Monday 4th May - after managing to catch a few hours sleep on the overnight train we arrived in Chiang Mai at 7.30am. The first thing I noticed was that the air was far fresher and less himid than in Bangkok and the city no where near as hectic and congested.

We were taken to The Palace Hotel by a safari-type wagon which we had access to for our time in Chiang Mai. After check in we headed off to visit Wat Phra That temple. The temple is located at the top of a hill with a long staircase decorated with serpent style statues leading up to it. The view of the city from the top was fantastic.

The next stop was the Tiger Kingdom where I got to go into a tiger enclosure and stroke the tigers! It felt surreal (and scary!) to be in there with those beautiful, wild cats but they seemed to be well looked after and trained. I even plucked up the courage to put my head on a tiger's chest (after the keeper insisting it was fine to do so and other members of the group doing the same). It made for a great photo!

After lunch we headed for the Thai Elephant Conservation centre where we watched them put on a show. They were like circus perfromers doing lots of clever tricks with top hats, footballs and they even painted pictures with their trunks!

For dinner we went to the Chiang Mai night market where we sampled the great local quisine in the food court.

Tuesday 5th May -left the hotel early to begin our hilltribe trek! We had a 2hr drive out of Chiang Mai to get to our starting point in the hills. On the way we stopped off at a beautiful waterfall for a swim and play around. This was the perfect setting for us snap happy travellers!

We began the trek after lunch and it was a lot tougher than any of us expected it to be! It wasn't the distance but tackling the hilly terrain in the wet (it's the wet season). We were slipping and sliding all over the place and, at one point, I had 5 leeches attached to my foot sucking my blood! Nice!

Having finally arrived at the village just before dinner we had a tour. It was very educational to see how the local people live in this remote environment and how they live off the land. At dinner we were attacked by mosquitoes so I had bites from them to add to the marks left by the pesky leeches! The repellant doesn't seem to have deterred them much! At 9pm lights went out (or should that be candles given that we had no electricity!) and we slept in, lets just say very basic accommodation with wafer thin mattresses and mosquito nets over us. Still, after the days activities I had a really good sleep.

The second day of trekking was better than the first as it was a nice sunny day so far less accidents (or leeches). We walked for 3 and a half hrs before having lunch nearby a pool with elephants cooling themselves off.

This brings me to a highlight of my trip - our afternoon elephant ride. It certainly was a bumpy ride but it was great to be so close to these incredibly strong animals and have the opportunity to feed them and watch them play. The guy riding my elephant took a brilliant photo of me holding out a banana and the elephant reaching up with his trunk to take it from me.

After this it was a short walk to the second village we stayed in overnight. Again, the accomodation was very basic and the toilets and showers certainly were interesting but I felt I was getting a slice of the real Thailand and the villagers' way of life which was far more enjoyable for me than the chaos of Bangkok.

Thursday 7th May - last day of the trek. We left the village via the nearby river on a bamboo raft! We were on this contraption for 4 hours and it was fantastic fun going down the river (and hitting the rapids - though these were mild and few and far between). It was incredible that this raft could hold 6 of us plus our bags as it did not look particularly sturdy and luckily there were no passengers lost overboard!

Arrived back at the Palace hotel that evening and went to the local night market again.

My final day in Chaing Mai, Friday 8th May, was a write off. I was violently sick for most of the day and couldn't even keep down water. I hadn't eaten anything that the others hadn't so I think it was sun stroke form being out on the river. I got burnt even though I was applying suncream because it kept washing off and there was no shade. It was factor 25 but have since bought factor 50 to be on the safe side!! Luckily, it was out of my system by the time we caught the train and all the stress of it meant that I had a great night's sleep before waking up back in the madness of Bangkok!

Next, I join my new tour group and head off to the paradise that is southern thailand with its spectacular beaches and islands.