Backpacking

7-12-05 Today we arrived in Chang Mai. We got picked up from the station free of charge by the quest house we were staying at. The Guest House was called Eagles 2 and it was recommened in the rough guide. But it was horrible,dirty,smelly and i hated it. We only paid 240 baht (like 3 pound)! so i suppose what do you expect for that little money. That evening we went to the Night Bazzarr. It like a massive market there are stalls everywhere selling just about everything! Mum you would love it! This is so your kind of place!
8-12-05 - Today we checked out bright and early from the not so nice quest house. And found some where a bit more pricey but lovley and clean. It had a nice hot shower, frige and telly, all of which the other quest house didnt have. Then we got a moped and went exploring round Chang Mai. It proberly the easiest way to get around the town and they are very cheap to rent. Chang Mai is a very lovely place its chilled out and the people seem helpful and friendly, nothing at all like Bangkok which is totally mad! We went to the Zoo on the moped which was quite easy to find and had a really nice time. There are 7,000 animals at the zoo but i dont think there was that many when we were there. And there was quite alot of construction work going on so some animals were not there, like the penguins and seals which i would of loved to have seen. It was 20baht (30p) to get into the zoo much cheaper then London Zoo eh!
9-12-05 In Changi Mai at the moment its Mardi Gra, so there has been lots of partys! We went to the Night Bazzarr in the evening and there were thousands of people! We watched a live band and a procession down the main street. The Mardi Gra is on for three days and it seems to be quite a big thing here. That night we had Mc Donalds we so needed it Thai food is lovely but theres nothing like tasting something that reminds you of home. Thai food is all leaves, rice and noodles very good for you but we are kinda sick of it now! We've been out to an italian resaurant had pizza and pasta, a mexican resaurant had nachos and tachos, a isralie restaurant had falefel and hulomi cheese! Its amazing how many different types of resaurants they have, you would think it would just be Thai food,but then again theres so many foreigners around. Im getting a bit rubbish writting this diary i keep forgetting things we've done and on what days! I leave it a couple days before i update it and then forget so many things,i should write stuff down!One evening we met up with a friend of Weeny's friend who leaves out in Chang Mai. He has been leaving here for two years. He is a cool guy and we went to a bar had some drinks and he told us some nice places to go and things to see! We are planning to meet up again before we leave Chang Mai.
10-12-05 - We moved guest house again and found somewhere cheaper but just as nice. Its very clean and spacious and theres even a swimming pool. Its called the Top North Guest House, it took us a while to find but since we've got a bike its made travelling around alot easier! Since being in Chang Mai Weeny has done rock climbing on those man made walls they use, it was over 15 metres high!Now i no that doesnt sound high but trust me it was bloody high! I wanted to have a go also but wasnt wearing proper clothing. I may still have a go before we leave, it did look such fun and he got up that wall so fast, the instructors couldnt believe it was his first time! Arr im so proud! The other day we went to the Ma Sae elephant camp, there were over seventy elephants and we were allowed to buy sugar cane and bananas to feed them! I started taking photos and then my camera battery ran out, talk about bad timing! It was so wierd seeing so many elephants all together and being able to touch them and feed them! They are beautiful animals and some were so big! We even saw a two month old baby elephant, when i saw it i fell in love! It was the most cutest adorable thing ive ever seen, i was so upset i didnt get any photos of it! We played wiv the baby elephant and he was so sweet! After we'd spent time looking at all the elephants they performed a show. You will not belive the things these elephants did! They played football, played the harmonica,danced and even painted pictures of trees and flowers! It was proper crazy! And the elephants are even in the guiness book of records for being able to paint! The paintings were really good! I bet you think im pulling your leg but I swear we saw all of this. After the elephant we went to the monkey centre. Now I thought this was really cruel!! When we went in there were around a hundred monkeys all chained up! We bought some food to feed them and they were going berserk! like they had never been fed before. I thought it was evil to have them chained up, thats not how monkeys should live. I asked if they keep them chained all the time, they said once they close up for they day they let them free, but i dont no if thats true and even if it is, imagined been chained up all day! The monkeys also put on a show for us, they played basketball, rode on a bike, shook our hands, done sit-ups and press ups, they threw Weenys watch into this pool of water and made the money go and get it!I did feel really sorry for the poor monkeys!Thailand is definately a crazy place!
Been thinking of little Joseph and how much it would have loved to see all the animals!
13-12-05 - Today got woken up by the buidling work going on next to our guest house, yesterday was woken up by some extremly loud music from a live band, being played near the hotel! This was at like 8 in the morning we were not impressed. Today been chilling out done a bit of sunbathing and walked about the town! Tonight we have a free cookery lesson, it was a special promotion with one of the cookery schools! It should be good fun, we are going to be cooking at the airport with about eight other people, I think we are cooking chicken and cashew nuts. Anyway better get goin because we have to leave for the cookery lesson soon!Ill let you know how we get on.
15-12-05 - Last nite we had our free cookery course it was not at all what we had expected. We got picked up from outside the cookery school and thought we were going to the airport, but we were actually going next to the airport plaza to a massive outdoor food festival! Once we arrived we couldnt believe it, we were at this big festival with hundreds of people everywhere, and we had to get up on stage and cook chicken and cashew nuts with four other people. We where shown once what to do and then it was out turn to get stuck in!It was being filmed and we had an audience watching us, but was really fun! The food we cooked was yummy! Weeny was getting all muddled and in Thai they were talking about him over the mic to the audience! Once we'd finished we received certificates and a free recipe book!They also gave us 100bath in vouchers to use at the festival for food and drink, we went and got a free foot massage with a french couple we met there!After the festival we went out for drinks wiv the French couple we had met and had a really wicked evening! Today we went to the hot springs! It took us around an hour to get there on the bike. But as soon as we got there i managed to burn the back of my leg on the exhaust on the bike!It was so painful, we went and had a look at the hot springs we thought they were good, but not as impressive as we'd imagined!And because i had just burnt my leg I i was in alot of pain! We cooked some eggs in the hot springs and weeny ate some, i didnt wanna chance them they smelt rank!There is a resort next to the hot springs kinda like a Champneys, where you can getting pampered very cheap. We both decided to call it a day because my burn developed a massive blister and it was sore!
19-12-05 Today we are leaving chang mai and going to a island called Ko Samet. Its roughly around three hours from bangkok. I am sad to leave Chang mai ive become very fond of the place its so chilled out and relaxed here i can see why people love it so much!If there was a beach near it would definatly be 100% perfect.
Ko Samet looks stunning crystal white sandy beaches and the whole island is 6km long so nice and small to get about easily.
We are leaving at 6.30 this eveing and will arrive at Ko Samet 12pm tomorrow.

