A worthwhile early start today as we had booked a trekking trip around a few of the sights in Chiang Mai. We were picked up at about 8:30 in a minibus by our guide for the day, Nom, and her trainee assistant Pai. She explained the timetable for the day or the 'programme' as they like to call it here!), beginning with a 1 hour drive to Phutawan Elephant Camp where we would go for an elephant ride through the forest! There were about 11 of us in our group, including us 3, a Canadian called Doug, a couple from China, four Germans and a Japanese lady - a multicultural tour!

At the elephant camp we were shown to a platform where we would get onto the elephants, and we saw them heading up towards us after they had crossed the river below. We were excited to get getting on as this is something we've wanted to do and looked forward to. Gradually, people were shown onto the elephants, including Chris who was put with Canadian Doug. Eventually Laura and I were the only people left, so we got the last elephant - not sure whether that was a good or bad thing! I had a bit of trouble getting on - I had one foot on when it decided to start moving away from the platform! I quickly retreated to avoid the drop onto the ground below, and our guide brought the elephant back - second time lucky, we were off! We headed through the forest and tried our best to stay in the seat - it was a bit of a bumpy ride, especially when going up and down some pretty steep hills. Every so often, our elephant decided not to follow the others and wandered off along a different path, only to meet up with the others again further on - we got the cantankerous one! We both loved the experience (another once in a lifetime moment!) including the river crossing - fantastic, although we were stuck behind Chris's elephant at the time, who was busy doing the biggest you-know-what we've ever seen! Last we saw it floated past us down the river… After one last hill climb, the ride was over and I managed to get off a lot more successfully than I got on! We bought our souvenir photo (we can actually afford them here!) and got back on the bus for our next stop.

Nom told us that she'd had to change the 'programme' and move our bamboo rafting forward as she'd heard from the company that they expected to be very busy in the afternoon. So we drove the 5 minutes down the road to the rafting dock and were told to leave all our valuables and shoes in the van in case they got wet - this turned out to be good advice! We climbed onto our raft which was about 10 long bamboo poles tied together with a raised 'seat' in the middle made from four shorter poles. Our boatman guided us slowly down the river, and it was a peaceful ride, past local houses by the river side. We also saw the elephants we'd just ridden crossing the river ahead of us. A remarkable sight, yet we all remembered what the elephants put into the river and tried to keep our hands away from the water. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't really avoid getting wet. There were a few faster parts of the river which led to a few hairy moments when the water would almost cover the raft and soaked us at the same time. We had a good laugh on the raft though, and as the Thai guy sitting on the riverbank as we got off said - no wet, no fun!

Time for lunch after another short drive to a roadside restaurant, where our group were served with huge pots of rice and lots of different vegetable dishes, from which we could serve ourselves. There was even one with some potatoes in a spicy sauce, which you don't usually see in Thailand - our guide explained that it was for the tourists! There was plenty of food to go around (although no meat!) and we were al stuffed by the end of the meal.

Back on the bus again, we drove for about 10 minutes to a hill tribe known as the Karen people. There are five different Karen tribes, including the famous long neck Karen who live near Chiang Rai. We were visiting the White Karen and were lead into their village and shown to seats in one of their houses, which was a simple open air wooden hut. Here, our guide explained a little about the Karen people, including their work (mostly faming and weaving) and the different clothes that the women wear depending on their marital status. Then it turned into a bit of a shopping opportunity - we were given the chance to buy some of the scarves they had weaved and Laura and Chris bought some for presents. We had a quick look around the village and took a few photos, including one of the village pigs that lived on one of the homes!

Then it was time for our major walk of the day, through the rice fields to our second hill tribe of the day. The scenery as we walked along the narrow path through the rice fields was stunning, with green rice shoots for as far as we could see. Apparently they've had a lot of rain this year and have managed to harvest two crops of rice instead of one - good news for the farmers! Halfway along the walk we stopped off at Maiwang waterfall for a swim. It was quite difficult to climb down the rocks into the water, and once we were in we had to hold on to stop ourselves floating off downstream as the current was that strong from the waterfall! It was a nice way to cool off thought!

In the second village, where the Hmong hill tribe live, there wasn't really much to see, and I think we were mainly there to buy some more of the local handicrafts! We picked up a couple of wristbands and necklaces and had a look in one of their houses. It was slightly larger than the houses in the Karen village, with the open fire, bed and sitting area all in one large room - very different to what we're used to!

Soon, we were back on the bus again and heading back to Chiang Mai after a memorable day away from the tours and cities. We slept for most of the journey back and then had a rest in the room for a while!

In the evening, we headed out to the night bazaar in a mini-bus taxi called a Sawngthaew (bigger than a tuk-tuk but not as nice as a proper taxi - basically the back of a truck with benches in!) on the advice of the hotel receptionist. They can carry about 10 people, but you just flag one, tell them where you want to go and if they're going that way they say yes and you get in. All for 60p each! At the bazaar, we stopped for something to eat (I tried a Northern Thai delicacy that I think was port curry - delicious!) and picked up a few bits, including some more souvenirs for people back home. We headed back to the hostel early and spent the rest of the night relaxing in the room.