Some of you may not know that I have once again fled my home country to follow my dreams back into SE Asia. It was a long, hard 8 months back in England, the reverse culture shock hit me hard & working 3 jobs to save up enough to get me back on the road exhausted me but as soon as I stepped off the plane in Bangkok I realised that the world that I\'d been carrying on my shoulders all summer was now at my feet and the biggest smile lit my face. I\'ve been in Thailand almost 2 weeks now already and after 1 night in Bangkok I went out to a cute little island for some beach life and to meet up with a friend I made in New Zealand that hapened to be in the same area. The soft white sand, blue skies, crystal clear water, good company and space to breathe was just what I needed to start my trip off, The mosquitos were the only thing I could find to complain about - the living sure is easy..... I am now up in the north of Thailand in Chiang Mai, an old walled city surrounded by a moat, checking out a few of the 300 temples, colourful markets and hope to get out of town to an elephant conservation centre within the next few days and am also waiting on my passport coming back from Immigration hopefully with a visa for Laos stamped in it. Ages ago I heard about a small hippy village out west of here which sounds like a Lorna kind of place so I\'ll be off into the countryside soon to hang out with nature and do some treking out to the hill tribes and waterfalls etc. and then it\'ll be onwards and up towards the Laos border when my Thailand visa expires on 14 Dec. I have no idea where I\'ll be come Christmas and just as last year, there is no sign of its imminent arrival anywhere around me, tinsel and cheesy tunes haven\'t made it to this part of the world thankfully. So whereever you are and whatever you do I hope you take some time out for yourselves and enjoy it. If any of you are out this way, let me know, it would be great to catch up again. ************************************** Nothing splendid has ever been acheived except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.....