ok so i am going to pre-warn everybody that this is going to be a long entry as i havnt written for quite a while so if you get bored easily you better stop reading now, and for those who take on the challenge of making it to the end, i suggest that you are sitting on a very comfortable chair!!!! so last time you heard from me we were stuck indoors because of the torrential rain on the coast of cambodia. since then the sun decided that he likes his hat and has put it on just for us!!! we headed to Phnom penh from shianoukville and stayed by a lake where we watched sunset each night. we went to the killing fields where Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge massacred thousands of cambodians and some europeans and that was quite a moving and humbling experience. from Phnom Penh we headed north to Siem Reap which was a really lovely town and luckily the weather went with us. we got there in the afternoon and went straight to the temples of Angkor Wat to see the sunset from a hilltop temple and it was gorgeous. unfortunately it is such a touristy place that there were several hundred other people up there with us and this is the low season so god knows how many people would be up there at peak season. the next morning we were up at 4am so that we could go to the temples for sunrise - i never knew that time of the day existed!!! actually thats a complete lie - i knew it existed but i know it as a 'going to bed time' rather than a 'getting up time'!!!!!! anyway, we spent the whole day looking around some stunning temples and stayed there 'til sunset so we were absolutely pooped by the end of the day!! we were going to attempt to see sunrise the next morning but we decided that our sleep was too precious so we had a little lie in and then had a chilled out morning eating pancakes and sipping lemon juice!!! we walked all over town in the afternoon and then had dinner with Glen, Patrick and Nicola for the last time as we were heading over the border the next day. we travelled accross the border with Glen and a guy called Nigel that we met in Siem Reap and i can tell you that the journey is definitely going down on my most memorable list!!! we were told to be at reception of our guesthouse at 6.30 so that we could checkout and pay before the bus would come and get us at 7.00. at 8.30 the mini bus finally arrived to take us to the bus station and we got on our bus to bangkok. the bus was one of the crappiest we have been on so far and with no airconditioning we had to sit with the windows wide open which wasnt a problem, except for the fact that we were driving along extremely dusty roads and so we were getting covered in orange dust!!! the road was also the worst we have travelled on and to say it was bumpy would be an understatement (I am never complaining about the M25 again!!) it was so bumpy in fact that the back tyre blew and so we were all ushered off the bus and dumped on the side of the road whilst the bus turned round and drove off with all our big luggage still on board!!! it was a bit of a surreal situation but we all took it in good spirit and two guys got their guitars out and we sat round chatting and singing, all the time quietly praying that our bus would come back!!!!! it did, thank god, and so we got to the border safe and sound. it took a good 2 hours to cross the border and timing was not on our side as we missed the next connecting bus to bangkok!! we waited for the next one and settled in only to be ushered off that bus 10 minutes later because the driver wanted to wash the bus!!!! have you ever heard anything so daft!!!! it just so happened that where he stopped to wash the bus there was a little eating place and we think it must have been his sisters or his brothers place and he wanted us to eat there!!!! cunning huh?!!! we eventually got to Bangkok at 10.30pm when we should have got in just before 6 and we were so so tired. we walked round the corner to Khao Sarn Rd which was an experience in itself!!! if anyone reading this has ever been to bangkok and has been along khao sarn rd they will know exactly what im talking about - its noisy, brighter than the blackpool illuminations and packed with people!! coming from the relatively sleepy Cambodia we had a real shock but our inner party animals were well and truly woken up and we were well excited to be there!!! we randomly bumped into two girls from our Vietnam trip which was lovely and then we bumped into some guys that crossed the border with us but had got on the earlied connecting bus and had been in bangkok for a good few hours. they said that they had real troubel finding somewhere to stay as it was so late and so busy so we got a bit worried that we wouldnt find anywhere!!! fortunately the first place we tried was free and we got a relly cheap room straight away!!! we had lunch with Lissia and Yael (from the vietnam trip), and Glenn and Nigel and then we said goodbye to them all as we caught a bus up to Chiang Mai that evening. now would be a good time to take a loo break or go get a cup of tea or something as i have still got quite a bit to tell you!! So then there were two!!! We got no sleep whatsoever on the overnight bus to Chiang Mai and we also had a bit of money stolen so we were not happy bunnies at first but that soon wore off as we have had a fab time up here in the north. we spent the first day visiting factories seeing how local handicrafts are made and that was good although we were shattered from the night bus. we found a great stall to eat dinner from which cost 10 Baht each (about 15p!!) and then hit the sack early as we wanted to be prepared for the next day - trekking!!!! we booked a two night/three day trek and set out on wednesday morning with Claire (england) tukkie (japan) Alexia (belgium) and Sylvie, Marion and Michael (Germany. we walked for what seemed like forever uphill and it was quite a tough day. we stayed in a village on the top of a mountain and had a really good evening sitting round a fire talking. the next day we were joined by Mattew and Meggie (england) and Bruno and David (France) and we all set off again up and down the mountains!! it was a really good day and in the evening we all sat round (in another little village - next to a beautiful waterfall) playing games and having a really good laugh!!! we spent the third day going downhill (thank god!!) and then arrived at an elephant camp where the others rode elephants throught the jungle. we didnt because charlotte loves elephants as you may well know and so she doesnt agree with it, and i didnt wanna be left on my tod so i opted not to do it as well. we then went white water rafting which was great fun and then sat on a bamboo raft down the calm part of the river. we were so lucky with the weatere and although it rained while we were there it only ever did so when we had stopped for lunch undercover or had arrived at our homestay and were indoors!! we had such a good group as well and we had so much fun. we will definitely be in touch with all the others as they were such a lovely group with such a great sense of humour!! we all went out together in Chiang Mai the evening we got back from the mountains and we again had a fantastic evening!!! we may be able to meet up with Bruno and David in the south of thailand but we will have to play it by ear. so that brings us to yesterday. we had such a great time in vietnam when we did our cooking course that we decided that we wanted to do a thai course and we read that the best place to do it is in Chiang Mai so that is exactly what we did. we made 6 dishes (fried tofu with cashew nuts, green curry, spring rolls, pad thai, prawns in coconut milk and sticky rice with mango) which were all yummy and we were so full by the end of the day!!! our teacher was a lovely, but completely insane thai lady called nokky and she made the course so fun - i dont think it would have been as fun without her!!!! we then hit the night market until midnight and are planning to go to the sunday market when we have finished here in the internet cafe. thats if i have any money left as i have been on here for a long time writing this!!!! sorry i havnt had time to write any personal emails for a while but as you have just witnessed we have been rather busy!!! we head to bangkok tonight so i hope to email again soon and spend longer writing some personal messages. love everyone so much and just think in 37 days you will all be able to sleep properly again knowing that im back!!!!