I left behind the hustle of Bangkok to head north to arrive in Chiang Mai at daft o'clock in the morning. The main destination for backpackers appeared to be Julie's hostel, which I had the foresight to book in advance. This is the only hostel I have seen where backpackers are prepared to wait until the reception opens in the hope that there might be a bed. Normally, you would tootle off and find somewhere else but not in Chaing Mai!

Chiang Mai is a beautiful northern city, surrounded by a moat and city wall. Inside the main wall are hundreds of temples, enough to rival Bangkok itself! It is also the centre for adventure sports. Indulging myself, I spent the next 3 days doing as much of this as possible.

On the way to the hostel I had met two new friends, a Chinese man, Michael and a Dutch girl, Eefje. They convinced me that we should hire motorbikes and spend the first day exploring the area. First stop was a temple in the forest, Wat U Mong. Here the temple is mainly underground with brick lined tunnels, giving it a mystical feel. The whole grounds had a peaceful feel and it was calming to be able to walk around. In the car park I even tried to ride the motorbike for the first time, just for a minute or so before I panicked! Definitely more practice required.

It was a good job I decided that, as we headed out along the main road out of Chiang Mai to the Tiger Kingdom. A good 10km down busy roads we eventually found it. It cost about £10 to spend 15 minutes with a tiger and have your picture taken. We decided to have a drink first and check it out before paying so much money. The restaurant was right beside the tiger enclosure and we got to watch some people who had paid. For 15 minutes they did not do a lot besides stroke the tiger and then watch him play with his mates. As we were so close to the tigers to enjoy their presence, it seemed a bit silly to pay the money to not do a lot. I would at least like them to pretend to attack me!!!

I tried on the way back to ride the motorbike for a bit longer and started to feel more confident. Not brave enough to risk myself or others by driving in traffic though!

Day 2 I had booked to go on the 'Flight of the Gibbons', requiring me to be picked up at 6am. Another daft o'clock. It was worth it though. The 'Flight of the Gibbons' involves swinging on zip lines through the jungle. We drove for about an hour to the sight, climbing progressively higher as the jungle enclosed us. It was beautiful. We drove through stunning villages where the houses were as part of nature as were the gardens. Made out of local wood, the villagers had ensured that beauty reigned.

Arriving at the destination we were strapped into our harnesses. I really felt for the men, as the harness in between my legs was particularly tight so god knows what it was like for them. Harnessed, helmet and a piece of wood designed to stop us on the zip line (!) ready we set off. We got to the first platform and could see the thin zip line spanning from one tree to another, with a large drop underneath. I spent a few minutes wondering what the hell I was doing. However, I did not have long to wait before I was attached to the zip line and jumping off the platform. The first few seconds of jumping was terrifying before I realised that actually I was safe and the zip line would support me. Then before I knew it I heard 'legs up' and was being caught at the other end by one of our two guides. My legs were quite shaky and I was disorientated as the platform attached to the tree swayed slightly with the tree's movement.

Then we were off on the next zip line. The more we did, the easier it was and I really started to enjoy it. I felt more confident so that I could let go of holding the harness and enjoy zooming alone not holding on to anything. It was awesome! Our guides were really funny and would perform tricks as they went along, which also made us feel more confident. Then they started joking along with us, pushing us off then grabbing the harness etc. All safe and fun!

After a few zip lines, we got to one which was a vertical abseil down. It was terrifying sitting on the edge of the platform and because of how the rope was attached to the harness we had nothing to hold on to. It was a power of trust to go for it, but again once I had got off the platform it was wicked fun.

The very last line was a massive abseil down. The tree was huge and the drop was right to the bottom. By this point the adrenaline was pumping and it did not seem so scary. Yeah right, especially as the guide let me fall fast at first. It was a brilliant day out, so much fun. Even though we didn't get to see any Gibbons we did hear them. Just being in the jungle at tree top level, made it worthwhile.

Day 3 was white water rafting. After enjoying it so much in India, I was really keen to do it again. Michael and Eefje joined me and we convinced 3 other lads to join in. At first it was frustrating as we were picked up at 9 but did not get to the rafting place until 1.30pm as we had to wait for three quarters of an hour whilst some people in our group did an elephant trek. However, once we had the safety gear on though the adventure started!

There were 4 rafts of about 4 people in with a guide. We had a comedy guide who introduced himself as first name 'Fuk' second name 'You Man'. He thought this was hilarious! We set off down the river and at the first rapid he deliberately sent us into the rocks. It may not sound it but it was funny.

The rapids were great and every so often he would yell 'get down' at which point all 4 of us would have to crouch down in the raft as it hurtled down the rapid. At some points he would yell 'right over' which meant I had to cross over on to the other side of the raft- easier said then done. Then we would all have to cross over on to the other side. First time this happened the raft tipped over- and then we realised he had done it on purpose! We were in a swimming area and he wanted us all to get wet!

On the big rapids, our guide took it seriously and it was amazing to go down some mini-waterfalls. At one point we got caught between two rocks and the raft nearly went vertical. After some bouncing around by our guide we managed to get back and over the rocks. Ash did nearly fall out though!

It was a brilliant day and I definitely would like to take up white water rafting. The thrill of it is amazing and even when not going down the rapids, it was a delight to just sit back and watch the amazing scenery float past.

Day 4, whilst not as adrenaline pumping was still adventurous- I took a Thai cooking course. First we went to explore the local markets and see what all the ingredients were. Apparently Thai's don't really eat noodles- they are more of a rice nation. So there you go.

We were able to choose 7 dishes to cook, I choose Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, Tom Yum Soup, Cashew nut with Chicken, how to make a Panag curry paste, followed by the curry itself and then sticky rice with mango. It was fun, and everything was so easy to make including the paste. Nothing took more than 10 minutes and was delicious even though I do say so myself. We learnt cool tricks such as how to get the chilli off your hands so you don't get it in your eyes. At the end we were given the recipes, so hopefully next February when I return home I can remember how to make them!

The rest of my time there involved wandering around a few markets but given how much I had spent on activities I gracefully declined from buying!

Chiang Mai was wicked fun and full of adventure. Definitely a place to go to.