Alison: We had heard that Pai was a cool place but we weren't prepared for how cool it was! We loved it there. It is quite a small place but it is packed with trendy/hippie bars, restaurants, cafes and boutiques. It has a really laid back feel but at the same time has quite an active night life as well. There are dread-locked, pierced and tattooed Thai locals at every turn which we hadn't really seen before in Thailand. They must all flock to this place! ...

Nigel: Chiang Mai is the second biggest city in Thailand and is know as the capital of the north. We arrived there again knowing there are millions of temples to see, but there was also a major festival taking place on the night of our arrival. We didn't know much about the festival which is called Loi Kratong, but after the first night we certainly did. The festival lasts for 3 nights and it is a amazing experience being there. All over the city there are fi...

Nigel: So after our boat trip from Laos over to Northern Thailand we eventually made it back to some form of normal civilisation. Even though the change of life style in Laos was a great experience, the convenience of being able to go to the shops again was also blessing. We managed to find a good guest house which was in the centre of Chiang Rai. Apart from the million temples you can go and see, which we are a bit bored of seeing, there isn't a great amount...

Alison: The bus to Muang Sing was a lot more bearable than the last journey though like last time every hitch hiker was picked up. It seems pretty much the norm in Laos. Nigel had to sit next to a farmer and a live chicken. Muang Sing is a very small place which is close to the border with Burma. There is one main road with a few restaurants and shops. If you go beyond the main road, you can see all the locals homes which are very basic wooden shacks. We managed ...