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Hello donkeys! We are now in Chiang Mai. We got here four days ago after travelling 20 hours from Laos. When we got here we had a day before our trek started so luckily our guesthouse had a pool which we used to our advantage. That evening, as we thought we'd be on rations on the trek, we decided to go and fill ourselves up. We saw a sign for an English fish and chip shop so followed it! It was amazing, mushy peas and everything! We then had a wonder around the night bizarre which is a huge market full of clothes and jewlerry, we were in our element! We then had our last nights sleep in a comfy bed before three days of trekking! In the morning, a pick-up truck came to our guesthouse and on board were our fellow trekkers. Two guys from Australia, Matt and Dave, a guy from Liverpool, also Dave..and a french girl called Sybil. They were all around 26 so we were the babies of the group but we all got on instantly and could tell that we were all going to have a laugh together. We also met our tour guide, Chan. We then drove north to the jungle for a few hours stopping in a butterfly farm on the way, only to see 3 butterflies! We think they were sleeping! Then we got to the jungle and started our trek..the only direction was up hill and it was a boiling hot day! Those of you who really know us know that our fitness levels aren't so great, so were not going to lie, it was a bit of a struggle but we toughed it out through sweat and grit! After what seemed like an eternity of walking, we reached a waterfall which we could climb down to and get under. It was ice cold but so refreshing after walking in the boiling sun. We all had a giggle and ended up falling over under the waterfall! After this, we had another hour of walking before we reached a hilltribe village which is where we stayed. There were pigs and chickens everywhere and all the local kids running about, everyone was really friendly. We were shown to our "bedroom" for the night, all six of us were sleeping in a wooden hut with a thatched roof. There were thin matresses on the floor with mosquito nets above and that was pretty much all the luxury we were given. We took a trip to the "squater" (toilet) and bumped into a group of the local kids, they were smiling and saying hello so we thought they were being really nice so smiled back..then they showed us a massive millipede and started to chase us with it and found it hilarious that we screamed our heads off and ran so fast! We spent the evening sat around, singing along to the guys playing the guitar and drinking beer and getting to know each other. Then it was dinner time! We were pleasantly surprised to see the amount of food they provided, we had rice with curried potatos and chicken and loads of vegetables. There were still two massive bowlfuls left and they'd keep going "eat more, eat more." As though this wasn't enough, there was watermelon and pineapple for afters..along with lychee..which we now love! Mummys can you get some from tesco for when we return please?! :) It began to get dark and cold so we all gathered around a campfire inside with all the locals. They don't have any electricity so it was just candles and the fire, they all go to bed quite early as it feels really late. We had both been dreading bed time beacuse of all the bugs but when the time came, it actually turned out alright. We squuezed under the same mozzy net and nuggled because it got quite chilly. The next morning, we were woken by the cockerels rather early. We all wanted to chop their heads off! For breakfast we had a feast of toast, scrambled egg, fruit and tons of coffee. There's definately no shortage on the food front, we don't know how they stay so skinny! It was absolutely chucking it down with rain so we got our waterproofs on and prepared for the all day trek ahead. It didn't stop raining the whole day which made the mud paths extremely slippery. The day involved everybody falling over countless times, most of the time us two! We had to cross loads of rivers, we think Chan took us on the wrong route as the stepping stones began to disappear and we had no choice but to wade through the rivers! We were absolutely drenched but it was a really funny day, apart from the scratches from the thisltes and straddling pipelines!! We also saw the biggest spider in the world..and loads of crabs :( At some point during the day we stopped for lunch of supernoodles at a different village. There was a cute little kitten that was really hungry and a horrible girl who poked a pencil in Melissa's eye! We couldn't believe the hills we were expected to climb, alot of them were practically vertical and with it being slippery, hands and knees came in to alot of use! When we finally reached the village that we were sleeping at, there was an ice cold shower which was rather painful! Would of been nice if it was a hot day but the fact that we were drenched right through didn't really help. That evening we had a nice green curry and a few Changs. We spent the evening playing card games with our crew and Chan around the candle light which attracts flies..it then turned into a massacre of flies, stuck to the wax and landing in the bowl of hot water which they put out. This night our bedroom was an open hut over looking the river so we were pretty scared again but we were so tired from trekking we passed straight out. We woke up to the rest of the crew telling us to get up as the elephants were having a bath! We ran down to the river, followed by the elephants. It was amazing to see, they were all rolling about in the water and we were literally walking side by side by them. After breakfast, we then had an hour ride on the elephants. We landed the naughty elephant called Noir. After getting up on his back we had to feed him bananas so he would move..he'd stick his trunk back to demand more and if we didn't give him them he'd stay still and sneeze all over us but Craig we didn't wear our masks! There were three elephants between the six of us and we were at the front. Noir kept being naughty and stopping! We thought we were going on a casual stroll on the elephants but no, we were taken up and down really steep hills, actually really scary! When we'd go down a hill it felt like it was vertical and we were going to slide out our seats but Noir kept us safe although he did keep slapping our feet with his ears! When we said goodbye to Noir, we then went white water rafting. We got given life jackets and helmets and a paddle each and were put into the raft and off we set. It was only after the first rough patch that Melissa realised she had a broken helmet..typical! We had an instructor sat at the back who told us when to row faster and when to stop and hold on..and lean in so we didn't fall out! When it got a bit calmer we were allowed to get out and swim along the river, then get back in for the last rough bit where we were banging into rocks and spinning around, it was loads of fun and not as scary as we thought it would be! We climbed straight from our boat to the bamboo raft where the guys had to stand and steer and us girlies got to sit down and enjoy the sun and views. This part was nice and calm, floating down the river to where we were having lunch then making our way back to the town. We had the local dish, Pad Thai which Jade was a fan of but lou lou not! We got the minibus back into townand said our farewells to the crew and exchanged all our details so we can get everyones pictures :) That evening we were absolutely shattered so had a nice shower and went and got all our clothes nice and washed then had an early night. Today we're leaving for Bangkok at 5.30 to arrive at 6 tomorrow morning. We spent the day at the Tiger Kingdom which were so glad we did. We got to cuddle new born cubs and lie down with the big tigers. It was such a good experience and something you'd never think you could do! We don't think Bristol zoo will like us when we ask to go in with the tigers on our next visit! Haha. Hope you enjoy our pictures as much as we've enjoyed being able to be there and take them, it's definately a highlight of our trip so far. Wish you could all of experienced it with us..unluckyyyyyyyyyy! haha! Next time we speak to you we'll be in Australia after our quick visit to Singapore. Were quite sad to be leaving Thailand, it's been an amazing time but now onwards and upwards :) yayyyyy! Bye bye....Also, where are the rest of the comments?!! Lack of comments = lack of blogs and pictures..your choice people!! Love you all, Jadey and Lou lou xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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