Lotus Pang Suankaew Chiang Mai

... constantly awaking with a start when the motion of the van made us slip to one side or the other. I never want to see another sideways seat again. Finally, however, I was dropped off at my hostel around 5.30pm, and after saying goodbye to everyone I went inside. Despite feeling disgusting for the majority of the day, it had still been really fun and I enjoyed it a lot.<br><br>Inside, Adam and Ash, my vodka-coiffing partners in crime from the previous evening, were sat using the ...

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 big bunch of bananas or some sugarcane. It was really cool to get up close to them and they really are big!<br>We learned Thai elephant commands: song-ka zoom and they let you stand on their leg to climb up onto them! pai - forward, toi- backwards, pepe, pepe to turn and how to stop!! It was a bit tricky but the elephants seemed to be happy to do what we asked!<br>After lunch we set out for a trek on elephant back! It was funny! The elephants knew where they were going and ...

... pass-time... exploring the streets and now alleys- basically getting lost! I found the alleys in Chiang Mai to be so interesting- there is a lot going on! <br>For example, I discovered a little shop that sold cookies and crakers in cute little canisters right out of the garage- just roll up the door and they're open for business! You just get a baggie and pick what you want (see pic). <br>A little ...

... a group photo to finish.<br><br>Really glad I did the course and kind of wish I had time to stay next week for level two (most of the others in my class apart from Jeff are carrying on). But no matter, I'll maybe think about coming back in September if I get time before I fly home.<br><br>Argh - biggest mozzie keeps attacking me so time to skoot! May see if I can go chat to a monk this afternoon!<br><br><br><br>

... boat ride and a trip to Buddhist temple. The lady in the temple was extremely nice and insisted on giving us loads of fruit and Mary jewels - we weren't sure what to do and made a donation, but she didn't expect it! The next day we caught a flight to the Northern City Chiang Mai. Now if you ever come to Thailand you must go to Chiang Mai, this city was very different and well worth it. The first night we checked out the Night Market, which again who knew, was ...

... the people are so good. yeah, so there is political unrest down south in bangkok, but im light-years from it. dude, it is HOT here. humid, deathly clinging hot. sleep is rough. it rains once a day, a torrential downpour. its good because it washes all the dust and dirt away and cools it down. i keep meeting incredible people from all over the world. denmark, norway, serbia, south africa, spain, israel, you name it. ahhhhhhh i love ...

... Thai Yai craftsmen were involved during this period and it was the beginning of Western influence in the area. The next section of the museum talked about trade and economy. The money shown is very different (round or long flat coins). Teak and other types of wood were traded along with agricultural products such as rice. There was a section about modern life that had some information about some of the more important Wats in Chiang Mai. There was also ...

... get wet i didnt think i would come out of the river dripping head to toe! the thai people swimming and having parties in thier huts on the side of the river thinks its hilarious to yell snake and splash you! the driver of our raft uses a bamboo stick to steer the raft he was ignorant to the fact that sam was on the back of the raft and whislt we were going around a corner she got steered into a tree and had to grip onto the tree swing ...