March 6th (Friday) - Day 6 - Chang Mai

We were woken up by the train staff at 6am despite the fact that we were no where near Chang Mai. We finally arrived at 8:15 and went stright to the hotel.. We had opted to do the Thai cooking class and went to the out skirts of the city. It was a quaint little complex with about 20 stations and a class room. Our first task was to make curry paste. The chef who is famous in Thailand showed us how to make it from scratch (10 ingredients) which we had to grind up and turn into the paste. We finished the dish by using our paste to make a chicken curry. Mine was way too hot! just the way i like it! We then made 3 more dishes; fish with herbs, a water curry and a sweet and sour vegetable dish. Not bad for 15 quid as we got transport, 4 dishes and a really nice cook book. Later that afternoon we headed for a temple in the mountains. Once we arrived we had to climb 340 stairs to reach the grounds. I got blessed by a monk who splashed water over me. He then handed out bracelets that he could place on the guys but not the girls. At 6pm the monks all chant for an hour to give thanks for the day. Once back at the hotel we headed out for dinner and wondered around the wonderful night market. Mile after mile of stalls. I dont know how they make any money. Everything from clothes to statues to knock off DVDs.

March 7th (Saturday) - Day 7 - Chang Mai
Lots and lots of traverling today as we make our way up to the Lao border. We had 2 stops on the way; the first at "cabbages and condons". This is a charity setup to promote the use of condoms in Asia. The second stop was a new temple being built. The ponds had the biggest fish ever seen. Inside was a picture drawn on the whole wall which depicts the artists view of the world. The devil had a picture of Geogre Bush in one eye and bin ladin in the other. We got to the border at about half 2. The border consited of no bridge... the Mekong River was the border. We jumped in a long boat and sailed to the other side.