Been in Thailand for almost two weeks now and I'm really enjoying it. Feels like I have done so much but I have so much to see and do - another 6 weeks in Thailand! The weather is very hot averaging at 40 and the mosquitos are liking the taste of my skin, no matter how much deet I cover myself with! But it is all good.

The week has been a little more laid back the the previous (woo hoo!)

It started on Monday with a visit from some monks from a neaby temple. We asked them lots of questions about their lives as monks and buddism. It was all quite fascinating. They are all so dedicated to being enlightened.

On Tuesday we went to a temple (forgot it's name) to stay the night and be a monk for 24 hours. When we got there we were given white robes to put on. We then met up with the Monk who was going to be teaching us - a very happy and pleasant chap. He taught us to meditate while sitting, standing, lying and walking (yes you can mediate walking - but you should have your eyes open!). After this we joined in some chanting - very hard work chanting another language. Looking at the translations it seemed no different to praying in christianity. But what would I know, I'm not christian after all. Once we finished the medition and the chanting we were left to our own devices. However, there is not a lot to keep yourself occupied in a temple at night so we went to bed (not a bed really more like a hard floor in a temple) the room contained flea ridden carpets and not a lot else. The sleep was ok, forgetting the fact that I could feel the little blighters jumping on me during the night. This was until we were awoken with gongs at 5:30 proper Buddist style - a bit surreal. We then mediated again with the Monk and chanted. We then followed the monk into the main town on foot with buckets, still wearing our white gowns. The aim of this was to collect food - monks can not buy anything so they really on the generousity of the public to give food. In return the monk blesses them. By the time we had finished collecting the food and been through the market (who all gave food) we were absolutly laden. We had a trolley and this was packed. We then returned to the temple and gave the food to the nuns while they prepared it all. We then started to eat the food - after the monk has blessed each item of food (this took half an hour). We chose our food from all the different dished - being adventerous I tried some food that looked a bit suspect. It was. Chilli shrimp paste is not to be advised. Fishy, smelly and disgusting. After Breakfast we did some work around the temple grounds. We swept the leaves off the road. The road was very long and had a lot of leaves on it. The road was so long that by the time we got to the end the start was covered in leaves again - why did we bother! Never mind, it was satisfying at the time. Before we left to go back to Sing buri we visited the monk again and did a bit more chanting. He asked us a lot of questions and we asked him a lot of questions. He seemed so content and relaxed about his whole life that it makes me wonder that maybe this whole meditation thingy works. They all seemed so at peace with the world and the environment around them. Everything I thought this experience would be, it was not. The temple and environment was not very attractive and the people were so welcoming. In the afternoon we went to the swimming pool to cool off.

This morning was spent cycling around Sing Buri. This was great fun! Finally some exercise. The bonus is that it is all very flat around here although it is very hot. Dogs ignore bikes too! Bonus. This afternoon was spent checking the tents for trekking. We were to ensure there were no holes. Ummm, was this for rain or wildlife. Actually, considering there has been no rain while I've been here, I'm assuming it is the latter.

Tomorrow we are going to visit a zoo. The zoo has baby tigers that we can get in the cage with. However, some people went to this previous and the tiger drew blood and the person was taken to hospital for injections. My favourite animal might be worth it though! Can't wait.

Anyway, got to go.