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We flew to Bangkok having spent 6 weeks in Vietnam and caught the overnight sleeper train straight up to Chiang Mai, in the North of Thailand. Christmas in Chiang Mai was really good, and for 3 days we treated ourselves and booked into a small boutique hotel, which was pure luxury after our months of 'roughing' it. We had found some colourful lights and a festive banner which we decorated the room with.
We did a cookery course on Christmas Eve, which was brilliant fun. We learnt how to cook spicy, creamy prawn soup (Tom Yum), spring rolls and chicken satay as appetizers. We then learnt how to cook green, yellow, red and a panang curry - all were delicious and then we made our own curries, which were yummy scrummy. Finally we learnt how to make stir-fry dishes, chicken and cashews nuts and pad thai. It was a full day which included a trip to the market but it was excellent and all the food was delicious.
On Christmas Day we celebrated with some champers (well Australian sparkling) and opened our presents. Chris got me a beautiful silk lantern from Hoi An in Vietnam, as well as a red cord coat I had made there, which was my main present, an elephant bag, a photo of Thailand and a couple of other bits. I bought Chris some new t-shirts, silk ties from Hoi An, boardshorts from Bali, a selection pack and a 'Tin Tin in Vietnam' plaque. We had a roast turkey roll and salad at the hotel restaurant for lunch, watched Polar Express on dvd and then went to a swanky restaurant in the evening for turkey with all the trimmings and mulled wine! They had a snow machine with real ice and carol singers so they made a real effort and I loved it.
On Boxing Day we went to an elephant santuary, which was amazing and one of the best things we have done of the whole trip. It is a farm that takes in elephants and is running a breeding programme there too. You basically help look after your own elephant for the day, along with its personal carer. They teach you how to feed them, do the morning health checks (including elephant poop inspections), cleaning them and scrubbing them in the river.
Then they teach you some mahout commands and we rode them to a waterfall on very hazardous terrain. At the waterfall the elephants all went in and played, which was an amazing sight to watch. We then took turns to go in the water and swim with the smaller ones, which was fantastic. We rode back to the farm in the afternoon and had such a great day. My elephant was very naughty though and I found it very hard to wash and clean her as she kept rolling over, running off and messing with the other elephants - especially Chris' as they were good mates. She was funny but quite annoying!! Riding her was even more frustrating and worrying at times when she charged off near sheer drops in search of food...... A totally amazing experience and a great project.
After Chiang Mai we headed back to Bangkok for New Years Eve, which was hectic but good fun. On the 1st January 2010 we headed to the islands of Thailand in the South. It had been weeks since we had been on a beach or swam in the sea so we were very excited about relaxing for a while. We visited Koh Phangnan first, which is famous for its Full Moon Parties, which we avoided like the plague. We headed to a quieter resort in the north and spent 8 glorious days chilling at Haad Yao beach. It was beautiful there and very quiet with clear, turquoise water and lovely seafood restaurants along the beach. We did a days diving around Koh Tao but it was quite disappointing as the visibility was unusually bad and at times we could only see up to 2 metres, but was good practice. After Koh Phangnan we headed to the peaceful island of Koh Lanta for a night and then onto Koh Phi Phi - not quite so peaceful but absolutely stunning. We did some more diving from Phi Phi, which was brilliant. The dive sites were teeming with marine life and we were lucky enough to get close up to two leopard sharks (which we have on video!). Our last few days in Thailand were spent relaxing on the beaches around Phi Phi island and making the most of the final part of our trip.
We flew to Kuala Lumpur on the 18th Jan for 2 final nights in a luxurious hotel, enjoying the piping hot shower, imported steaks and complimentary cocktails in the club lounge! And so we find that the adventure has come to an early end, and we are flying home later today (inevitable hypothermia awaits us). The trip has been an incredible and rewarding experience and has given us a taste of the true flavour of South-East Asia and an appetite for seeing more of the world...
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