3-12-05 - Today was our last day of the trip we headed down to Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River on a longtail boat, which took around an hour. Once back in Bangkok is was a shock because everwhere we had been on our trip had been so peaceful and quiet and Bangkok is very manic! We got back to the hotel we were staying for the nite which was the Vengthai hotel,and in the evening headed out for dinner with our group on the trip. We went to a lovely restaurant in Bangkok and then all headed down to the Koh San Road to get pissed! Dont remember too much off the nite but remember it was good!It was sad having to leave the friends we'd made on the trip as we all got on so well. Tommmorrow Weeny and I will be on our own to go and explore Thailand and decide where abouts we want to head to next.
4-12-05 - Today we checked out of the hotel and went looking for some cheaper accommodation to stay the night. We ended up finding a hotel alot cheaper but not as nice. We have decided we want to got to Chang Mai next in the north of Thailand, so booked an overnight train for tomorrow night which takes around 13 hours!
5-12-05 - Checked out of our hotel today and have to wait till six to get the overnight train to Chang Mai. Didnt do too much looked round the shops and markets and took it easy. We were told to leave around 5.30 to get the train for six. But thought just in case the journey takes a little longer we left at around 4.45 and we thought we'd have plenty of time. But the traffic was so bad because of something to do with it being the Kings birthday and we only just made it onto the train, it was so stressful! The overnight train was not half as bad as i imagined we had the tops bunks which were quite small but it was quite comfortable. It was suppose to take 13 hours but ended up taking 15 1/2 hours because the train tracks were apparently slippery as he had been raining.
5-12-05 Today we arrived in Chang Mai. We got picked up from the station free of charge by the quest house we were staying at. The Guest House was called Eagles 2 and it was recommened in the rough guide we had. But it was horrible , dirty, mingin and i hated it. We only paid 240 baht (like 3 pound)! so i suppose what do you expect for that little money. We didnt even get a good nites sleep because the music from the local bars was so loud!!

