Hello to all the ladies and lads!!! How r ya all!?!? Writing the next installment of our diary in an internet cafe in Chiang Mai (northern thailand).......the second biggest city in Thailand after Bangkok......even thou its bout a third of the size! Our last couple of days in Bangkok were lotsa fun! Generally involved more sunbathing and goin out. Went out with my brother, Sarah and their friends from work. Started in an english pub (......we couldn't stay away for more than a week) before making our way to 'Soi Cowboy'......to let the gals have their first experience of a girlie bar!!! Mainly involved pharang men watching thai gals in a bikini! Was quite a laugh but disturbing at the same time!!! The best bar we saw had an advert outside saying that they had '50 gorgeous girls and 2 ugly ones'......so that made us giggle! (hav a look at the pics!) Then after that we went down to a road called RCA! The thai equivalent of upper street apparently! Went into a bar/club called re-feel where rachel (one of the girls we were with) knew the owner! The normal thing to do out here is to just buy a bottle of the spirit you want to drink and then just use it throughout the night! So thats exactly what we did! We bought a bottle of thai whisky (our new found love.....although apparently theres some illegal substances in there.....) with red bull (which also sends u pretty doolally) and soda water! Is the buffest drink but by the end of the night we were all buzzing and couldn't sleep! Anyway.....the bar woz full of thai actors (although we were totally oblivous to this) who tried teaching us how to dance to hip-hop 'the thai way'......! Anyway...we danced the nite away although yinx......i woz pining for u coz half the songs just reminded me of our little dances....and you would hav been so proud as i tried to teach the thai people the dance 2my humps! hehe. Anyway....so we had a wicked night out but the next day we had to pack and get ready for our train journey to Chiang Mai! We got to Hua Lamphong train station.....all realising the reality of carrying our rucksacks round and waited for our train! Our first impressions weren't all that when once we got on the train and realised how hot and basic it was! So to get over the stress....we quickly bought some beers to drink along the way! Nothing much exciting happened other than the funny thai police who were looking after us on the train coz we were more or less the only 'pharangs' around! Anyway....after sleeping and just generally getting on with the journey the train stops (although this did happen several times on the way....and for some reason we'd start goin backwards and then forwards again....why i don't know!?!?!) So yea....the train stopped and a thai police man comes to tell us that the train in front had crashed and that we had to get off the train and wait for a bus to take us the rest of the way! So we loaded ourselves back up with the rucksacks and tried to fit out the train doors and walk into the remote train station.......to do this by the way we had to run over train tracks which had us all a bit worried! So we get to this dusty station and waited for our bus..........we look down...............and running all around our feet are........................................dun dun dun.....................CHICKENS!!!!!!! So you can imagine the stress.....trying to hold our breath for 40 minutes waiting for a bus that we never thought would come!.......poor ella...we thought she mite have a heart attack from the panic there and then! Anyway....we were brave and laughed and finally caught the bus! (although it was a bit of a fight to get on it). The bus brought us all the way to Chiang Mai........lucky ella got to sit on a comfy seat while me and sally had the equivalent of a concrete wall to sleep on! When we got to the station we had about five different people to try and persuade us into their guesthouses and hostels! We liked this one thai lady that invited us to tahphae gardens guesthouse where we hav a three bedroom room for 150 baht each (about 2 quid) with a fan, restaurant and swimming pool!!! Luxury or what! So thats where we are now! Our first night in chiang mai we went and had a look around the night bazaar...althought our budget didnt stretch far enough for us to have a big shopping spree! We had dinner and then found a strip of bars......we were on the crazy samseng whisky and red bull again! Had fun playing jenga, connect 4 and pool in the bar! Then today we ventured 20km up some mountain...or hill......not quite sure.....to Doi Supthep! A beautiful old temple....with 306 steps leading up to it! We had a good look round and even got blessed by a monk who wished us a happy and long life! And then he soaked us with dirty water that he claimed was holy! Then we got given a white string bracelet thing that gives us good luck! So we made our way back home.......had an interesting dinner......let me put it this way. Ella thinks she chipped her tooth! And now here we are writing to you...sitting at the computer with a Heineken! We are starting our journey to Laos 2mora! Working our way to Chiang Khong and then over the Laos border and onto a slow boat that will take us 2 days to get us to Luang Prabang...our first big city in Laos! So i hope your all ok! Thank for all the emails and messages! Keep in touch! So nice to hear what your all up to!!! Lots and lots of love Gina, Ella and Sally x x x ps-have to run away..giant cockroach about to attack us!