Sawadikarn Hotel Phrae

... easy, we imagine, once the code is broken. Pointing doesn't always work either since the buns are all in glass cases and clearly the glass refracts the direction in which the vendor sees you point, it's easier to take what you are given. This particular attempt to find savoury buns was less than successful; I managed to choose the only bun with no filling and Alison a very tasty if not savoury bun filled with creamy custard. For the record the long white bun has no ...

... atmosphere. The next day we went elephant trekking. First was the elephant show. Now this was crazy-they could sit on demand, do many tricks, play soccer and paint a picture. I am not just talking put a paintbrush to paper, they could (from memory) paint a picture of an elephant. I can't even do that! We then went for an elephant trek sitting in chair on its back. Bit bumpy but so cool. Tommy didn't like the elephant (according ...

... held on the river that we noticed while crossing the bridge. In the middle of nowhere and no tourist at all, so it was really fun to watch. Very long dragon boats with maybe 30 people in it, all very synchronised and screaming like nuts...I was thinking of entering the competition with the olympique gaulois football team but I think we'd end up going backwards... Then around 80 km from Chiang Mai, I ...

... which we all agreed was the best place to eat at - you could choose from just about any dish you could think of!! A little shopping afterwards, following which me, Marty and Pete decided to pay a visit to a local Thai kickboxing event - an italian kickboxer was one of the fighters for the night, who Marty had heard of, and we were assured by Marty it would be worth seeing. That particular fight was quite good, but the others were a little tame - where's the ...

... craquer les plus froids! On a pris la journee pour booker les tours qu'on voulait faire a Chiang Mai. Le soir, on est alle se promener au Night Bazar qui est un marche de soir. On a touve plein de petits trucs pas cher! He oui! Deja on s'encombre! Aujourd'hui, on a pris un cours de cuisine. La journee commencait par une visite au marche ou le cuisinier nous expliquait les differents legumes, riz et assaisonnements. Il en profite pour faire les emplettes ...

... wana pay.. its a game that u have to play with every stall... by the 3rd hour.. i mustve jus crackd the ***** at one of the women... We then decided it was time to go home! Day 3!! Gona make this short and sweet me getting hungry..We went on a safari tour! our first stop was to the Orchid farm... uhm yea.. flowers..! Lol, we then went to the elephant camp to watch a show they had put on.. never underestimate elephants... they can perform tricks like dance, play footie ...

Yo. So, after a FREEZING cold overnight bus journey from Ayutthaya, i arrived in Chiang Mai tired, but alive! I was sitting next to an Australian guy called Shaun on the back seat and i was quite lucky as most of the other people on the bus seemed a little lifeless! It was the same bus route as when I accompanied Stu to Ayutthaya in the furst place, and that bus by comparison was full of excited chatter, movies and laughter - and ...

... mong breakfast of rice, steamed greens, egg omelet, and pork/veg stir-fry. Quite a feast. There was also something red which I took to be chili sauce and accordingly heaped on my rice, but which turned out to be strangely chewy and may, in fact, (upon later inquiry) have been little bits of raw sausage (and chili). Can't say I was a fan of that, but everything else was great. Our morning routine (of the two mornings we had there) consisted of ...

From Thaton, we journey along the Kok River in longtail boats towards Chiang Rai. At some times of the year, we may need to travel by minivan due to the low water level. The trip along the Kok River allows us time to enjoy the hilly surroundings and look out for small villages, which are home to various hill tribe people. We overnight in a comfortable and centrally located hotel in Chiang Rai town.

... with two extra people on the bike like the Thais do. Then, Martin (The boy's friend) took us to his house. We climbed up four flights of stairs to the roof. There, we could see out over the whole town and on to the lake followed by the mountains. We watched the sun go down and decided we needed a nap. So, back to the hotel we went to rest. That night was a little more low-key. We met up with two more of ...