Chilling in Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai on New Years day after a 60 minute flight from Bangkok - what a breeze! It was such a relief to get away from the hustle and bustle, not to mention the intense heat.

We were met at the airport by an ex work colleague and his family (Alan, Apple and Andrew) Alan used to live here a few years ago and is currently on a career break and back in Chiang Mai soaking up some culture. It is not difficult to see why he has come back. Chiang Mai is a fantastic place. It is much cooler than the rest of Thailand and without the humidity, it is less busy than the touristy resorts and it has so much to see and do and fantastic restaurants, bars, shops etc. It is going to be difficult for us to leave!!!

We are due to fly home to the U.K on the 16th January, a little bit earlier than we anticipated but we are both ready for home now, despite it being mid winter there! So rather than clock up more miles travelling to Cambodia for a week or so we have decided to put down our packs for the last time and spend the rest of our trip in Chiang Mai, it has got everything we need to end our already superb trip on a high. Cambodia will have to wait for the next trip when we will have the time and inclination to do the country justice.

On Wednesday we hired some bikes with Alan and Apple and they took us to the Elephant Reserve, about 20k outside of town. It was a great drive (despite the pot holes ;o)) through windy roads up into the hills and away from city life. Myself and Matt went on an elephant ride, it is something I have wanted to do this trip and obviously Thailand is the perfect place for such activities! There are loads of elephants at the reserve and they are amazing creatures, I love them. Our elephant was a female and she was called Mae Moo, she was 38 years old which meant we were the same age, she did seem to be aging better than me though, although I'm not sure I had quite as many wrinkles as she did!! We were on Mae Moo for an hour, we sat on a seat that is attached to her back and there is a local sat up front (on her head) giving her directions and steering the way. I couldn't help but think that it was a cruel thing to be doing, but the elephants handled our weight with ease and it is such a relief knowing that these animals are protected and looked after daily without the fear of being hunted or separated from their herd. Elephants are extremely protective of their young and the rest of their herd, and they become very distressed when one of them is captured by predators or runs into difficulty. They do everything they can to protect each other, they really are something special and it was a real treat for me. It was a slow and bumpy ride, and often quite smelly when one of them would stop to do their business ;o) We also went into one of the rivers where the elephants had a drink and sprayed some water around, it was a great experience and one I will never forget.

After that we headed off to a great Thai restaurant for a lovely Thai lunch, because Alan and Apple have lived here before they know all the best spots so we really have being spoilt since we arrived. We then went to see some waterfalls before heading back. A fantastic day. Yesterday we opted for a lazy one, so we headed across the road to a "posh" hotel and made full use of their sun deck and swimming pool amidst the Germans. We sat sipping ice cold drinks soaking up the rays, thinking of our friends back home venturing back to work after the Christmas holidays!

We have been doing a bit of shopping since we arrived here as we have put it off our whole trip as we couldn't afford to pack any more weight. They have a night bazaar here every day and it is huge. The handicrafts are beautiful and if I had my way I would but them all. There are shoes, handbags, t-shirts, dvd's, cd's, jewellery, souvenirs you name it it's all here for the taking. The only thing I'm not too good at though is the bartering, they come in with a ridiculous price and then we have to haggle. I have had a few attempts, some successful and others not so. We have another week and a half though to get the rest of our pressies so I hope to have it cracked by then.

On Monday we begin our 4 day cooking course. We attend cooking classes Mon - Wed, 10am - 4pm and then our last day is Sunday. We are shown how to make our own curry pastes, Thai soups and other local dishes, this involves a trip to the market to buy our own ingredients. We are really looking forward to this. We get to eat all our own cooking too so we will be stuffed by the end of each day, it's a hard life!!

Today we are just going to amble into town and have a look around, we have had Alan showing us the sights and delights of Chiang Mai since we arrived so we have being spoilt not having to get the maps out finding somewhere to eat, best places to shop. We'll probably end up in some girly bar paying through the nose for our drinks being accosted by lady boys!!