So we arrive at the border of Thailand and identified other people who were heading to chiang mai and (once again) take a tuk tuk to the bus station. He drops us off on a road pointing that the station is somewhere down there... As we walk aimlessly down the road a very slow moving bus with a woman beckoning to us approaches claiming Chiang mai is the destination. Dubiously we board and find other recent border crossers also heading to chiang mai so relax a little. 2 hours later we arrive at another bus station (that is not chiang mai) and look to find a bus to the city. No luck. Busses full as school starts tomorrow. Ah. We rally together 10 people who all have the same destination and persuade a truck driver to take us. When I say truck I mean converted truck with two benches along each side in the back. With little other options we agree that this is the best chance we have of getting there any time soon. So, 4 hours later, VERY numb bum and slight motion sickness we arrive in Chiang Mai!
7 of the original 10 set off to find a guesthouse and by this time we are all pretty tired so settle for the first one we come across in the old quarter "VIP House". Not complaining- its simple but good. Beds, hot water, air con but a slight ant infestation. Can't have it all!
So a quick shower and we head for a typical Thai restaurant... McDonald's (shameful I know but needs must sometimes).
After dinner we head to the night bazaar and wander through the stalls selling inventive little crafts, clothing, electronics... Anything really! I barter my way to some trousers- typical backpacker trousers but I love them and was pleased with my purchase of 200 from the original 500 baht.
After the night markets we have a couple of drinks in a bar- Singapore slings for me in honour of the ones missed in Singapore! After the drinks we go to a Thai boxing fight. It was amazing to see the prayer warm up rituals that they all do prior to the fight. There were 8 featherweight fights in total- some were VERY featherweight as in 2 boys aged about 9 or 10, a girl match who were about 13 and a strange fight between 3 blindfolded people... Didn't really understand that one. Anyway it was great to see the nations sport and an amazing way to spend my first night in Thailand! Back to the hostel, sleep!