Hi all, today is the perfect rest day as I am going to do very little.I am now in Chang main which is a lot nicer then Bangkok they are more nice restaraunts and bars. The last few days have been really hard and we have all been having about five hours sleep a night. The overnight train was definitely an experience I have never found it so difficult to sleep, and in such a confined space. (These Thai people are too small, I am constantly banging my head, squatting for the toilet is hard, and I have to bend down to look in the mirror)

The next day our tour guide took to us all to a local temple, and then around to a few of the local silk and jewellery shops of the local area.

The following day we went to a monkey zoo, I don't know if I enjoyed it or not some of the monkeys looked a little sad. Then we went for dinner, egg fried rice with beef in oyster sauce, the thai's like to cook with a lot of egg.Then we got our 4x4 to drop us off at the edge of the jungle. We walked, stumbled and slipped for three hours to the hill tribe's village. We bought the village people gifts, the conditions were basic we all shared one hut and washed in the stream/ waterfall, but they did have beer. The first day was just to break us in, the next day we trekked for about six hours stopping for lunch in the middle of a paddy field. The next village in the middle of the jungle, we arrived cut, sore and exhausted, the guy who had the key for the drinks cabinet had gone awol, so everyone was pissed off. Then we got an elephant ride down the river for our overnight stop. The elephant ride would have been enjoyable if we had been awake. The next day we got woken early from the hut by another blooming rooster!!! Our transportation for the next part of the journey was bamboo raft, not my transport of choice for going over rapids. I got the short straw and had to help paddle/ gondola down with a big bamboo stick. I didn't because it rained all day but I had to stand for the whole two hour journey, listen to the nagging of the front seat passengers (the girls) and stay on during the ruff bits while everyone else walked.

It took the driver about an hour to get us out the jungle. When we got back to the hotel I have never been so glad to see civalisation, a proper toilet and sky sports news. After we got cleaned down we went out and saw the worst thing ever, Buddhist holiday no booze to be served, O my budha indeed. But thankfully they are relaxed Buddhists and we had cocktails instead, then we hit the bars! (still having a great time)