Tea Vana Chiang Mai

... had a great time! At sunset the women in the village would gather and play volleyball while the guys played soccer. Those women are a team to be reckoned with! Many people know that coordination is not my forte, but I am happy to announce that I represented the farang side well, hook hook dunk dunk! ;)

At night we would sit around fires eating sticky rice cooked in sugar cane. The villagers would ask us all sorts of questions like, what do we think of global ...

... on our digestive discomforts for a while). We settled for some good looking noodles at a place with tables and chairs and it was not bad at all. A few days later we discovered these food stalls start operating before 7am, so no need to ever be hungry in Bangkok!

The next day we went off to get our visas for China arranged at the embassy and then to check out some of the highlights in the city. So normally, we think of ourselves as pretty smart travellers. We ...

... elephants. Around it are also several small pretty temples, and there were a fair few monks wandering about in orange robes while we visited the site. After this we made our way north west to Wat Phra Singh, a site home to quite a number of temples and monuments. We wandered around between the buildings, admiring the architecture and the intricate designs. It was very peaceful, and we commented on what a lovely contrast it made to Bangkok's ...

After riding in a sawngthaew (truck),boat, bus and 2 night trains we arrived in Chiang Mai after about 48hours! We had pre-booked a room in a lovely guest house about 7km out of the city, but the first prob was trying to find a taxi driver who had heard of the place!! After some confusion we got dropped at a hospital, then drove aro0und some more and found our little place to stay. We booked somewhere nicer than usual to celebrate our wedding anniversary, we have a lovely ...

... a small shrine (most houses have a small shrine in the corner of the yard or compound). We felt really lucky to be invited to share this daily ritual with our new friend.

Every year in August, Luang Prabang holds a huge Dragon Boat race. People from all over Laos, Thailand and Vietnam come to town to enjoy all of the festivities. The big race was held the day that we left so the town was getting very busy leading up to it. It seemed like every little ...

... Mai, we grabbed a taxi to our residence for the next four nights: The Baan Orapin Bed and Breakfast. The Baan Orapin is situated in an old family home just east of the Ping river and is named after the family’s grandmother. It’s all family run, including the cooked breakfast every morning. The grounds were beautiful and really gave us the feeling of immersion in northern Thailand.

The B&B is only a few blocks from the night market ...

... which is known as a jewel on the mountain). The mountain top weather was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat and humidity of Chiang Mai. The mountain top offered excellent photo opportunities of the temple itself and the city below.

... had and no we weren't offered any extras you filthy lot! In the evening me and missus went for a few beers and chilled. Next day Noom organised a trip to Doi Suthep Temple and an afternoon at the lake. At this stage I was all templed out as there are just so many in Thailand that after a while enough is enough. But apparently this one is one of the top 4 in the country and with it being up the mountain we thought what the hell, at least the view would be nice. As it turns out ...

... not none denominational. Pretty much fanatics. Especially Tony....he was "fanatical for Jesus". That was about as crazy as our night got. Wednesday I had afternoon classes I got up and ate breakfast with Jessie and after she went to class I laid around the room like I was on welfare. Tried to catch a nap but the other hostellers were extremely noisy this morning. I got up and drug myself to class. I wasn't really enthusiastic about going today but I went anyway. More bending ...

... shade of green - the papaya salad had kicked in as a vile stomach upset, and so that was that. the night was over. the girls retired and i was to put my walking shoes on. but then a voice from over my shoulder - hey, aussie. come. sit down. seated around a table were the french guys from the trek and their tall, thai honey, shuffling a deck of playing cards over a bottle of sang som rum, glass bottles of coke and a chokehold of smoke. i sat down with a beer smuggled ...