Hi there, well its been a while and ive been to a couple of new places since last time. We first took the ferry to the nearby island of Koa Phangan. There isnt alot to say abut this place except for the fact that its the place to party hard and thats what we did. It was Pady's day when we arrived so we had to go out for that of course so we headed for haad rin beach where the party happens. We meet a few great people and have some drinks and a boogy with them then head home in the early hours. We spend the next day in bed and chilling by the pool then have a relaxing day the next day to prepare ourselves for the full moon party. After painting ourselves with flourescent paints and grabbing a Tuk Tuk we head again for Haad Rin beach for a very messy night. Ill just say that we were still out after the sun rose the next day returning to our bungalow in day light. We have another day in bed to recover and then leave the island (with the need of a detox) to head back to the mainland.

The next leg of the journey was a killer as we took the ferry back to the mainland in the afternoon to then get on a bus to the train station to thenn get the night train to Bangkok. Before we got on the train we grabbed some street food and it was the spiciest dish ive eaten which was probably not the best choice with a long train ride ahead of us. The sleeper train turned out to be ok and luckely for me and the sake of the other passengers there was not a cockroach in sight. We had our own little bed with a little curtain across so you get some kip. It was quite cold on the train and we had very brocken sleep but we made it to Bangkok no problems. The journey does not end there unfortunatly as we arrive in Bangkok in the morning and then connect with the day train to Chaing Mai in the north of Thialand. After a full day traveling we make it to Chaing Mai at 8pm after traveling for over 30hours. It was a killer but it was the full length of Thailand.

Chaing Mai is quite a big place and we spend the first day trying to navigate around the city which with our sense of diresction and all the little alleys doesnt work very well and we spend most of the time lost. We book a Thai cooking course for the next day. We start our course in the morning and after going to the market to look at the yummy fresh ingredients and have them all explained to us we head back to the realy nice kitchen to start cooking up a storm. First was Pad Thai then a spicy Tum Yum soup then spring rolls. They were damb good if I do say so myself an after eating all these courses I was stuffed and needed a break. We had an hour then got back in the kitchen. The next dishes was the sticky rice pudding then a Panang curry and Tamarind Prawn. These were also yummy dishes but with a full belly I got mine to go and we had them latter in the hotel. The cooking course was realy good and I cant wait to recreat these dishes when I get home. I did note that they put a hell of a lot of sugar in what they make with teaspoons of sugar going in everything, wouldnt like to be a diabetic here!

The next day we pack our day sacks to head out of Chaing Mai to the Elephant Nature Park located about an hour away. Ive been looking forward to comming here for all the time that I have been in Thailand as the park is a great place that acts as an elephant sanctuary for abused, mistreated and injured elephants. In thailand and alot of other places in asia the elephants are used for labour in the logging trade and are mistreated. There are also alot of riding treaks and performances that also lead to the poor critters being mistreated. This place is like a haven for these elephants and the founder, a little lady called Lek (meaning small in Thai) now has 36 elles. There is no riding or performances the elephants are just free to roam the place and have a good life after having an apauling one. We spend the first day being shown around, feeding the hungry elephants and washing them in the river. The afternoon we watch a tear jurking film about the park, the elephants ad the way they are treated when they are trained. I personally dont see how there is any enjoyment in watching or riding these gentral gients. It just looks so unnatural that they should be used this way.

The next day we head out around the park with a great american lady called Jodi who explains the life of the elephants on the park and their personalities come to life. Its amazing listening to here and you can see how passionate she is about the elles. In the afternoon we are taken on a guided tour of a nearby temple and the guide tells us about the meanings of the buildings and the buuddhist practice. It is another interesting afternoon learning about the Thai culture. We head back for dinner and I have forgot to mention so far about the food which is fabulous. Its all vegi but if I could eat dishes like this all the time then I wouldnt miss meat (well maybe a bacon butty) We pile the plates high everytime and are normally too stuffed to move by the end of filling our faces. I think we actually eat as much as the elles. I have disrupted nights sleep when I am awoken by some strange noise, which I think is a mouse or some other unidenfied creature lurking in the bin. I therefore start to imagine the worst as to what has made its way into the hut and wake Rachel in a panic, who is not happy as it is 3am. We spend an hour hidding in our mosquitoe nets before bravly turnng obn the light to find nothing in the bin or the room. We come to the conclusion that the noise was probably from outside. The next day we help out in the park and our wonderfull duty of the morning is to shovell the ellephant sh1t. And with 36 elles thats a lot of poo!!! Back breaking hard work but it has to be done. We pill our plates twice as high at lunch after the hard morning graft. In the afternoon we take some rings to the river to go tubing down the small rapids. This time unlike in Vang Vieng its without the bars and alcohol and is realy good fun. It was then time to sadly say goodbye to the elles and the park and head back to Chaing Mai. All in all the park was a great place and is adictive as it does a great thing for the elles. We are back in Chaing Mai now for a few more days and head down to Bangkok soon.