I'd really wanted to go to Chiang Rai to check out the famous White Temple and hopefully get some pretty pictures, so we decided to head up there for my birthday. Cashing in on our Christmas pressie from our parents, we booked into a nice hotel (with a pool!!!)…a nice little weekend break!

It was only a 3 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai, so nothing too taxing and we arrived about lunchtime. The bus station is right in the centre of town and walking distance to our hotel, so off we went ignoring shouts for tuk tuks. The town seemed nice and quiet, there are a few other Wats and markets, so enough to keep us occupied for a few hours when we needed a break from sunbathing in a sand free environment!

First on the list of things to do though was to go back to the shop we'd passed along the way that had a big Sale sign outside. Having got rid of our hoodies in India with James's parents and after our arctic train journey from Bangkok, we were keen to pick up another layer, preferably with a hood and this little place had just what we needed (in fact, we haven't taken them off since buying them!!). 200B (£4) lighter, but 2 hooded flannel shirts better off, it was lunch time. I think I mentioned in the last blog that we'd been living on noodle soups, but this one is worth a mention…probably the best we've had so far(!). Good portion of noodles and what tasted like smoked pork (almost like big chunks of bacon) and the tastiest steamed pork balls…mmmm. The it was on to the Cat Café - yes, a café with cats! Except, as we only ordered drinks, none of them really seemed that interested in us L, still, it's another thing to tick off the list.

We crossed paths with a girl we'd met in India and had a few beers that evening, which in the long run was not the best idea. It meant that I woke up on my birthday feeling every one of those 28 years and some more added on top. Still, it was my birthday, so we had to make the most of it! We hopped on a local bus down to the White Temple…it was pretty cool but also a bit of an anti-climax at the same time. Visually stunning, but a lot smaller than expected and also the busiest Wat we'd visited so far! It was difficult to spend any amount of time getting pretty pictures though as you were almost herded across the bridge and into it, not really getting the time to take it all in. And before we knew it, we were back on the outside! Still, it was worth a visit and I'm glad we made the trip, but enough of this touristy malarkey - we had a pool that was calling out for us!

How nice it is once in a while (in fact this is the first of our entire trip) to spend some time by a pool. It's even better however, when the pool is somewhere above freezing. We managed one dip and had to get out, not even after being fully submerged. In fact, I think the Atlantic sea in Portugal was slightly warmer. Nevertheless, we had a lovely time relaxing in the sunshine and soaking up some vitamin D.

I wasn't feeling so great in the evening (Now, I think we've been quite lucky so far with our health and considering the countries we've passed through, have done well not to succumb to any sorts of, ahem, issues. But it was just my luck that I was unwell on my birthday!!) and shock - it was raining and pretty cold, so we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out. Having looked up the location on the internet, we set out…walked around most of the town, couldn't find it and ended up in the warmest noodle shop we could find. All in all, a rather sedate and quiet birthday, but at least we were well rested for the next day!

We spent the morning exploring a bit more of the town and a few more of the Wats - however I think we are beginning to suffer from 'Wat-fatigue'. After lunch, the weather turned - cold and wet. In fact, the temperature dropped by about 20 degrees!! Just as well we'd bought another layer!! We hunkered down in our hotel room hoping it would pass…but it didn't. There was a big park lit up in the centre of town - all weekend I'd been saying that I'd take the camera out in the evening and get some pictures, but it just never happened. So on the way out for dinner, pouring with rain, we took a quick detour through the park as I tried to get as many pictures on my phone without stopping...it kind of worked!...As it was Sunday, the day after my birthday and the weather was bl00dy awful, we did the best thing we could think of - we went and had a big fat American burger at Hungry Wolf's. And it was delicious!!!

The weather was no better the next day either, in fact, the temperature was on a par with Dorking. Perfect weather for getting a bus…thinking that as it was cold, they wouldn't have the aircon on…wrong! 3 hours later and chilled to the bone, we were back in our most visited place in the country, Chiang Mai! Unfortunately, our usual guesthouse was full - turns out most of our hostel from Bangkok had booked in there! No matter though, it was only for a night…time to stop zig-zagging up and down the country - this time we were heading West, ever closer to Myanmar…only a few long bus journeys stands in our way! Next stop, Mae Hong Son…hopefully the weather clears soon otherwise we're going to have to buy some 'winter' clothes!!