Hi All! Just a quick post before I leave Chiang Mai. At the moment I am waiting for the others to return before we get a taxi to the airport. They have gone to look at a temple. I have to say that I am all templed out! We are leaving this afternoon to fly down to Phuket, the flight is about an hour and a half. We were going to get the bus but then we went into a travel agent and they said that we would have to get 2 night buses and to stop in Bangkok for a day. We decided that flying was the best option.
We have had a great time here in Chiang Mai even though we thought there would be more to see and do. We have visited the night bazaar and also yesterday we went to the Saturday walking market, which was a lot more relaxing than the night bazaar.
On Friday Me, Anita and Naomi had a very busy day. We were up early and visited a orchid and butterfly farm - it wasn't too interesting. We then were driven to the countryside and walked a while to see a hill tribe. They were called the 'Karon long necks', all the females in the tribe have rings around their necks to make them longer. It was very interesting, it is only the females and they start having rings round their necks when they are only 5 years old. They only take the rings off to clean them every 3 months and we saw a photo with out the rings on - it was a bit strange. We had our photo taken with some rings round our neck, they were so heavy and very uncomfortable resting on your neck. We also saw some people from other tribes who had large ears.
We then were driven down a windy track to do white water rafting. I was really worried at safety aspect but didn't need to worry as was noy as rough as New Zealand and was very calm. There were a few rapids but they weren't too big. We were on the water for about an hour and the scenery was amazing.
We then were taken to the elephant camp. When we pulled up there were elephants just wandering about. We had lunch and then went on an elephant ride. Me and Naomi went together and Anita went with another girl. It was a bit scary as we had to hold on for dear life. We went down a hill to cross the river and we were nearly falling out, it was so hard to hold on as there wasn't to much to hold on too! We were on the elephants for a while and wandered through the trees and up the river.
We then went on a bamboo raft, which was very relaxing. There were 4 of us on the raft and also someone pushing us. Surprisngly the raft was secure and could hold us all even though we did have wet feet.
Our last stop for the day was swimming at a waterfall. All I can say is that it was the perfect end to the perfect day.
The rest of our time in Chiang Mai has involved looking at temples while cafe hopping. It has been so hot here - we have certainly felt the heat a lot more here than anywhere else.
Well I think thats all for now. Will hopefully be able to make one more post before I leave and update you all on the beaches.
Love Anna x
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