Hello again, only me!

So i made it to Chiang Mai! woohoo! Plane up was no problemo, if not a little bumpy! However when i landed i got sent to the wrong terminal and the next thing you know iv been pushed out of the door and im standing outside the airport with no luggage...... hhhhmmm you here me wonder or perhaps my choice of words was a little stronger! So after a little kaffuffle with the armed guard, just dont ask, i found where i needed to go to get my bag. I turned the corner and my bag had a guard for proection... go figure. he smiled put it on my back and off on my merry way i went. I cant explain how different things are here!! and they really are! airports may be tough to get into but they are very laid back once your in there!

So my lady was waiting to pick me up, there is a theme developing on my trip as no sooner had i walked out the door than i tripped over in the rain! she nearly went down, we were both laughing. She may not speak english and i may speak very bad thai but we had a right old giggle! So after getting very lost around Chiang Mai i eventually found my guest house.

The River side house is a lovely little place on the outskirts of chiang Mai, takes me approx 5/10mins to walk in. I was exhausted from the travelling so i chilled out and decided what i was going to do and booked up some trips. I then headed for Chiang mai centre. i wasnt sure what to make of it at first. After the hussel and bussel of BKK it was hard to adjust. So realising i was famished headed for a cafe and had some lunch! Next thing you no im chatting to a lovely french couple, he was very crude and funny. then an older chap from Holland came and chatted and we whiled away 2 hours over a coffee. So by the time i got back to the GH i was pooped. I decided not to chill and have a quiet night in but to check out the night life, so the only thing that didnt smell was an old tshirt so i looked a bit shabby! at night the place comes alive and CM was growing on me very quickly, the market was touristy but good fun to walk around. Shopping is so much better here than in BKK!

After a bite to eat decided on a foot massage that was heavenly! They really are addicitve! So i was pretty tired and decided to head back to the hotel. However on passing this bar this guy asked me what i was doing and if i wanted to come in and listen to him play guitar. i asked if he was any good and he said if i thought he was i had to buy him a beer and if i thought he wasnt he would buy me one. seemed like a fair deal and he was drop dead gorgeous so i went in. That turned out to be the start of a very long evening! haha i met all the locals was chatting to the guy who owned it for ages! and it turned out "richie" was pretty damn good! and he played one of my fav songs and well! - shelle he is awsome at Prince! So looks like im heading back there tonight! should be a good laugh and it takes me approx 3 mins to get to my GH even better!!

So today ........

I booked myself on a Thai Cookery course and it really was good fun! I was picked up and taken to "my house" where we were told about the day. we all headed off to the local markets where we stumbled upon a protest march. the people i was with were really nice from; canada, Italy and good old london! So after watching a woman catch a fish and brutally kill it we were buying all sorts of fruits, veggies, powders, tofu, etc was excellent! then headed back to the school to try some of the fruits, so delic and full of flavour! we cooked, thai green curry, chicken and cashew nuts, deep fried bananas, seafood soup and pappya salad! im certainly getting used to the spices and the rice is a little bit like my best friend at the moment ahaha. im going to start dreaming of the stuff soon! Couldnt eat all of it, was so filling. was a brilliant day and the dishes are so easy to cook and tasty! getting ingreds at home could be a prob thogh but il def be trying some... watch out mum hehe!

So after a long day, still tired from last night, just catching up on emails before grabbing some shut eye before going out tonight! off to explore the city a lot better tomorrow and to take in the famous Sunday walking street (markets). On monday Im off to an elephant sanctuary for the day. get to bathe them and feed them! i didnt like the look of the other tours so i was going for the conservationalist one!

Im having a great time and im enjoying mself so much. i understand why people dont want to come home, iv allready been offered 2 jobs! very tempting but dont worry im coming home! haha. I havent seen the sun since i got here so tan hasn't improved and it does like to rain, oh well it is a monsoon i guess hehe!

Im off for a bit of kip, love u all millions

Jo xxxxxxx

by the way im staying at the GH with 12 missionaires from aussie, they are a hoot very funny!!