Howdy Y'all! Just arrived in a rather idyllic little town in the far north of Thailand, checked into a riverside hut and plan on a couple of days of relaxation, before heading over the boarder to Laos. O.k., so I know its been a while, but I have been plenty distracted the last couple of weeks, although I don't really feel as though I have done a great deal. I have just spent eight days in Chaing Mai-Thailand?s 'second city'. A bit like a summer camp for grown-ups. Every other place is offering a different class, course or adventure, from Cooking to Canoeing and mountain biking to Mauy-Thai kick boxing. It is also home to over 800 temples, but after India I?m all templed out and couldn't quite face a visit. By chance I met up with a friend from Edinburgh who studied fashion with Viv, small world. So, spent most of my time hanging out on our guest house roof, playing Guitar and Juggling, managed to motivate myself enough to go mountain biking for a day and do a cooking class-both great fun and good value for money. Speaking of which, i need to watch it a little, its a bit easier to spend here then in India. A large number of bars and night-clubs that are all open to the early hours don't help much. But its all good fun and I've been hanging out with a good crowd. The other night we went to see Thailand?s number one hip-hop crew, which were surprisingly good. Can't say the same for the audience-very sedate. However, our whisky fueled enthusiasm made up for it, and when the legs felt a little tired, I could always go to the bathroom for a massage. Serious, no funny business, a proper back-cracking knot-busting Thai massage whilst you pee!! Under normal circumstances I would have adamantly protested, but, when in Rome...... I can say, however, that I have accomplished one good deed. After a recommendation from a "friend", a small group of us decided to visit a local snake farm. The place was terrible-very small, dirty enclosures, for very large, unhappy birds and reptiles. One particularly small fish tank had a very small owl with a broken wing, no food. It was quite apparent that the "farm" captured its creatures from the wild, and this appeared to be its latest victim. So a friend and I decided that, as no one was looking we should rescue the little guy. So we did-wrapped him in a scarf and grabbed the first taxi to Chaing-mai Zoo (very nice, non-profit organization, etc.) which has a large bird rehabilitation center. After a quick inspection, they said with treatment the wing would heal in two-three weeks and they could release him back to the wild. Anyway, Pai seems very nice so far, off to explore a little-waterfalls, hot springs and jungle trails, you know the rest. All my love to all, Teva