As I write this, I'm on a bus from Ranong to Krabi. Just. I dumped my bags and myself on just as the bus was ready to pull away. Storm like clouds are overhead. It's Sunday 28th November, and I arrived in Chiang Mai on Thursday 18th. I have a lot to catch up on. For this reason I won't go through the usual "I did this, I did that" blurb. It's dull, you're busy and I only have three hours on this bus...

Let's do lists. I like lists. I also like people, so here's a list of the wonderful people I met in Chiang Mai, in no particular order:

Elle, Ali (Ally?), Joe, Liesl, Emma and Lindsay, Seamus, and of course Tawachai.

Here's a list of this things I did in Chiang Mai, with detail where needed:

18th: Not much, bummed around and sorted out photos. The hostel, A Little Bird, cost a mere 100 baht a night. I didn't feel like rushing! Drank Chang and went out in the eve. Called Amy on Skype at 3-4am when we got back. On reflection, Amy, I WAS drunk, but by comparison to others I was sober...

19th: Woke up late. Eventually dragged myself into town and walked around some "wats" (temples). Got taken into a school by some adorable school kids and got taught about the weekend's festival, Loi Krathong or Yi Peng. I was given a sugary snack and some chicken curry for free. Loved it! Then went to "monk chat" in Wat Chedi Luang for the surreal experience of having a chat with a Thai Buddhist monk. Had coffee, got his email address and phone number. Birthday drinks with Seamus and co and a failed early night of 3am.

20th: Got out at midday with Joe and Elle. Hired bicycles and got to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep (with a little help from a sawngthaew - a pickup truck bus/taxi). Got "templed out" very quickly and took an exhilarating freewheel down the hill, then up (very much up, as Elle will confirm) to a waterfall where, innuendo aside, I had a waterfall massage in my pants. Got a taxi from Little Bird to the university where the Yi Peng festival was happening. My god it was beautiful. I lost Ali, Elle, Joe, Liesl and the others while walking there and snapping photos. Kind of lucky as I found a great position for the spectacle of literally thousands of lanterns being released into the sky at once. The only thing that stopped me from taking more photos was the speed of my memory card. Hopefully my pictures will do it justice. Luckily bumped into everyone I'd lost when leaving the arena.

21st: Made use of my bicycle rental by speeding to the railway station to book tickets to Bangkok. I got the only sleeper ticket that remained - for Thursday 24th. Everything up to then was fully booked. Looks like I had lots of time for trekking after all. Liesl, Ali, Joe, Elle and I found a group discount deal on a two day trek. Elle and I then got stuck washing clothes and buying Thai pants while Liesl, Joe and Ali went to the river for Loi Krathong festival. Following later, Elle and I wandered the river parade and let our own lotus-boat go into the river before joining the others on the bridge to witness explosions and fireworks all over Chiang Mai. We'd been used to the occasional firework over the past few days, but this was like standing in Baghdad at times. The crazy bureaucracy that is Health and Safety has not yet hit Thailand. I concluded the night with a foot massage. I could stay here forever.

I've emphatically missed my goal of writing lists and avoiding "did this, did that" sentences. Never mind. I'll keep it as brief as possible.

22nd: Day one of our trek! I got the usual snack and smoothie breakfast and we headed out - 11 in total. A swim in the beautiful waterfall, then a walk around a creepy and intriguing hill temple, before we trekked to the camp. We'd share a large wooden hut for the night. But not before the locals got out some strong spirits, and we drank and played guitar by the fire. Ali added some rough "100 Pipers" whisky to the party and things got a bit more raucous and dancing was involved, though only Dorian, Ali and I remained of the trekkers. A great night, until it was abruptly ended by the furious shouts of the the mother of one of the other French trekkers at about 10:30pm. I think she was trying to sleep. Everything went quiet and we were in the dog house...

23rd: Breakfast was surprisingly comfortable despite the night's outburst. Eleven became seven as the two-night trekkers stayed behind. The day's menu: rafting in pairs (lots of fun), going to another waterfall, elephant riding (I got to ride my own elephant, which was awesome), and finally a great time bamboo rafting in threes (with a driver this time). Liesl sat out as she felt pretty unwell. We travelled between places in an open-backed pickup truck, which reminded me of riding the truck around the farm back at home!

On the way home, Liesl decided to put on a show for the following drivers by emptying her stomach onto the trailing road. She felt better, but she wasn't able to join us on our "final supper" at the Riverside restaurant. A shame. Ali nearly suffered the same fate on walking to the restaurant as well. The restaurant was lovely though. All in all the perfect way to end a great week in Chiang Mai with some great people.

24th: Today I wanted three things: a haircut, a Thai massage and a book for reading on the islands. I got the first in what looked like a garage, with only one shutter half open as an entrance. To be fair, it cost me 75 Baht, so unless he butchered my hair (or worse) I wasn't going to complain. The second I got alongside Joe and it was great. The third I got as I rushed to find a tuk-tuk to the train station. Phew. Bye-bye Chiang Mai. Thanks for all the memories. I'm sure it won't be the last time I see you...

If you've got this far, I applaud you. Your reward is the following recommendation. Come to Chiang Mai, firstly. Second, you must absolutely, definitely hire a moped for at least a day. There's so much to explore and I wish I'd had more time and done so. There. Thank you..,