We left Thailand on the 29th and crossed the Mekong on rickety little boats to the Loas border where we were given our visas and transported to our slow boat. The slow boats were indeed slow as we set of down the Mekong with Thailand on one side and Loas on the other. The scenery was fantastic but the journey is long and it doesn't take long to get uncomfortable in the car seat seats! The boat stopped fairly regularly letting locals on and off just onto random rocks and beaches. We have no idea how they know where they are, it seemed like we were just going in circles to me. After 2 hours both sides of the river become Loas but there is no visible difference. It felt wierd to be in a different ... read more

When we finally dragged ourselves away from Pai for the second time we travelled 6 hours East back through Chiang Mai all the way to Chiang Rai. Our first night here we went exploring the local markets. The day market was just food and it was crazy! The raw meat and sweet cakes meant there was an abundance of wasps and flys mixed in with the many humans crowding the streets. Despite selling only food, nothing looked ediable to either of us, although some of it looked fairly interesting, like the bright turquiose mussels. We left in search of the Night Bazaar but ended up walking round in circles and should have gone back to the main point of reference for making your way round the city which was a huge and very ornate golden clock ... read more

We have been in Pai since Sunday so nearly a week now. We're staying in a lovely air conditoned bungalow (luxury) with an amazing view only draw back is the rickety bridge across the river to get to it! Pai is a small town 4 hours away from Chaing Mai and its all about peace and love. Its got a population of about 3000 but most of its business is from the hippy westerners that visit it. Anyone who doesn't run a business catering for the tourists tends to be a farmer either growing rice, soy beans or garlic. The town itself is small and the best way to get about to see the sites is by moped. We have hired them the last 3 days alongside a couple we met on the way here who ... read more

The rest of the trek.... We had a 10am start the next day after a healthy sized breakfast. we had another 3 hour trek to the 'Jungle Camp' which was "same, same but different" as described by Machete. The walk was similar to the day before up and down a few hilly bits that had us ll puffing and panting with Machete stopping occasionally to hand us a leave to taste or smell. When it came to negotiating our way through the rice paddies we moved quite slowly as the thin walls dividng the wet boggy paddies aren't exactly stable and noone fancied falling in. When we stopped for a noodle luynch Machete asked if anyone fancied trying Tarantula for tea! Jordan was up for it so Machete shot off into the jungle and came back ... read more

We arrived in Chaing Mai and settled into our guest house before going to the Sunday 'walking' Market which runs for miles down one the the main streets. We immediatley felt a more chilled vibe then in the Bangkok markets. People dont hassle you at the stall,they just let you browse until your ready to barter with them. The stalls sol much more arts and crafts goods then any other market and there was singing and dancing all the way along the street. I bought myself some odds and ends started to feel guilty then worked out how much money I'd spent in english equivelent and it turned out to be about a tenner haha! We had diiner in a small restaurant behind the stalls and we could here live music from a couple of doors ... read more