 'Riverside restaurant and bar' recommended by the hostel we're staying at. It was AMAZING, right on the river bank, pretty lights everywhere, live music, and it was buzzing. We treated ourselves to some much longed for wine and ate like kings. Then we headed back to the bar and had a bit of a boogie to the really good live bands playing OUR kind of music - was a great first day introduction to the wonderful city of Chiang Mai!!

Tonight (after we have uploaded our 'be-extremely-jealous-of-us-playing-with-tigers' photos/videos we are heading to the famous 'sunday night walking market' for a bit of a taste of how they roll in Chaing Mai. Tomorrow we are off on an adventure trek (which we booked through an alternative travel agent to our hotel one so we have to keep it a secret from them which is turning out to be rather difficult and we are a little guilt ridden!) Anyway tomorrow we are due to visit some of the 'long neck tribes', go on an hour elephant trek, go white water rafting, bamboo rafting and have lots of local food, so lots more excitement to come...can't wait - really am living the dream right now!!!