After twelve hours on a rickety train from Bangkok in a carriage next to the 'Happy room' and the 'Disco' carriage, you'd think we would have a few days to relax and enjoy the Buddhist temples in the northern city of Chiang Mai. WOAH NO!!!! Non stop action! Get In! It's been absolutely excellent! Before we left to board the train though, we (two German girls, a British couple, an American and a British woman and me) had a day to see a little of Bangkok. So what better way to see the 'Real' Bangkok - we got on a boat! It was really good, we saw the rickety old houses built next to the river and little old ladies paddled their way to our boat in their clapped out canoe full to bursting with crap they've made trying to offload it on to the silly tourists. It was a good journey though, we saw temples and palaces - it's so diverse, cos on the one hand you have really beautiful, ornate buildings and on the other, often right next to door to it, you have clapped out old rickety wooden shacks. In one of the temples though, I got blessed by a monk! But I don't want to talk about that ... only kidding! he threw some holy water on me and wrapped some white cotton around my wrist for good luck!

And then we arrived in Chiang Mai! And started trekking - I mean REALLY trekkin! We did some walks in Africa and I had walk about in Oz - but nothing like this - it was hard! Up and down in the humid s***e conditions. But we all managed it - we got through! Our destination was this little village with houses built on stilts, cattle grazing, chickens running about, mangy dogs, kids playing. I can't describe the scene really but anyway we were shown to where we would sleep the night - in little more than a barn, we had our dinner and settled down for the night in the freezing cold. The following day I had a ride on an elephant - WOW - they're pretty big and you're so high up, so when they're trying to manoeuvre their way down a bank to cross a river, you've really gotta hold on! But what an experience - I loved it - didn't particularly love how they were treated though by the nobhead locals.

And then today! Woohoo! we bamboo rafted down the river for five hours! It was excellent!!!!! It was like white water rafting all over again, except on a clapped out s***e - I mean really s***e bamboo raft! I fell in of course! Got soaked like a dick! But I saw amazing views of the rainforest - it was absolutely excellent - I loved it! And the food we've had here in Chiang Mai has been gorgeous! Spring Rolls - Love em! I've had a wicked time in Chiang Mai and tomorrow we get the overnight 12 hour train back to Bangkok and then make our way down south to the beaches!