Bangkok, Siem Reap and Chiang Mai

So lots has happened over the last week! Second day in Bangkok I went to see some of the temples. I got the ferry along the river to the old part of Bangkok which was fun and you got to see all the fancy hotels along the river! Went to Wat Pho 1st which has the reclining Buddha which was huge and covered in gold! Had a wander around the grounds which were amazing and then had a thai massage from the massage school there....an interesting experience!! They literally pull you in all different directions but I did feel better afterwards, if not very relaxed! I then went to the Grand Palace which was amazing! So much gold everywhere!! That night I had dinner on the roof top of the hostel with a few people staying there, gave a really good view of the city and I was almost cool in the breeze!! The next day, as recommended by a German girl staying at the hostel I went to the Chatuchak weekend market which was absolutely huge! They sold anything and everything, from pet dogs to fake handbags, to expensive art and furniture. Was very restraint and only bought a few things including some fake Dior perfume for 40p!! It was so unbelievably hot so I went and sat in a really nice park to have some lunch and cool down a bit!! After lunch I got my 1st tuk tuk....so scary! They drive so fast amongst the Bangkok traffic but was cool to see a bit more of the city from that level! Walked round Koh San Road for a bit in the afternoon and then back to the hostel to get ready for the bus the next day!

Got the bus from Bangkok to the Cambodia the next day. Had heard so many stories about scams for fake or very overpriced visas so was being very cautious, so much so I actually walked past the official Visa office and had to go back!! Got to Siem Reap at about 7 that night and checked into my hostel. Met a Canadian girl who was going to see the sunrise the next day over the temples so joined up with her and a girl from Brazil and shared a tuk tuk for the day. Got up at 4.30 that morning (nice and early!) and got the tuk tuk in pitch black to Angkor Wat. It was really eerie as all you could see were the little lights of hundreds of tuk tuks driving along the road in front. Was absolutely amazing to see the sun come up over the temple and I'm so glad we did brave the early morning to do it. Walked around the temple while it was still quiet and got some amazing photos! Saw lots of different temples throughout the day which were all really different in their own ways. My favourite was probably Ta Prohm which was the setting for Tomb raider. The trees had sort of grown into the temple and were really cool! By that point there were lots of tourists around and we kept being caught up in the Japanese tour groups!! By about 2pm it was so hot and we'd been there about 10 hours so called it a day! Absolutely fantastic day and I would recommend it to anyone.

The next day I hung out in Siem Reap. Our hostel had a pool (amazing but freezing!) so chilled there for a bit and then wandered around the market and went and got some dinner and drinks with Ilena (the Canadian) and one of her friends.

The following day I flew up to Chiang Mai for a few days. Staying at a really fun hostel here called Deejah Backpackers (would highly recommend it!). It has a tikki bar in the garden and have met so many people while I've stayed here. The 2nd day I was here I went on a one day trek into the mountains which was really fun! Did a one hour trek to a waterfall and then went swimming which was really refreshing after the hot walk!! Then went white water rafting which was really fun. It's a bit tame at this time of year apparently because the river is quite low at the moment but it was scary enough for me! Our guide was hilarious and loved his job so much. He had some excellent phrases including 'how are you tomorrow' and 'where you from? I'm from my mother'.

The next day I went with a group of Canadians to an Elephant training camp which was such a fantastic experience (thanks for the recommendation pace!). We learned the commands the Mahouts use to control the elephants and got to ride them bare back through the jungle (bit uncomfortable but really fun!) Then got to ride them into a waterfall and bathe and wash them. Such a fantastic thing to do (shame they kept pooing in the water though!) and can't wait to see the photos (they put them on a disk for us). There were two baby elephants as well which were soo cute. Last night we went to a few bars which was really fun and then today I'm just going to walk around the city for a bit before flying to Phuket tonight to go to the islands! So excited for some beaches.

Having an amazing time and have met lots of lovely people! Still v. pale and not used to the heat but hoping that some time on the beaches will cure that! Hope all is well at home at missing you all! Must try and update the blog more often!!

Love Ro

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