Hello again! Thought I would write another blog of the last week and bit's adventures before I forget what I've done. I've been travelling around quite a bit so it's easy to forget. Again I apologise in advance for length!

We packed a lot into the first few days of last week. First we travelled to Kanchanburi where you can ride on the death railway that thousands died in the construction of, but also offers absolutely stunning views of the rivers and mountains in the area. It is also home to the Bridge on the river Kwai, which to look at is nothing spectacular, but the history behind it makes it quite an emotional experience to visit. We also saw it at sunset which was an especially lovely time to see it.

We stayed just one night in Kanchanaburi as we were heading up north to Chiang mai and wanted to spend a good few days there. On the way we also stopped at a place called Ayutthaya, which is the fallen old capital city of Thailand. We visited an elephant sanctuary and played with baby elephants, they were adorable! There are also lots of ruins of temples and palaces there which are really spookily lit up at night, so I wandered round them for ages (on my own) convinced that someone was following me/I was going to fall down a ditch/bats were trying to attack me.

We then got the overnight train to Chiang Mai. It was amazingly comfortable! I had a good full nights sleep and the matresses was one of the best I've slept on, compared to some of the beds of rocks I've had! Some of the buses between small towns here are quite something too. They pack on as many people as possible and no one can breathe, and they stop about every 100m to pick another person up, even though the only space for them seems to be on the roof. My worst experience was definitely on the morning we got up at 5 to go to Kanchanburi and I'd had 2 hours sleep - I drifted off in the most uncomfortable position imaginable, and woke up draped over a Thai man who looked very scared.

However, we made it to Chiang Mai in one piece and spent a few days relaxing, shopping at the markets, visiting the temples, and eating lots of nice food. Also had a lovely Thai massage - will definitely be doing that again! We went trekking one day which was great fun, and included elephant trekking, a bit of hiking, visiting Thai hilltribes and bamboo rafting (yes I fell in the river, and yes I did get totally soaked, but it was fun!). Chiang Mai is the nicest town/city I've stayed in so far, I could have stayed longer but I had to meet Chris!

So on Saturday night I got an overnight bus back down to Bangkok, I met a guy from St Albans on the bus, we both said we were from London but we discovered the truth! We also know the same person - it is a small world as they say. The bus was the most uncomfortable nights sleep I have ever had and I arrived back on Khao San road at 5.30 in the morning, confronted by the awful smell of the leftovers of the night before. Bangkok can be really hard to deal with at times! I also got chased by dogs which was a terrifying experience, but character building!

Anyway, I met Chris fine and we are now in Ko Chang, a beatiful island on the South East coast. We somehow managed to end up in one of the swankiest places on the island, it was brilliant! We were treated like royalty, I couldn't get used to it! It was amazing though, a nice few days of luxury to remember in 3 months of roughing it! We have now downgraded to a cheaper but still very nice place, and we have our own little bungalow with a thatched roof! We have been swimming in lots of places most of the time - a lovely waterfall, the pool at our hotel, the sea. We went on an elephant trek (my 3rd elephant experience in a week - yes the novelty has worn off now!) and today we went on a snorkelling boat trip which was great. Although I am sunburnt again, damn those anti malarial drugs that make you extra sun sensitive! Last night we went for a few drinks near our hotel and ended up having a few brandys with the locals, which was amusing. On our way back we managed to walk 2km past our hotel and got caught in a monsoon rain! I have no idea how. We also were confronted by a pack of angry dogs but Chris scared them off (what a hero) and a drunk man tried to tell us we were 4km away from our hotel and he would drive us back for 300B. Anyway, we made it back in one piece so it was fine!

Anyway, enough information for you there I think. I never know when to shut up! I am still loving it here, I can't believe I only have a week and a half left in Thailand! Now I am in Asia I am trying to arrange changing my trip so I spend a week or 2 longer here (somewhere other than Thailand) and only 4 weeks in NZ, as 6 weeks suddenly seems ages. I think I've left it too late though, never mind.

As ever I am missing you all so be in touch and let me know your news! Will be in touch again soon! And more pictures to follow I hope!

Lots of love, Anj xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx