I'm back from trekking & I survived. Only just though! It was very hard work & now I'm recovering!

We met at the hotel at 9.00 Thurs morning & I already knew some familiar faces. Thomas & Marriane were there from Denmark who I met in Sukhothai so it was nice I already knew someone. There were 9 people in our group all together. Dennis, also Danish, Winegar & Pauline from Holland, Sean & Robert from Canada & Derrick from New Zealand. We all got on really well which was cool.

We set off in the truck & headed for the jungle! We started off on the elephants so nothing too hard for us! The elephant in front of me had a cold & kept sneezing & everytime it did it would blow a bucket load of snot everywhere that everyone tried to dodge. It was hilarious though. After that we had lunch & then the truck dropped us off & we were on our own with our guides, Sam & Mr Day.

The trekking was hard! All uphill into the mountains. Everyone was quite fit & I was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up but I managed! After 2 hours of walking we came to a waterfall. By this time we were so hot we just ditched our bags & ran into it. We were having competitions to see who could stand under the waterfall the longest & it dragged me straight under & Robert had to pull me out - the water only came up to our knees though & it was quite safe.

Then we walked further to where we would be spending the night. The views were magnificent, the photos don't do it justice. I was concentrating on where I was stepping (didn't want to trod on any snakes) & I didn't realise how high up we were. The village people were lovely & they're such a happy lot. There were lots of children running about along with piglets, puppies & kittens. I bought a bracelet that a little girl made for me. They don't have anything but the children are so happy, one of the little girls was having much fun with a carrier bag (although when she put it over her head we took it off her ha ha)

Our bedroom for the night was a wooden house on stilts. It had no door & I was worried about what might get in. We each had a mosquito net though which was good. We had dinner & then piled around the campfire singing Bob Marley songs with Mr Day & watching the lightening in the distance. I've never seen so many stars in the sky. I'd been trying not to drink too much because I didn't want to use the squat toilets - I can't understand how they use them - I always ended up peeing over myself - not good when you can't have a shower! I hardly slept at all, it was so cold at night & so noisey! The Cicadas & lizzards & frogs & crikets are so loud! It was all worth it though coming out of the hut in the morning & being on the side of a mountain.

After breakfast we set off again for 3 hours & visited another waterfall - this one a bit too cold for me! Then more trekking. We passed through more villages including Sam's village. I fell in a big pool of buffalo poo so that was nice for me. We eventually arrived at the village where we'd be staying. This time they had a real toilet (I was so happy) but the hut we were staying in was my worst nightmare. We had no nets this time & the place was crawling with spiders. And the spiders over here are the size of cats (almost anyway)& you can actually hear them. I tried not to think about it & we had a good time around the campfire again. Mr Day had too much Thai water (rice wine) & he was our entertainment for the night. I didn't sleep at all, I was so cold & was very aware of the spiders. I tried not to shine my torch around too much because I didn't want to see them but I heard one of the lads come across one but I didn't ask - I'd rather not know! I'm not sure how I made iot through the night, I woke up more than once convinced there were cobwebs on my face. As soon as it was light I took my blanket & sat outside.

The last day was hard. My muscles ached so bad & I don't think I could've done another day. We went bamboo rafting which was a laugh. They tie 6 pieces of bamboo together, take you down the river & then use it to build houses at the other end. We each got a turn trying to drive & we all got soaked & a lot of us went in the water but it was only shallow anyway.

The only snake I saw was a dead one, there was some rustling in the bushes & Sam said it was a snake but I wasn't sticking around to find out!

I was so glad to get back to the hotel but only for a few hours & then we all went out for dinner together. We were so dirty - not washing for 3 days! I was so dirty I looked like I had a tan ha ha! Absolutely brilliant experience & met some amazing people. Best thing so far & I'm missing it already. Pics on here soon people - have to dash because I'm off to a spa to do a bit of relaxing - I deserve it!