Maninarakorn Hotel, Chiang Mai

... we met many other travellers, once again looking like something out of a gillette commercial, by this point we were both pretty dehydrated and very hungry. We enjoyed our fried egg on rice almost as if it was our last meal on Earth. <br>Once in the jungle we trekked for about a few hours with this small comical man as a guide which you'll see in the pics (to follow shortly). We ended up swimming in the waterfall right in the heart of the jungle, it was quite amazing but short ...

... point and decided we needed furl, had to drive back 7km for it!! <br><br>Finally, after about 3 hours we got to the top! It was pretty cold and we were not prepared, so swiftly drank a nice hot coffee and started to descend again!! There were some great views and hardly any cars/people. Def a nice day out to get away from it all. Also saw a lovely waterfall. On the way down it started to rain- luckily we had poncho's with us! <br><br>Got back to our guest house very very ...

... t interested in the elephant shows, etc. Boon then wanted to know what I wanted to do next... I didn't want to see the orchids, I didn't want to see the monkeys or the tigers. I was done. I asked him to just drop me off in the city so I can explore. He gave me his phone number to call him when I was finished. <br>I walked around what felt like the entire city, visiting temples, walking down side streets through ...

... sure it did my sinuses and skin the world of good! <br><br>Starting to get to know the students on my course. Got chatting with Geoff, a Chinese American who currently lives in Kula Lumpar with his wife and child. He's on a visa run break - which he has to do every 90 days. He's coming to live in Aberdeen next year to start a 5 year medicine course. Talk about well travelled - he's backpacked all over the world.<br><br>He was going to see a Thai Kick boxing ...

... elephant's are truly ancient wonderful creatures. After the ride we went bamboo rafting down the river for 3 or 4 hours and this was also an adventure. I love Thailand's ability to get around OH&amp;S red tape, i.e. there is none! Yeah! Safety is second to making a sale! After a mammoth trek we arrived back in Chiang Mai after sitting in the back of a ute after rafting. This is highly illegal anywhere in the West, but Thailand - YEAH! Loved it! Funny thing is ...

... schools, and much, much more. With the map is included an index where you will find even more information, such as pubs, bowling alleys and polo clubs, cinemas, spas, and more. There are a lot of hidden secrets that I have found on these maps that have made my time in Chiang Mai and Bangkok even more enjoyable. Visit her website (www.nancychandler.net) to see what the maps look like; you can also find a list of where to buy the maps if you are already in Thailand.

... up the street back toward our hotel to go to Wat Phan Tao. There is a large old teak wihaan (sanctuary). There is also a very large (partially restored) temple that has 4 large Buddhas on each side, railings that are large scary dragon-like creatures and there used to be elephants all the way around. Now there are only elephants on 2 sides. We also saw a reclining Buddha and three other Buddhas. The one was large and had dark hair. It must have some ...

... as the bus and so off we went, they love the haggling here and always do it with a smile we learnt the phrase 'Pak mac mar' the first week we were here, 'too expensive' we always get the same answer.. "No no good price" "standard price" somehow we always seem to get it for well below standard price with a smile and some banter. Anyway our taxi man spoke good English and we got chatting and ...