I have just got back from my 3 day trek which was so very tiring but also one of the best things that I have done since being in Thailand!

okay, so let try to recall everything and not forget anything!

We got picked up by this little minibus at 10 o clock and they took us to this other place where we met the other people doing the trek and they were all really nice. there was a boy and girl from tumbridge wells called tom and marissa and they were art students (one of them doing her art foundation at ravensbopurne, but didnt know ellie) 2 irish couples that were so nice, a french couple who didnt speak english and an american couple who were quite hippyish. anyway, it seemed like a really nice group! and our guides were actually crazy, like one of them kept telling us that the other was his wife and they had 4 children, and every time he saw a dog he said iot was their child! yeah very crazy, but also very funny, and they made it a very fun time! We got in the minibus and went to this elephant camp to do an hours trek on the elepahtn, but becuase I had worked at the wildlife centre I decided not to do it, and I sunbathed for the hour. The elephants looked too skinny, and I thought it was a bit cruel, as one of the rescued elephants from the centre had a caved in back from carrying tourists, and I just thought nahhh, dont wanna be part of that! And I enjoyed my sunbathing anyway! So yeah, after they got back we had some lunch, and noone liked the big noodles so I ended up eating loads becuase I did! Im glad I did anyway bacause after the food we set off to start the real hardcore trekking! We didnt realise it would be as hard as it was, and I decided not to buy any water, as I knew there would be some at the camp! BIG MISTAKE! imagine a 3 hour uphill walk with a big backpack on in the midday thai sun with no water, yeah I nearly died! but we saw some lovely views, and it didnt matter that I was sweating like a beast and could hardly breathe! the crazy thai guys found a beehive with loads of honey in and they cut it down from the tree and nearly got us all killed by bees! but the honey was gorgeos, and tasted like heaven! it felt really good when we got to the camp. we stayed in a little hill tribe village in a bamboo hut that was basically a shack! with a few mosquito nets on the floor and no matresses, very uncomforatble! but it was really nice to be so close to how the actual hill tribes live! We sat around talking for a while, while the guides made us some dinner which was lovely. after dinner we went into the main village centre where there was a big fire which we sat around while some village people sang songs and showed us the traditional costumes they wear for rituals and stuff and I tried it on and it was awesome! after a while we went back and tried to sleep, which theoretically should have been easy considering how tired we were from the walking, but it was way too uncomfortable to get a good nights sleep, and i9t was suprisingly cold becuase we were so far north.

In the morning we woke up and had some eggs and coffee (I think this is what thai people think westeners like for breakfast as they made themselves other stuff that i would have much rather had!) and we started walking again. We had a 2 and a half hour trek which was okay this time becuiase we were prepared and had water with us! it was not uphill most of the time and it was cooler at the beginning of the day. It was actually really pleasant, and I had a great time taking photos of the vies and looking at the bugs which were really interesting. We ended up at a waterfall and we went swimming in it, which was so refreshing and really nice. all the m,en were jumping in and the thai guys were doing really crazy stuff! after a while we went to another village where we left our bags and had some lunch. A couple of people left becuase they were finding the walking to strenuous and there were 6 of us left, and we went on another 2 hour walk to another bigger and better waterfall where we swam and chilled out until it would be too dark for us to walk back. when we got back there was an american guy who would join us for the last day and he was really interesting to talk to as he has been to most countried in the world and was just a minefield of knowledge. After dinner we sat talking with out guide who was also so interesting. he uised to be a monk and he told us all about being a monk. as most of thailand are buddah and therte are millions of monks, it was a very cool thing to find out about! he said that the day before you become a monk you have to dress as a king and get treated like a king for a day, and then you get everything taken away from you. and he told us how they have to wake up at 4 oclock to pray and meditate, and they have to beg for all their food, but it is okay because monks are so well respected that people wake up especially to feed them. he said some othet things, and we were so enthralled! then he started to show us some tricks and games with matchsticks and things, and they were so funny. we were staying in a little village which was basically a big family, I think there were 8 sons and now each one has a family, and that made up the village. all these thai people kept on coming in to pay out games, and it was really nice, a real sense of community! there was also a little thai girl that was dressed literally in rags, and she was so cute! she kept someing in and found everything so interesting! like she loved my tiger balm! and the american guy showed her his ipod and she loved it! after we had played games for a while, we started showing each other wierd things we could do with our bodies, and it was a lot of fun! then we went to sleep (hardly, as i had no matress again!)

and then this morning we woke up and had breakfast, more egg again! yay! and then we started walking again and we only walked for a few houirs before we got to another little village where we stopped and looked around. it was much molre modern than the others, and i think it even had electrcity! (ours didnt) after that we walked to the river and we finished our walking, which i had actually really enjoyed! the views were so beautiful and breathtaking in the hills and it was just very interesting! so yeah, we got to the river and we left our bags so that we could do some white water rafting, which was so cool! even though it is the hot season at the mo, so it wasnt as rough as it would in the wet season, it was still awesome! and i would really like to do it again one day! after that we got off and got onto some bamboo rafts which were very rlaxing and we just glided down the rest of the river until we got to the minibus which took us back to our guesthouse. all in all it was an amazing experience and i have loved every minute of it! (maybe not the beginning bit?) but yeah, if anyone is in thailand, do a trek! I met some of the most interesting people doing it, and just had a great time!

now we are back in chaing mai, and the new year festival is started which is really funny, as thai people celebrate it by throwing water! so everywhere you go people throw water at you! its only small at the moment, but it will grown and grow until the 13th when its like you basically wear youir swimming costume around! at the moment its funny and I cant wait to walk around the town tomorrow throwing water on thai people!

so yeah, only 2 days lkeft now and i dont want to leave here at all, i want to stay here forever :(