By Ben:

Hello,

Apologies for the long delay in this blog but we have been busy busy the last few days!

Thailand is something of a culture shock- Bangkok is noisy and sweaty and smelly- but really bustling and always something going on. We have treated ourselves to some dubious t-shirts and spent our first two nights in Bangkok meandering down Khao San road and being hassled by hawkers.

We met Gemma and John in Bangkok and the four of us have been traveling round- we had a thai massage which probably did more damage than good and had a nice late night enjoying the nightlife... no ladyboys though....no ping pong shows...

While in Bangkok we saw the giant buddha and the emerald buddha - Photos to come soon!! We travelled back by Tuk Tuk which is quite an experience- there doesn't seem to be any laws on the roads.

We traveled by night train to Chiang Mai and spent a day chilling by the pool in the 30 + heat (screw you rainy england!) then went out and walked through the night market- its all very lively and hectic at all hours.

The last three days we have been trekking- the first day we walked for about 8 hours in total then slept in a big 15 person hut in the evening. Yesterday we walked more through the jungle and camped at a huge waterfall which was also our morning shower. Today we went elephant trekking and bamboo rafting. All very fun- but we were glad to get back to civilisation and have a nice hot shower!!!! Plus the pillows they use in those huts are made of rocks. Possibly half-bricks.

We are going back to Bangkok tomorrow and then on to the islands. Did I mention it is really hot and sunny???

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