Chiang Mai, Thailand

C: Northern Thailand is a world far removed from the busy, often stifling streets of Bangkok! The temperature is cooler, the people are friendlier, and I feel less like I want to punch the tuk tuk drivers. We have been here for 4 days now, 3 of which have been spent trekking in the hills an hour away from town. If I could sum up the trekking experience it would be in one simple word: endurance! After walking in the heat of the day through a jungle for 4 hours covered in filth, I feel like I could handle anything.

Day 1: We left Chiang Mai with the 2 other members of our group, Kate and Rachel, for the hills and stopped off at a local market for supplies on the way. If you ever have the chance to try fried bananas then do so - they are soooooooo delicious! We started hiking at midday (excellent idea, in the heat) and were surprised at how sparse the surroundings were. But it is the 'hot' season so it makes sense that it wasn't so much a tropical jungle. Stopping for lunch was hilarious - the guides gave us Pad Thai in what looked like Chinese takeaway boxes - brilliant! I was thinking, where are the rich tea biscuits and dried apricots?!

Late afternoon we reached the first village and it was fascinating to see how the hill tribes live. All their houses are constructed with wood and raised above the ground, with roofs made of leaves woven together. 7 families lived in this first village and we were staying in a raised hut near one family who cooked our food and tried to sell us their wares. We loved the pigs and chickens (ha)! Sleeping with the sounds of the jungle was an interesting experience, and lying on a bamboo mattress definitely tested my backbone!

Day 2: We awoke quite late to an amazing breakfast - the pineapple here is the best I've ever tasted. We did, however, have to walk in the heat of the day again, but somehow we just kept going!! We stopped in another village for lunch, this one was a bit fancier - one of the houses had glass windows! We reached our destination for the night by a waterfall and got a much needed wash - by this point we were both absolutely filthy! I'd managed to get the dirtiest (can't imagine how!) and felt so much better after cleansing both myself and my clothes. Oh I forgot to mention - our guide was a complete character - he called himself Potato..yes...because he's been told he is "sweet like a potato". Hearty laughter ensued when we learnt this! He was very funny but a little unprofessional, we nearly mutinied against him at one point!

Day 3: We spent the morning finishing the trek along the river and met up with 2 more trekkers for the afternoon's activities. This included bamboo rafting (so much fun!) and elephant riding. The rafting was especially great because we floated past all the local Thais on their holidays, who couldnt believe how white we were, and splashed us in the spirit of the Buddhist New Year - which is happening for 3 days over the 12th/13th/14th april. It will be very very very very WET!

Now we are back in Chiang Mai and today went for a Thai cookery lesson. This was fantastic, all the food is so good, but we literally had about 8 different dishes! I think I'm going to pop. But now I can make a killer Pad Thai so I shall treat you all when I get back! The fried coconut toffee bananas were......AMAZING.........droooooool.