Chiang Mai!
So after the executve decision was made after a night out to refrain from sleeping, it became apparent we were doing an all nighter. We boarded our sleeper train to Chiang Mai, delirious and desperate for a bed after 30 hours of conciousness. The cockroaches and constant fear of falling from our bunks was not anticipated and so arrived with a lack of sleep bordering on insanity. Amy made yet another enemy of a Thai worker, this time it was the orange juice seller, whose sole goal throughout the 14 hours seemed to be to sell her a cup of orange juice. You can imagine her reaction.
We arrived at our ominously named accomodation called the B.M.P residence, which said quickly to any Thai person I can only imagine would cause offence. Although its name would suggest a close affiliation with Britian and british standards, this was not the case. Amy's experience of rolling around on the bathroom floor under a tap as a substitue for a shower is but one example. We ventured to the night market, where we were more than horrified to discover cages of puppies for sale with price tags on their heads. These "toads on bikes" as amy coined the Thai people, appeared to be lacking in morals.
Elephant riding, trekking, waterfall frollicking and rafting were all a blast. Highlights included singing happy birthday to our elephants, helen's chaffed legs after straddling her elephant for too long and amy making yet another enemy of the 'toad' people after her raft steerer insisted in soaking her to the core, while nat and helen remained unscathed.
We also spent our first day sunbathing in CM - an experience almost ruined by an incredibly hairy woman, who enjoyed spreading her legs in various positions. A treat for all involved.
Soon it was time to get our VIP minibus from CM to vang vieng in Laos. So 9 of us (including Alan, Lee and Alex from coventry) piled in to the bus. we set off late (of course) and ran what seemed like 100 errands. Just as we thought we were about to leave CM we pulled over to collect 2 boxes - dubious - which were tied under our chairs. we were also greeted by a large smelly man Amy dubbed 'sweaty toad'. in order to avoid him occupying the 2 remaining seats in the mini-mini-mini bus, Amy locked him out. Our driver was not happy. Fortunately sweaty toad did not join us - instead we were joined by a young thai couple. so a blessing and a curse. Helen and Robyn decided the best way to deal with the situation was to sleep on the floor/under the seat infront, managing a solid hour in total. at a push.
So we pulled up in what appeared to be someones front garden at about 5am. Our driver decided to take our passports from us, walk outside to dispose of them, and then return exclaiming "30 minute nap!" and shut the doors. Things were getting worrying. Were we drug mules? Was this man stealing our identities before cutting us into pieces and serving us as Pad Thai? Was this really cocaine in 2 boxes under my seat? After making sure we could locate Robyn's swiss army knife, we decided to explore. We were greeted by what can only be described as a hillbilly's cafe by a lake, where a woman was serving pot noodles and toasts on a tray of ants. we headed to the loos to endure probably the 20th horrific hole - in - the - floor toilet experience so far. we filled out our visas and waited, and waited. finally sleepy Ted decided he was ready to take us to the Laos border. VIP indeed - Very Inappropriately Priced.
At the border we were handed our drug-riddled bags and sent on our way. No farewell from Ted; probably having a kip.
20 hours and 4/5 bus journey's later, we arrived in Vang Vieng, Laos.