After flying up to chiang mai in northern Thailand, we stumbled upon a mint guest house called Diva, decorated like a funky teenagers bedroom with button curtains and louis vuitton towels. (I got instantly excited by this as it meant that there would be lots of cheap fake stuff to buy near by.) The staff here were really friendly, so friendly I thought they were trying to scam us and Im pretty sure I came across as a rude and ignorant farrang (tourist) but luckily I was just being a paranoid freak, as the owners were genuinly lovely and I realised not quite everyone in Thailand sees you as a walking dollar sign.

The night market in chiang mai was pretty good, although I had to bring together all my willpower to resist splurging and buying half the stalls as I knew I would have to carry/wheel everything around with me for the rest of my trip.

On our first full day Laura and I did a cooking course at a thai man, sammys organic farm, where we met his wife, mother, daughter, mother and law - who had been demoted to washer upper (I think he must have assigned her that task himself). The farm was in the middle of a lushious green area, where he grew all his own food. He kept picking loads of herbsand plants from his garden for us to try whilst palming us which as much tea/coffee and homemade snacks we could throw down our throats, if only I knew what was coming I probably would have stopped after the second helping of snacks. Once we finally started cooking we picked our own favourite thai dishes to make, and each assigned with a stove, to my suprise I managed to knock up several culinary thai wonders inc thai green curry (inc making my own paste - which takes a bloody lot of bashing), spring rolls, a heavingly mango sticky rice, vegetable soup and pad thai. As I made it all myself I found to my horror that pretty much all thai recipies use fish/shrimp paste, so being a vegetarian this has unfortunatly put me off eating thai food ever since, Luckily I've been here a month so was starting to get sick of it anyways. Also just a warning to any of my friends from home that I will be subjecting you to my own version of my new delicacies once I get home. Food poisoning may or may no be included.

We made so much food to eat, sammy having becoming familiar with greedy westerners, had invested in some hammocks where we lay in his garden for an hour to rest our stomachs before carrying on demolishing the rest of the food. This idea I can guarantee I will be continuing with my own hammock once I get home and let loose on my mums food cupboards.

The next day we went to an elephant sanctuary that rescued orphaned and exploited elephants from some of the many parks. After arriving and being a little shocked at seeing the elephants with chains around their ankles, we later found out that the park was fairly new and was saving up to buy some more land next door so they could let the elephants loose, but until then that was the only way they could keep them safe and prevent them from wandering onto the roads and/or being stolen. The elephants were let loose to bathe and wander throughtout the day, but there wasnt enough staff to let them do it all at the same time. How true this is I'm not really sure, but the mahouts (elephant carers) genuinally seemed to really love the elephants. Anyways thats my guilt trip out the way.

So we were initially introduced to these 17 magnificant creatures by feeding them bananas to their trunks (which feel so weird as they suck through them) and even directly onto their massive slimy tongues. One of the baby elephants even sucked through its trunk on my neck, which I'm told was giving me a kiss. When feeding the elephants it was really sad as one of them was continually swinging it's head and trunk from side to side, which it has apparantly done ever since it was rescued from a park where it was made to paint and to tricks, which turned it a little crazy.

The rest of the day I was assigned to an elephant called 'mai bong'?? Well at least that what I called it anyways, and I rode it bare back out on its daily walk for an hour (using my thai vocal commands to direct it - although I'm not sure how much it really listened to me,(like my horse did) I think it just knew the route.) Elephant riding turned out to be one of my previously unknown natural abilities, riding elephants who'd have thought it, which I took to like a pro and turns out to be the only method of Thai transport I feel remotely safe on. Unfortunately elephants aren't available for hire for travel around thailand, so for now I'm just going to have to stick to passing out on sleeping pills.

In the afternoon I took Mai bong to the near by river, where Laura and I washed and brushed him as he rolled around in the water whilst the baby elephant found it absolutly hilarious to chase me around the river spraying me with as much pooey brown water its trunk could manage, squealing in delight everytime it got me. You can tell these animals are really intelligant creatures and are very passionate towards their carers. This day was a truly incredible experience and one I know I will never ever forget.

The next day I was feeling a little bit intimate and thought I would go cuddle some tigers. I went to tiger kingdom, whereI chose to interact with both 3 month old cubs and fully grown tigers. Deciding not to be too cocky, I started with the little teeth and claws first before going for the life threatening ones. Now anyone that knows me would know that even Lara's ball of fluff of a cat back home and I have a mutual agreement that we don't get on. Whereby I scream like a banshy pretty much anytime it moves and equally, in astonishment of my yelping it stays out of my way. So for me a tiger was a pretty big deal. I temporarily befriended a creepy arabian man (as I was travelling on my own at this time) but only so he could take my photos, despite some of the many provocative photos he kept trying to make me do, which will never go on fb, but I will keep on my camera for my own personal amusement. He did manage to take the odd good one too, just for proof mainly to show lara that I managed to touch a cat bigger than hers. The big cats were not as scary as I thought as they ahd all been fully fed and were in food comas, they probably could have done with some of sammys hammocks. Nonetheless I still stayed as far away from their heads as possible when touching them. My confidence built and my arabian photographer managed to get one pose of me lying on a tigers bum with its leg over my chest and tail around my neck, happily relaxed whilst my face looks like I was being held at gunpoint my a crew of pirates.

After feeling rather brave and as if I could tackle anything (I had splashed out and spent 6pound and hired a personal txi driver for the day, who took ashinging to me and offered me his raybans - I'm guessing he got them form the ame place as my LV towels) I went to a snake farm place where I witnessed spitting cobras and pythons. In my adrenline rush from man handling the tigers I even asked to hold some of them.