An early night was welcomed by all of us as we had another 6am start in the morning to travel to Chang mai. We were picked up by another luxury mini bus and stopped after a couple of hours to visit the White Temple. This was the most spectacular temple we had seen on our trip and was designed and built by a local artist. It is still a work in progress but is absolutely stunning. As the name suggest the entire temple is white and has been hand made with tiny pieces of mirror set into the white plaster which sparkle I. The sun. The attention to detail is incredible and we spent quite a while wandering around admiring it and also looking at the gallery of paintings done by the same artist.
We were then back on the bus to continue our journey, making another brief stop at a cashew nut factory where they demonstrated how cashew nuts are harvested and processed which explained why the are so expensive. We were able to sample loads of different flavours of cashew nuts and bout some to enjoy on our travels.
Just Before lunch time we arrived in Chang mai, where we rented bicycles and went on a cycle tour of the city. This included a number of temples around the old walled town, a lunch stop and a visit to the local market. It is always fascinating to wander around markets in foreign countries, especially when you have a local guide who can explain what all the strange foods on display are.
We went back to the hotel for a welcome swim as we finally had a hotel with a pool! In the evening chris and I caught a tuk tuk and went to visit the night market which was huge and interesting but a bit touristy and commercial compared to others we had been to.
The next morning we were up early again as we had a busy day planned. our first stop was at an elephant camp where we were once again privileged to be able to ride the elephants. Asian elephants are much smaller than African elephants and these ones also had seats where you sat so it was a much more comfortable experience than e larger African elephants we rode in Zimbabwe six weeks before. We climbed aboard and set off with our guides and a big bag of bananas to feed the elephants on the way. I also had a two year old baby elephant In tow who ate more bananas than his mum! We rode through the jungle and through the river for about forty minutes and it was an amazing experience. We feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to ride both varieties of this amazing animal in one trip.
Next stop was at a local village where we were able to watch the local women weaving the traditional garments for the area which are gorgeous bright colours and all hand woven. I bought so e brightly coloured scarves to brighten up the gift shop whe. We get back. After a quick lunch we drove down to the river for the next fun activity of the day - bamboo rafting! About ten pieces of bamboo each about ten metres long are tied together to make a floating raft. We then sat on the raft while the oarsmen guided us down the river, over rapids, around rocks and down into the valley below. I was horrified when they pointed out two huge snakes on the way - the first one swimming in the water and the second one was a large python wrapped around a tree above our heads. Luckily we were travelling quite fast on the rafts but I kept my hands and feet well in after that! We had so much fun on the rafts and after the first rapid gave up trying to stay dry and by the end of the trip we were soaking!
Back to the hotel for a quick swim, wash and change before we boarded the night train for the lag let of our tour - to Bangkok. The Thai train was lovely and so much newer and cleaner than the Vietnam trains we had used earlier. After supper I settled down into my bunk bed for so e much needed sleep while chris found a new friend and ventured off to check out the dining and bar carriage - this turned out to be a crazy night club on wheels full of drunken revellers so he had a great night.
Next morning we arrived in Bangkok and checked into our hotel which was just across the road from the station. The two girls decided to take themselves off to a water park for the day as they had been to Bangkok at the beginning of their trip. Chris and I enjoyed a lazy morning and in the afternoon charin took us on a walking tour of the city, visiting the temple of the golden buddha. A walk through china town which was fascinating. As it was really hot, and we still had a few days in bangkok to explore, we cut short our walk and caught a tuk tuk back to the hotel. In the evening we went for our final dinner together, after which we left charin and the four of us went down to the back packing area of town. And the famous hoi San road.
This proved to be the craziest place I have ever seen. Hundreds of bars, shops and stalls selling everything imaginable - t shirts, shoes, knives, tattoos, street food and drink, scorpions on kebab sticks, drugs, hair braiding, and massages on Sun loungers lined up in the street. Music blares from every pub and the whole place is buzzing and exciting. It is where the opening scene from the book and film The Beach is set and now I know why that was such a crazy book.
After saying our goodbyes we left the girls there after a couple of hours while we returned to our hotel. Our tour was now over and they were leaving early the next morning to continue on sir travels while we planned to have a lie in , the first for a very long time!!
Next day we moved to our 5 star hotel & spa on the 'other' side of town.(Christmas present from Dot my mum). It was absolutely lovely with the comfiest bed and pillows that you could wish for!! We enjoyed a jacuzzi, Infinity pool & steam room during our relax time after our long journey.... We were not too sure about the plain glass wall between the toilet and bathrooms though!! Very odd....
During the next two days we mainly chilled but on our last full day in Bangkok we got the sky train to the river and took a boat to the Grand Palace to see the Emerald Buddha but it was shut as we got up late haha.
After a lie in we had a beautiful breakfast and reluctantly checked out of the hotel. Again we took the sky train this time to Victory Monument to catch a mini bus to Kanchanaburi, home of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai. To say the mini bus driver had a death wish would be a huge understatement, we arrived a few hours later with hardly any nails left!!!
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