Lanna Palace 2004 Chiang Mai

... clothes! Not sure I succeeded but we shall see.

The last week or so the scary looking and deafening military planes have been passing overhead.They look ominous and out of place somehow, and to someone who only ever sees the occasional commercial plane or personal aircraft, these are a bit off-putting. There are the planes out of war movies and they sound so close that it seems as if they will pass through the living ...

... of the day, taking in some awesome sights, waterfalls and flora. We stayed in a riverside shack and ate this amazing zukini based meal - I need to get hold of some zukinis!
Day three was spent white water rafting - yep, I fell out, flat on my back on a rock! What drama! - and then bamboo rafting. Really cool. We were then taken back to Chiang Mai city where we grabbed a bus to Bangkok, where we would get the train to Kanchanaburi.

... surroundings.

Both: We were staying in a wooden shack, with a hole in the floor for a toilet and a freezing cold shower. Everyone was in bed by 9pm as it was so dark and the others were exhausted from their climb. After what seemed like an hours sleep, we were woken by all the chickens telling us it was the morning. We then got up to be greeted by a yummy breakfast of freshly laid eggs, to prepare us for the day ahead.

Beckie: The ...

... truck with bananas for the elephants and drove an hour through the country side to the mountains. The park in located in an idyllic valley with a wide river snaking through, an absolutely beautiful piece of land! As soon as we got there, we were taken to see the brand new 3 week old baby, Fa Mae, and her mom in their enclosure. Lek (the amazing woman who has created this park) has decided to keep mom and baby in their own area for the first few weeks, so the ...

... random things; tattoos, braids, tailor-made suits, tuk-tuks, bugs to eat, and Ping Pong shows. We knew before we came that the sex tourism here in Bangkok is a big problem so to be asked about the ping pong shows was not a surprise but still disturbing nonetheless. Every half block we were approached with the questions; Tuk-Tuk? Massage? Tattoo? Ping-Pong? Blah! Other than hanging around the fun and interesting area near our hotel the four of us ...

... la main et on vient presser avec le pouce le côté du muscle du mollet. Les quatre autres doigts suivent. 5 fois. On change de main et on fait pareil de l'autre côté, également 5 fois Mantra 29 Presser les deux côtés du mollet jusqu'en haut et relâcher. Une main après l'autre. 5 fois Mantra 30 Appuyer trois fois sur le côté gauche du mollet puis au milieu (un peu moins fort car c'est l'os) et enfin sur l'autre côté Faire la même chose sur la cuisse. Mantra 31 Deux mains sur ...

... way! (I made a mental not of their 24 hour McDelivery service!!) The boxing was fab! First fight seemed to be kids fighting! I'm sure they were over 18 but still! This fight ended in a knockout in round 3. 7 fights in today, progressing in weight from as little as 100kg to 132kg. There was a comedy fight for the tourists where 4 blindfolded boxers got into the ring to have a punch up! I swear Amanda was going to reenact Auntie Tessie at the ...

... I should never have read the section in the Lonely Planet that said you are 30 times more likely to die in a bus accident (careering down the mountain side I would guess) in Nepal than in a developed country. Anyway, I got to Pokhara in one piece, and met Raj on the way, a trekking guide (seems most men in Nepal are 'guides'). He seemed very genuine and friendly though. I was still on edge after all the hassle I had in India where every conversation I had ...

... founder Lek for 20 years.

Before travelling to the elephant park itself we stopped at the markets and bought two truck loads of bananas for the elephants and loaded it all onto the trucks. We then carried on to the Elephant Park. On arrival we were greeted by a small American women called Jodie who could talk the ears off an elephant and was great for telling us lots of stories about the elephants and the park. Firstly however she introduced us to the rules. the ...