We got to Chiang Rai via bus it took about 4 hrs from Chiang Mai. We were due to stay with the Akha hill tribe in the mountains. Our transport picked us up from the Akha river house hotel, it was a Toyota Hilux pick up the drive strapped our luggage to the roof and we had to stand in the back! It had been raining earlier in the day but luckily for our bags it didn't rain for our journey. It took about an hour to get up to the tribe on some very iffy roads and you had to keep your eyes peeled for the dense overgrown jungle which hung over the road ready to take your head off. Just before the village we were met by the steepest hill I have ever been up in a vehicle! 1st gear in low box and we were leaving rubber tracks on the road! At the top of the hill was the village: a collection of bamboo houses where we were staying, and then the locals houses further up the hill. We got shown to our bungalow (bamboo hut!!) Which was on stilts with a balcony platform overlooking the jungle below. The view was stunning.   For as far as you could see it was just a sea of jungle. We really were in the middle of nowhere (and I thought Wormhill was bad!!). After we had unpacked and sorted our self's out we went up to get some food in the open plan sitting area which again was on stilts looking over the jungle. The villages all sat round the camp fire singing and we just chilled and listened to the sounds of the jungle. That night Mel swore there was something running around our room, true to form I slept right through it!
Next morning we walked out to another awesome view of the jungle full of mist hanging around the tree tops. Luckily the weather cleared up so we decided to go explore! There was a waterfall not far from the village so we set off down the hill in search of it. Soon enough we found ourselves on a little path in dense bamboo jungle. After a bit of trekking we came to a waterfall it was a bit smaller than what we'd imagined it would be so we decided to walk a little further, sure enough we found another much bigger one. We had to cross a very dodgy looking bamboo bridge to get to it and when I looked down river I could see the broken remains of old bridges!! In the exploring mood I figured we could take a different way back to camp, so off we went down a path. After a while we stopped and realized that we hadn't a clue where we were and all we could here were strange noises and rustling coming from the tree tops but I insisted we kept on walking! Sure enough (as I knew all along) the jungle opened out onto a tea plantation which lead us back down to the road then on to the village. When we got back we had another chilled night but this time we had a friend... one of the little girls from the tribe took an interest in my iPhone. She was only about three but knew what she what she was doing! Strange for a traditional cut off from the rest of the world hill tribe eh? There was also a killer jungle cat we were playing with.  
Typical the day we leave the sun was shining, we were woken up by it streaming through the bamboo walls of our hut. Back to civilization and back to Chiang Rai, we grabbed a Tuk Tuk and went to see the White Temple. Its a relatively new building which is pure white and more of a architectural statement from an artist than a temple. After that we went back to the hostel and chilled for a bit before going to the night bazaar where we had some food and a drink in the square whilst watching some female dancers on stage... at least I think they were female, one did look rather suspicious!