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So I finished my last blog at the point we got to Haad Salad Beach in Ko Phangan. It was a lovely relaxing place. We stayed literally 20 metres from the beach in a small beach hut with a hammock outside. It was lovely but the one downside was the beach was so shallow so you couldn't swim in it. I did decide to do a snorkelling trip which was awesome. We went by boat to three different areas for snorkelling. The second place was amazing because the boat captain threw food into the water and literally a thousand fish swam over so we got into the sea surrounded by fish. In fact as I snorkelled the fish were swimming right in front of my mask. They were so beautiful. Then we went to some amazing beaches including one that could only be reached by boat.
After a few days at Haad Salad bay, we headed to the other side of the island to prepare for the full moon party. We stayed at an Indian hostel which provided a free Indian buffet, free bucket of alcohol (a small bucket with a shot of alcohol and some coke) and free body paint, as well as a reduced price on t-shirts. The evening of the full moon party we went to the beach. There were lots of people there drinking, jumping over fire ropes and relieving themselves in the sea. The music was good, but by 11.30 we were feeling too tired to stay out longer so we headed back to sleep.
A few days later we got the ferry and night bus back to Bangkok. We needed to return here so we could pick up our Vietnam visa's. This time we stayed in the hotel we had originally stayed in our first night in Thailand - the food was great, they had a roof pool (which we took full advantage of) and it was a long way from the scammers at Khao San Road. After picking up our visa on the Monday, we got a Tuesday day bus to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. I was very impressed with this - it was cheap and it seemed like there was a never ending supply of free snacks included.
In Chiang Mai we decided we wanted to spend a little bit more money to do some exciting trips. The first day this meant cuddling a real life large tiger. The next day we did a cooking class with Asia Scenic cooking school, who Adam has recommended to us. This involved learning how to cook seven dishes and we could choose which ones. I chose to cook Pad Thai, Papaya Salad, Mango with Sticky Rice, Chicken in Coconut Soup, Massuman Curry and Curry Paste, and finally Spring Rolls with Sweet Chilli Sauce. All the food turned out amazing. We learned about how Thai cooking is based around including the four important flavours - salty, sweet, spicy and sour in every meal. The day also included a visit to a local market and an organic garden to learn about Thai ingredients, as well as a free recipe book. It was my favourite activity in the whole of Thailand.
The third day we did zip lining through the Thai rainforest. The zip lining part was fun (apart from my break kept slipping which slowed me down) but the walking over bridges parts were very scary.
Another day we did a Thai Massage Course and learned how to do a one hour Thai Massage of feet, legs, back, shoulders, head and face. It was complicated but we got a book to keep so we can practice at home. In the evening we discovered the street market which had food half the price of the restaurants so we started eating there.
We visited Doi Suthep temple, on a mountain top. The temple was smaller than I expected but still quite beautiful, but the highlight for me was the views it gave over Chiang Mai itself.
Finally we did a day at the Elephant Sanctuary. This was one of the only places where they don't do elephant riding so we felt it was quite an ethical place. It was right in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains in very rural Thailand. It was very close to a village of the Karen people who also worked there. The drive up was very steep, twisty and bumpy, on the back of an open air van, on what can generously be described as dirt tracks, for an hour. But we did survive it. The elephant sanctuary itself was just a series of bamboo huts with limited electric. First we learned how to make the medicine - sugar and salt (a traditional Karen people recipe) which we fed to the two young elephants. Next we fed them a large bag of bananas each and took lots of photos. After that we had lunch before heading out again to bathe the elephants quickly in a mud bath and then walk them along a river to bathe them in the water. We finished off walking to a waterfall and showering ourselves under it for a while. Interestingly there were fish in the water which tried to eat the dead skin off our feet. It was a very fun day.
Before leaving for Laos, we spent our final evening watching some Muay Thai fights at a stadium. There were 6 fights and they were really interesting to watch.
After being in Thailand for 30 days, we had to leave on 4th May. We got a bus up to Chiang Khong and then crossed the border into Laos. Things were pretty straight forward although we were almost caught out by the fact that we had to pay for the visa in US dollars which we didn't have. Luckily, one of the staff there informed us and was able to exchange our money. After a relatively easy process we crossed into Laos and got a Tuk Tuk up to Huay Xay for a night ready for our two day boat trip down the Mekong river the next day.
As I look back over my experiences in Thailand, there is so much I got to experience and do - have and learn how to give a Thai massage, ride in a tuk tuk, cuddle a tiger, eat the world's best cuisine, learn how to cook Thai food, zip lined in a rainforest, had a water fight with local kids to celebrate Songkran new year, swam in a roof top pool with views over Bangkok, snorkelled with a 1000 fish swimming around me, bathed with elephants, partied on the beach at the full moon, witnessed Muay Thai fights, saw a massive reclining gold Buddha and visited many temples. It was an amazing time.
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