Del went off on a Thai cookery course today and i decided to go off with Tristan and Katrinn to havr a look at the massive temple overlooking Chiang Mai, it was a fair distance away and beatiful, went to the temple right at the top and in an internal courtyard was the largest golden dome i have ever seen, it was amazing. I also crawled into a te...

Last night in Bangkok So, my last day in Bangkok. I'm writing this a few days later, so its a little hazy (and not particularly fun filled)... I got up pretty late and wandered around, had a bit of grub. Then headed over to the travel agency to pick up my tickets and passport. The map I picked up from god-knows-where is utter crap... Someone wit...

After a 13h train ride we arrived in Chiang Mai, a beatiful city nestled in between of mountains. After depositing our gear at the hotel we left for a 50 km trip into the jungle, where we went riding on elephants. After a bit I got to 'take control' and sit on the elephant's neck, although in reality I did not really control anything. The elepha...

1.  Sunday night market:  We've been advising people who are traveling to Chiang Mai to try to be there on a Sunday night!  Every Sunday evening a few streets ore closed off and  various vendors from all over Thailand go to Chiang Mai to sell their products.  The items that are sold here are good quality and are varied i...

Well we are back to civilisation after 3 days in the jungle of Northern Thailand..... What a fantastic trip!  It all began on Monday morning when we met up with our trekking group and headed off into the unknown.... first stop was bamboo rafting which was a great team bonding exercise.  Our group was split up onto 3 rafts made from bam...

Well we have made it to Northern Thailand after spending most of yesterday in Bangkok airport trying our best not to spend too much money. Chiang Mai is a vibrant city that seems to a bit more in-tune with Thai culture than the busy tourist hot spots in the South.  The first things we have noticed is the constant (in fact NEVER stopping) fl...

Once we left the Gibbon Experience we were planning to cross the border into Thailand and make our way down to Bangkok as quickly as possible, but without reliable information about buses or trains we were pretty much in the lap of the Gods until we got across the Mekong. We waved goodbye to Andy, Ali, Hannah and Helen in the Gibbon Experience o...

I've just finished a big rail part of my trip -- from Singapore to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand.  From Melaka, Malaysia, I took a train to Kuala Lumpur, the country's glittering modern capitol city.  I was only in KL for a day and a half, but managed to visit the Petronas Towers (world's tallest buildings, 1996-2003) and some of th...

From Ayutthaya, we made our way north to the tourist city of Chiang Mai. Backpackers from all over come here for... not much. Trekking and stuff, I guess. It seems like everybody and their mother offer treks to the nearby hills, combined with elephant rides, bamboo 'rafting,' visits to the monkey farm, bungee jumping, even mountain biking (thoug...

Night out with new friends from day trip. Few beers - one of the girls had her flip flops taken (I think by accident) as you have to leave your shoes outside ofmost bars and shops etc. Also had a drink in a 100 year old teak house - full of furniture that Helen and Bil would like!