When I awoke this morning, and the bus had finally stopped, at about 6.00 a.m., everybody was bundled into the back of pick-up trucks for the drive into the city of Chiang Mai. During the drive I caught my first glimpse of Northern Thailand: lush verdant landscape and rudamentary wooden shacks dotted around - paradise. The trees were something I had never seen before, big mushroom like giants, twenty metres across, and tall skinny bonzai-like trees with reapers dangling down. Green everywhere. The city seemed cool and interesting as well. Old streets and old temples and slow living, with the odd buddist strolling around in the early morning light. Oli knew where he was going, so a quick walk and we were at the Royal hostel (sweet, rather big, place with swimming pool, bar and inhouse travel agent and bike hire). After booking a room for 300B (no towel, no air-con, cold shower), we absorbed the panoramic from Oli's balcony (green mountains in the backdrop of the city) with a warm heineken and then I went to bed. I was supposed to get up at 11.00 a.m., to have a full day, though I didn't get up until 15:00. SSS complete, we hit the town, first for an adventurous walk around the city, but ended in us getting completely smashed out of our faces on Chang's. Back at the hostel for tea we met a irish lad, Gavin, who was studying Thai language here in Chang Mai. Sound guy. After a chicken Thai dish, all three of us were out again, on the lash. We ended up in THC, a proper little roof-top chillout bar, were I proceeded to ask everybody there for some weed. This bar was the kind of place were It is mandatory to smoke a joint when there; the whole layout and decour screamed "DRUGS". However, I had no joy. No joy at all. People were asking me that if I found some, would I let them know. Dag! Such a waste of fabric. When THC closed, we all had a dodgy rat/chicken kebab and then went for a swim in the hostel pool; Loud as f*ck. 4.00 a.m. and i'm off to bed. The mozzy-fest has started - bring it on, you little winged tw*ts!