Hello, just a quick one, hehe, i always say that!!!

Got the overnight train last night, which after a few Thai whiskies was enormous fun!!!!! Not sure the monks next to us thought so though!

Arrived here in Chiang Mai about 9am and headed to drop bags and shower in hotel. Chiang Mai is absolutely gorgeous, kinda like bangkok but cleaner, more laid back and in the mountains!!!! The scenery is amazing. The pic above is of chiang Mai but not taken by me!

Once we were ready it was staright onto the mini van and an hours drive into the hills for a couple of hours elephant trekking in the jungle!!!! much fun was had by both us and the heffelumps!!!!! Was a relief to see they were well looked after, even had a couple of babies following us round. Those elephants have it sussed though, you by bags of bananas and feed the elephant as you go. ours would walk three steps and stop with its trunk flying up sneezing on you untill you gave it another banana, then we off again for three more steps before we repeated the process!!!! Thee greedy buigger went through 4 massive bags of bananas before we git to the end!!! The sweetest thing though was the babaies would come up next to the bigs ones we were riding and grab at your legs and flip flops untill they got one too... My legs were flithy with mud and elephant snot by the time we got to the end. Then when i got off i had a little elephant following me like a puppy because it knew i still had some bananas left!!!! Very, very cute!!!! Got some cracking photos but this computer wont let me get them off the dvd i just had burned!

After elephant fun we had some grub the it was off to the river for a bit of bamboo rafting, quite interesting really since the raft drivers (the men with the long sticks) were throwing round a bottle of moonshine and they seemed to keep falling in the river more than we did!!! Good laugh but i would have liked some more rapids!!!!

After that we headed up the 45 minute drive uphill into the mountains to a mountain temple, it was beautifull and we arrived just in time for the monks to start their nightly chanting, nobody there but us and the moks. Had a bit of a broken english chat with one who threw holly budda water all overme and gave me a "lucky" bracelet. Rekon all that good karma should get me through Laos without a tooth ache, but fingers crossed anyway!!! Budda willing and all.

Quite funny one of the boatmen kepot shouting "oh my buddah" everytime he fell in, i coukldn't stop giggling.

Got back to town with enough time to get some food and have a wander around the night market, had to keep reminding myself i have to carry anything i buy!!!

The others went to Thai boxing match but i learned in Cambodia its vest to have an early night once or twce than to get ill so i opted out, not that interested either so it was an easy choice.

Head to a little town on the border tomorrow before crossing to Laos and my two day boat journey to Luang Prabang, thinking there wont be much internet there!!!!

Anyhow, i'm off to bed now.

Hope evryone is well, might be meeting up with mairin in Hanoi if we manage to get it organised, thinking we will both be there at the same time!!! yay!!!!

thanks for the tooth fairy wishes! Dont worry mum i'll keep my mouth very shut in the water!!!!!