Thursday we were up at 5:15 to catch our 6:50 coach to Chiang Mai. We got breakfast from 7/11 and when we came outside there were people on their knees giving offerings to monks walking by. We waited patiently with the husband and wife who run the coach ticket shop, all of a sudden the wife started shouting at the man and he was off in a flash on his moped, turns out the coach drove past so he went on pursuit to get it to come back and collect us! It was a 5 hour journey to Chiang Mai so not too bad but glad to arrive at our hostel, we checked in then headed out for some lunch. We had a look at different attractions to do here and wanted to do the trek in the jungle to hill tribes however it's hard to find a company with good reviews, we found one called Pooh so headed off to find the booking office, unfortunately Laura didn't orientate the map correctly so we ended up walking the whole way around the old city walls! Ben got the giggles whenever he tried to ask a local where 'Pooh Tours' was and about an hour later we still had no luck so gave up. In the evening we decided to go to the cinema to watch The Hobbit, it was nice to do something 'normal' that we would do at home, after we just headed back to the hostel.

Friday we headed out at about 10 to try to find another trekking company who are highly recommended on trip advisor however their tours are out our budget so we left a little disappointed. We wondered around the streets looking in stalls and shops before heading back to the hostel. When we got back we noticed that Sam and Jack, two lads from Oz that we did diving with, had checked in so we hung out in the entertainment room before going for some Mexican food along with a Mexican girl we met. We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling and researching where and what we were going to do between now and the new year as well as watching nearly the whole series of band of brothers that another guy was playing on the TV.

Saturday we headed out at 11 for some breakfast before meeting up with Sam, Jack and our 2 Mexican friends to catch the bus to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep a temple up a mountain which, after climbing 309 steps, has great views of Chiang Mai city however the temple itself was a little too touristy. At 18:00 we all headed out to Saturday Walking Street which was a huge market we thought would never end! It was really refreshing to be in a market which sold local food and crafts rather than fake handbags, glasses and watches. Laura really liked this one! Thailand were playing football against Malaysia as well so there was a great atmosphere from the locals who cheered everytime a goal was scored. When we got back to our hostel we had to pack our bags ready for tomorrow as we booked a Hike & Bike trip.

Sunday we, Sam & Jack & Us, were picked up from our hostel at 9:30 for our trip. We were taken to get our bikes and protective gear then driven up to our starting point. First we hiked for 3 hours in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park to a village where we were served Pork Noodle Soup, the hike was good and on a natural path which gave a real sense of hiking in the jungle which Laura was pleased about because we have read a lot of negative feedback about these sorts of trips being very commercialised, we are not sure if the village we attended was a real hill tribe village or not but unfortunately had lost interest in that by then after researching so much and still being unsure. We definitely passed and did not enter one hill tribe though who disturbingly had dog paws on the gate to their community which we were told is supposed to keep away spirits. After lunch we hopped on our bikes for our 2 hour descent, the boys were taken on a more tougher route than Laura and another girl from Malaysia whose brother attends Bristol Uni! Laura surprisingly loved mountain biking although probably went no faster than 5mph to much of the guides dislike! Ben managed to fall off his bike 10 times but luckily only has a few scratches on his arms thank God! As we got to the lower levels of the mountain we cycled through rice fields until we reached a huge lake which had canopies made out of bamboo all around it, so beautiful. The boys had obviously beat the girls there no thanks to Laura, we all sat in a canopy and we're given dinner before heading back to our hostel. We were all so tired so we just chilled and watched a movie before heading to bed.

Monday we had a lie in before heading out for Pancakes with Sam, Jack and 2 girls from New Zealand Mercy and Kate. In the afternoon the 2 of us headed to Tonlamyai Market to look at a flower market which was a lot smaller than Laura thought it would be however they still make amazing bouquets, reefs and animals out of flowers and leaves. When we headed back to the hostel we decided to visit the Mexican Restaurant again as it was so delicious, we all ate good food and shared jugs of mijito. After, we got some drinks from the 7/11 and headed back to our dorm to play games and riddles before heading out to a club. We ended up getting back at around 4:30 so a very fun night was had by all.

Tuesday we all reluctantly woke around 10 and headed out for breakfast and to say goodbye to Kate and Mercy. We spent the rest of the day in the entertainment room, as did many others we bumped into at the club, watching movies. Later on the four of us, Jack & Sam & Us heading out to the Night Bazaar for a wonder, Laura stopping at the handbag stalls and the boys stopping at the stalls that sold Knifes, Tazers and BBgun compitions! Jack convinced us to have a go at one of the fish pedicures which was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of our lives! Ben couldn't keep his feet in the tank and Laura was squirming in her seat! After that we headed back for some much needed sleep.

Wednesday... CHRISTMAS EVE!? We checked out of our hostel in the morning to head to a nice hotel for Christmas. We spent the afternoon looking around the local shops, Ben watched a movie and Laura sunbathed by the pool. At 15:30 we were collected for our Thai Cooking Course, we were dropped off at the studio and greated by Aoy the very lovely owner of Galangal Cooking Studio. Aoy took us to a local food market to view all the different ingredients we would be using, when we got back to the studio we got cooking! Laura cooked Pad Si Ew (stir fried chicken with fresh noodle), Tom Kha Kai (chicken coconut soup), Po Pai Tod (spring rolls) and Khaw Soi (chiang mai noodles) & Ben cooked Kai Pad Med Ma- Muang Him Ma Pan (chicken and cashew nuts), Tom Zap Kai (hot and sour chicken soup), Po Pai Tod (spring rolls) and Kaeng Massamun (massamun curry).... It was all really tasty, really easy to cook and really fun, Aoy has a great sense of humour! We were absolutely stuffed after cooking, eating, cooking, eating, cooking, eating, so we headed back to our hotel to sleep it off!

Thursday.... MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We were collected at 7:00 to head to Ran Tong elephant rescue, it was an hours drive into the jungle before we arrived. As soon as the minivan stopped we could see down into a valley and see all the elephants roaming around which was great first impressions as everywhere else we have seen them they have been chained up. We walked down into the valley and we're given traditional Mahout clothes to change into, Mahout's are elephant trainers. After giggling at each other as the clothes were so big and baggy we were given bananas to feed the elephants which was so magical! The elephants swing out their trunks at you and hoover up the bananas from your hand, Ben managed to get down next to a big elephant and put the banana straight into its mouth which he loved. We had a quick Mahout lesson learning all the different commands which are shouted at the elephants then we were paired with the elephant we were going to ride. We were paired with Satia who Laura thought was a bit small for the both of us personally however the Mahout commanded him to sit down and we chambered on, Ben up front and Laura behind. We rode the elephants up a rocky and muddy hill which was very interesting, the best part was that the elephants were so unruly, if they wanted to stop for a snack they would stop for a snack no matter how many times its Mahout would shout at it! Now our elephant was very lazy, it did not want to walk at all and neither would Laura if Ben was sat on her head however we felt that he just wanted to wait for his mate, another elephant called superman. We rode the elephants to a big bath and the Mahout started splashing them, and us, with water however Satia was having none of it and would only get his toes wet. We headed back to the yard so we could get off but it seemed that Satia had now warmed to us, as all the elephants did what they were told and bent down to let their customers off he decided he wasn't going to leaving us sat on him for another 5 minutes. After we finally got off we were able to take lots of photos and pet the baby who was so hairy and playful before they served us lunch. We spent the rest of the day skyping home and packing our bags, as we leave tomorrow, before heading for our 'Christmas Dinner' at the night Bazaar food market. When we got back to the hotel 'Arthur Christmas' was on tv so we happily watched a Christmas movie before falling to sleep.