After spending the past week in Chiang Mai when I initially was only going to spend a couple of days here, I am to say, sad to be leaving. I will admit I had to muster up all my effort this morning to be bothered to pack my things into my bag and not just turn round to Mark and ask if I could stay longer. There are more things I could do here, such as Thai cooking classes or going Trekking through the mountains but I realise that I will run out of time to see Laos before my Vietnam visa starts.

I have spent the last couple of days doing practically nothing at all, I have only really left the Hostel during the day to find food and venture to wash laundry and you know what?...I don't care. I wasn't bored at all, I caught up on my sleep, started re-building my collection of music on iTunes and chilled out on a sun lounger (in the shade...far too hot in the sun!) drinking milkshakes and coffee all day watching the feral cats run about the garden. If this is what it's like being chilled out in Chiang Mai then I cannot wait for those long sunny days swinging in a hammock from my water front bungalow in Don Det. Bring on the lazy days!

I did however, venture out on Sunday night to visit Chiang Mai's Sunday market. A huge market which closes one road in Chiang Mai full of everything you could think of, and probably some random things you couldn't. Of course I bought some more clothes, which explains my screaming at my bag this morning as it just wouldn't close! DAMN YOU BAG!

The journey to Chiang Rai started off badly, the van was on Thai timing...so late. After that I swear someone told me that the journey was only going to take 3 hours...5 hours later and we're not even there yet. Although on the way we did visit the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun) which was built in 1998 more of an artists rendition of a Temple as it looks like it's covered in frosting. Which I thought would be a welcome refresh compared to those Temples all covered in gold...that was until I walked into the gardens...There was a monument which was a giant red skull balancing a bottle of Whiskey on his head...wait...that's not all! On the grass beside him (if you're a fan of 80's cult classics you may appreciate this) was a statue of Predator coming out of the grass...not your average Temple I will admit. The Swiss guy sharing the warehouse s*** hole I'm staying in (whoops I meant to say budget room) didn't believe me! Won't he be in for a surprise tomorrow when he goes to visit!

Chiang Rai probably deserves better attention from me, I guess I was in a bit of a bad mood when the bus that was supposed to take me into town dropped me 8km outside of town and I stupidly checked into motel hell as it was the first one I saw. We'll do better tomorrow, look out for more positive reviews!