Ruenraya Resort Residence Chiang Mai

... and audio books on them a few weeks ago. Great for long journeys (which I will be doing soon), so I decided to install the necessary software onto a PC and convert the files to a format that I could use on my Sony player. After nearly two hours of wrestling with the sh*t Sony software, downloading numerous file converters and trying just about anything I could (and watching the glorious day outside fly by), I found that the software just would not transfer the files onto my ...

Enough time to briefly say that we have arrived back safely, if not outrageously filthy, 5 stone lighter and in need of some serious junk food!

An amazing 3 days that can be summed up as:

28k trek through light to severely difficult jungle terrain.

Only eating natural foods from the mountain villages, which included using the leaves as plates and ...

... at the Chinese-Burma Border", a non-fiction about a corps of the Chinese National army, when defeated by the Communist at the end of the civil war in the late 1940s, retreated from Yunnan to the jungle at the border, stayed there for 3 years, beating back the Burmese army who tried continuously to evict them (technically they had the rights to be there: the area is in the region where the border was not officially agreed upon by both governments) while carried out raids to the Chinese ...

... en el vivero de orquideas, donde tambien habia una burbuja de vegetacion en la que podias pasear entre mariposas y contemplarlas de cerca. No habia muchas y las que vimos tenian las alas un poco
estropeadas, excepto una que habia salido del capullo hacia poco y todavia se estaba haciendo a la idea. Muy colorida de alas y cuerpo viscoso pero sabroso, era del tamanio de la mano de Vic.

La siguiente actividad fue el treking: supuestamente de 1 hora, duro unos 20 ...

... maar toch is er zodanig veel te bezoeken dat ik er 5 dagen bleef. Op 12 augustus was de koningin jarig en werden er overal procesies gehouden met bijhorend vuurwerk. Tis trouwens opmerkelijk hoezeer de monarchie en het land door de bevolking in ere worden gehouden. Ik wandelde bijvoorbeeld in het stadspark, niet op de feestdag, waar veel thais joggen, chillen, spelen, etc. Rond 18u weergalmde plots het volkslied uit de luidsprekers en degenen die neerlagen sprongen ...

... down vines with machetes, water buffalo wandering past you, snakes eating frogs in front of you, the maddest noises you can imagine in the most beautiful setting, I have to say that had I not been with the best guides and the group I may have been more than a little terrified! We wandered through the local villages, where I got fully involved with rice bashing, we also met Sanit's family and saw where he grew up, amazing! Carolyn and I braved outdoor squat toileting for first ...

... umbrella attatched so it looked a bit like Bernie was Anna's lady in waiting, looking after the elephant while Anna relaxed under the parasol. It was amazing being able to get so close to them and to feed them, but we were a bit worried about how they might be being treated as they had these big hook things to control them with....Mine and Christie's elephant was called Python which seemed an unusual choice of name for an elephant, especially as the others all seemed to ...

... o mese. Anche l'area in cui vivo mi piace particolarmente, essendo questo il quartiere dell'universita', l'ambiente e' giovanile e rilassato, sulla via principale o nelle viuzze si trovano numerosi negozzietti colorati e ristorantini, anche vegetariani, decorati in modo delizioso!
Dunque, anche se l'ostello e' quasi a 2km dal centro, qui non mi manca niente. :)

... riding a horse but maybe a rocking horse sitting sideways. This was a great core workout. The elephants really didn't smell so I didn't have to waste towelettes and perfume on him. We arrived at the top of the hill or wherever the elephants decided to stop and dismounted. The mahouts mounted the elephants and rode them across the river and took their saddles off. We found out after giving us a ride they are turned loose in the jungle for the night. We continued ...

... a little more Mediterranean. That evening, after a visit to another market and (finally) some ball-shaped food (wahey!), we stumbled upon this celebration inside a temple compound. A cross between a Buddhist festival and a British village fete, there were people in dog costumes dancing, parades and prayers and even a big inflatable slide! Highlight of the trip so far - a rock band was playing in the corner and we managed to get some seats. They started ...