Chiang Mai

Got to Chiang Mai after finally making the flight! Ended up staying at a guesthouse called the SK House which looked ok but was a bit of a dive! On the first night we went to check out the famous night bazaar and food market. There were lots of stalls at the side of the street but most of them have the same things like polo shirts and handicrafts. We tried some food at the food market which was really nice! All the food we have had in Thailand has been excellent and no dodgy bellies so far touch wood! Ady tried a flying ant offered to him by the hotel owner which he actually ate he said it was just "crunchy"!

We were up bright and early the second day as we were off on an elephant trek! Got picked up from the hotel at 10:00 from one of the local tuk tuk bus things! (Like a pickup truck basically) Two people were already in the bus both from Perth Australia Alex and Annie. We then went to another hotel to pick up more people for the trek that's when we met the 5 Koreans who were also on the trek with us. We then went on a 1 hour ride to a local market were the locals try and make u buy things you don't want like bottle holders etc! We got some supplies then went on our way. Drove for about another hour up hill on very bumpy roads until we reached the elephant camp. We all got off the truck here and almost straight on to the elephants. Ady sat on the neck of the elephant which was really uncomfortable and unsafe I was on a seat with one of the Koreans we named hiro from the TV show heroes (u will know what we mean when u see the pics!) we trekked on the elephants for about 45 minutes. After this we had a nice lunch of rice and fruit then were told we would be trekking on foot up to a tribe village at the top of the mountain. Well I know I'm not really fit but this was hard! The Koreans were off up that mountain like a shot I couldn't believe how fit they were and hiro was even in flip flops! Ady was really good at this too and kept up with the Koreans I lagged behind with the aussies! I was knackered about 30 minutes into the trek it really was steep and the temperature was about 34 degrees! I thought I was going to pass out but the guide said we were stopping at a small waterfall in 10 minutes so I struggled on till we got there! When we reached it I couldn't wait to get in and cool down! I think I might of passed out if we hadn't of stopped there!

We then carried on our trek. About ten minutes after the waterfall stop we heard a rumble of thunder and we knew we would have to speed up even more as it was about to rain. Well it did rain but not just nice rain monsoon styley rain! We had no waterproof clothes at all with us just shorts and t-shirts! The guide said we had to carry on getting to the village before dark but with the rain and our legs aching, it was very hard! The mountain turned into mud slide areas and it was awful I put my whole leg in to sinking mud much to the amusement of everyone else and kept falling up the mountain! We were literally climbing up on our hands and knees in torrential rain thunder and lightning if u had seen the state of me by the time we reached the village u wouldn't believe it!

It was all worth it though when we saw the views from the top of the mountain it was amazing! We also met all the village tribe and stayed in a bamboo hut with some of the locals. We were offered a freezing cold shower and a hole in the ground toilet which was actually not too bad!

We then had a lovely meal cooked by the local's Thai green curry and the Koreans had somehow brought their own local dishes of meat and lettuce etc. The Koreans then got out there stash of Korean whisky which was basically the same as vodka. Our guide had a guitar and we sang and listened to songs around the camp fire (not kum by yah ha ha) hotel California seemed to be a favourite with the locals!

We then did some drinking games which Ady was rubbish at and kept having to down shots of Thai whisky which is very strong! We retired to the sleeping quarters at around 11:00 and left the Koreans to it drinking Thai whisky although we heard one of them being sick all night later that night!

The next morning after a rubbish night sleep we got up and had breakfast outside it was already hot and the views were amazing! We then got ready for a trek down the mountain to stop at a big waterfall. Even the trek down was really tough for me as the mud was very slippy after the rain and I twisted my ankle but walked off the pain! Waterfall was amazing stayed about 30 minutes then we carried on for another 1 hour till we got to the white water rafting site. This was really good was on it for about an hour there were other groups on the other rafts and we were having water fight across the river with them. Had a few hairy moments and I got hit in the mouth by an oar but it wasn't too bad! We then got on a bamboo raft for another 15 minutes till we reached a point where we had lunch. We then got picked up and took back to Chiang Mai where we looked for another guesthouse to stay.

Injuries- twisted ankle, Orr in face, leg squashed when it slipped between two bamboos on the raft and two bites! Later that day we found somewhere to stay for 400 baht which was quite cheap but had a few unwanted guests but Ady's getting good at catching cockroaches for me!

Today we are currently at the bus terminal waiting to get a bus to Chiang Rai so we can get to Laos on a slow boat! We will sign off for now and update u again soon!