30-11-05 - Today we drove around two hours to see a nearby Karen village. We stopped off at the local market on the way to get some sweets and fruit for the kids. Once we arrived they put on a show for us were they sang and danced. Then we met the school kids and gave them their sweets and played games wiv them!some of them were so cheeky! and some soooo cute!it was a real laugh!then the karen people made us a massive lunch, for starter soup and then about six different dishes, I could only have one of them because the others were to hot!!And lots of fresh fruit for desert, they are very welcoming people. We had a look round the village and saw how they live. I tried this thing that old people in the village like to chew and was almost sick!the most disgusting taste, it was some leaf wrapped round in some thing and was foul! After spending most of the day at the village we went back to stay in the small town of Thong Pha Phum. Our guest house was quite nice but we got woken up at 4 in the morning to the monks chanting!
1-12-05 Today we went by bus to the Hellfire pass museum!It was very interesting and I learnt so much about the lives of the POW's during world war II. It was very sad hearing what the people of the war went through and unbeleivable how many people actually died building the Thai-Burma railway and the conditions and torture they were subjected to! We then got on a train on the Thai-Burma railway which took us to the 'Bridge over the River Kwai'. Then we got on a rickshaw(bicycle) to the Apple guest house where we were staying that evening.
That afternoon we went to the tiger temple. This is kind of a bit like a zoo there where animals just wondering round, horses, wild boar, chickens,deer, cubs!But the main reason we came was to see the tigers! This has to have been the most craziest thing ive ever done, it was really sureal but so amazing!We went into this place where there were about five or six tigers and one at a time we were allowed to go up and touch them. At all times we were with one of the guys that worked there. Then we got to sit next to the tigers and stroke them while the people that worked there took photos for us!You are properly thinking these tigers were chained up?but they werent! and at any time they could of eaten us!!!! So amazing! We were all scared but really enjoyed it!Thailand is so crazy but such a wicked place.
That nite me and the other girls on the trip (another Laura and a girl called Asun) shaved Steve's head! It looks good by the way!He was moaning it was getting long so we thought why not!
2-12-05 Today we went to the Erwan Water falls in Kanchanuri. This is a seven tier waterfall. As soon as we got there we saw monkeys!The waterfall was so stunning, you are allowed to swim in it aswell. We went up and swam in levels three and four as these are the best for swimming in! I couldnt stay in for long because as soon as you get into the water you get attacked by fish and they start biting you! It doesnt hurt but feels really really wierd!
That afternoon we got the bus back to Bangkok which took around two hours. Then went to the place we were staying for the nite which was a Traditional Thai teak house. It was a lovely house and so big. We had a traditonal thai meal that evening and had to wear sarongs.

28/11/05 - Today we got up nice and early and had six hours of travelling to do to get to Sangkalaburi the first stop on our trip! The journey wasnt to bad but we were all knackered once we got to our guest house! We stayed at the P. Guest house in the most amazing location I have ever seen! We stayed in wooden lodges that were sitauted on a stunning lake it was so picturesque! We had to share cold showers! and toilets and there were insects, frogs and geckos everywhere!Quite an experience!Steve keeps on getting bitten by the mosiqutoes they love him!its funny!

29/11/05 - Today got up early and went on and hour and a half long tail speed boad through the lake to get to the jungle!Where we were going elephant riding and bamboo rafting! it was such a nice journey and the scenery was absoluetly stunning!ive taken loads of photos! Once we arrived in the jungle there were all the elephants waiting for us, we had the little elephant because i was a bit scared they are so big, there beautiful animals but enormous! We rode on the elephants through the jungle for around an hour and went through many rivers.it was a really wicked experience which i would do again and it was surprisingly very comfortable. Once we had finished the elephant ride we went on to do some bamboo rafting! There was four of us on a bamboo raft and and we had to go down this river, some of the river was nice and slow, but then all of a sudden we'd hit these rapids and have to work really hard not to hit into trees and rocks it was so funny!After bamboo rafting we went and had lunch in the karen village these are minority people that live in Thailand in the jungle.They have such a completley different way of life it was very interesting.
We then took the longtail speed boat back to our guest house and went onto see some beautfiul temples and then to an orphange!The orphange was very sad there were over 100 children. Their ages ranged from 3 months old up to 15.As soon as the kids saw us they all ran over and jumped on us and would not leave us alone you could tell they were so excited. We played wiv the kids and they performed two shows for us, which were really good. The lady that ran the orphange was Italian and came to Thailand fifteen years ago. She just starting looking after one child as the mother couldnt cope and then the orphange grew from there, She was an amazing women with so much patience. There was kids and dogs running round everyone and she seemed so relaxed!It was very sad seeing the kids, they were all so lovely and to think they had been abandoned was awful. Went back to the guest house all itchy because it was untill after we'd been holding and playing with the kids that our Leader Jane told us most of them properly have head lice!nice! Had a really good day today saw loads of amazing things.

28-11-05 - Today got up early and headed down to the Grand Palace, and amazing temple, which to huge! Its very strict, can't wear shorts,flip flops or short sleeved shirts to get in.it was so boiling and we had to wear long trousers and trainers too hot! When we came out this Thai guy who spoke excellent english (most dont speak any at all!) tried to con us but we just managed not to fall it!He tryed to get us to go in a tuk tuk to go round all the sights for 20baht (like 8p)yea right, there not that poor!what he would of done was take us into a gem shop to force us to buy fake stones and they can get very pushy if you dont! but luckerly we new it was a scam and did not fall for it. Later that night we met up with people who were comin on the trip with us thats starts tommorrow. We went to a gorgoeus resaurant where we sat on cushions to eat and are food was served on bananna leaves. After we went out 4 some drinks with two of the girls and three guys one of the girls met on the plane, went to a pub called gullivers first, was like being out in watford! then weeny(this is me whos writin by the way today) suggested this place i saw with well loud good music but we were the only non thai people in there but had a laugh, then went onto a bar which was a camper van and smoked shisha(flavoured tabacco) which was funky! had a really cool time getting bit drunk, then got some noodles and headed off to the hotel, early start for us tomorrow for the trip!!