14th April
IN THE TRAIN
We checked out of the hotel and caught a tuk tuk to the
station where we caught a train to Chaing Mai.
The train was twenty minutes late, we were in a first class carriage
which meant nothing except we had air conditioning and we got two snacks and
some lunch. We were on the train for
twelve hours straight, the train was due in at 8.30pm but didn’t get into 10pm,
this train is late 95% of the time and I will never get a train again when
travelling overseas.
Our guide and drive was waiting to pick us up and took us to
our hotel, which was called the Tamarind Village hotel. After checking in we went for a short walk
into the night market and had Pad Thai noodles, they were delicious.
Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
15th of April
HMONG VILLAGE
Today we are going to the Hmong village on top of the Doi
Suthep Mountain. It was a half an hour drive to the village; we had a look
around and had a go at a traditional slingshot using clay balls. After that we had a go at using a traditional
rice mill, it was very hard to push, then we went and had a cup of locally
grown coffee, it was strong. From here
we headed back down the mountain to the Doi Suthep temple, which was 500 hundred
years old. To get up to the temple we
walked up 306 steps, it was very busy as it is the Thai New Year. The temple has a big stupa (looks like a
golden cone), with a 24-karat gold lotus flower placed on top. After that we jumped in our van and went to
have lunch on the Ping River, here we had a traditional curry noodle dish, it
was yummy. We then got on a boat, which
took us up the river, to the city of Chiang Mai. The driver picked us up and drove us near our
hotel, because the traffic was so busy and some streets were closed because of
the water festival. We had to walk a
couple of hundred meters, getting very wet along the way, by the time we reached
the hotel we were covered in white clay and dripping wet.
16th April
ELEPHANTS AND JUNGLE RAFT
Another early start, off to the elephant camp (Chiang-Dao
Elephant Training Centre), along the way we stopped at the orchard and
butterfly farm. When we arrived at the
camp, we feed the elephants bunches of bananas, then we saw the elephant show
were they moved heavy logs and painted a picture of a tree. After the show we went had lunch and then
rode the elephants for an hour in the jungle and back in the river. I liked the feel of the elephant leathery
skin and their big eyes and long lashes.
Then we headed down river on a bamboo raft, for an hour or so. It was fun but because there was 5 of us we
had to get out and push the raft twice. Then
we got back in he van and went back to the hotel, Lila and I went for a swim
and ordered a cheeseburger, it was delicious. Then for dinner we went to a restaurant just
across the road called Hot Chilli and had a yummy Thai meal, the manager of
this place was a really nice man.
17th April
FLIGHT OF THE GIBBONS
Today we drove east to ‘Flight Of The Gibbons’; this is a sky-high
zip lining adventure through the canopy of the rainforest. We did 5km, 39 stations and sky-bridges along
the way. It was the best thing I have
ever experienced. The longest zip line
was 800 meters long; Lila and I had to go together because we were too
light. We had two guides, their names
were Mr O and Donatello, they were really funny and hard to take seriously at
times. Although they kept us all very
safe for the 2 hours we were with them.
When we got back to ground we took off all our safety gear and enjoyed a
nice lunch. After this we went to a
waterfall and dipped our feet in the water, it was nice and cool. We all had a fantastic time and Lila and I
wanted to do it again. Then we went back
to the hotel and had dinner at Hot Chilli for dinner again, and then it was
time for bed!
18th April
LAST DAY IN CHIANG MAI-TO CHIANG RAI WE HEAD!
We got up early in the morning to get a rickshaw, a rickshaw
is a bike with a cart on the back that you sit in and a man rides the bike to
where you want him. The first place we got taken on the rickshaw was a market
at the market we got a bag of goodies to offer to the monks. Then the rickshaw
took use to a temple, which is where we offered the bag of goodies to the monks
it was really strange what they did but cool. Then we got in the van and headed
to a hot spring, when we arrived we put our feet in the hot spring and it was
really hot. Then Lila and I got our feet cleaned by some fish it felt funny
especially when they ate in-between your toes. After the hot springs we went to
the white temple which was just out of Chiang Rai it was built by some famous
Thai artist it was made out of plaster and is supposed to look like hell on one
side and you cross over the bridge to heaven it was amazing. Then we got in the
van and heeded to our new hotel, which is out of Chang Rai. When we arrived
Lila and I went for a swim in the pool it was amazing the best pool yet. Then we went back to our rooms to get dressed
into some dry clothes before going to dinner, for dinner that night I had an Oz
Burger it was yummy. Then we went back to our rooms and watched the lord of the
rings for a couple of hours and then went to bed.
19th of April
THE LONG WALK
Today we slept in for once but when we woke up we needed to
get ready so we could go for breakfast. After breakfast we went back to the
room to get ready for a long walk into town. We had to walk 3 plus km in the
hot sun and 85% humidity just get some drinks, for me it was a waste of energy.
We got a lift back if not I would have stayed the night. When we got back to
the hotel Lila and I were straight in the pool having fun for about 1 hour it
was nice in the water. Then we got out of the pool and went back to the room to
watch some T.V then it was lunchtime Dad and I were not hungry so we decided to
not go, we stayed in the room instead. Later on in the evening Nana and I went to Chiang Rai to go to the night market. At the market we got some goodies and then got something to eat. After we got something to eat we went to the front of the market to get picked up by our taxi driver to take use back to our hotel. When we got back to our hotel we went to our room and went to bed.
