Onto the Calmness of Chaing Mai

...After Bangkok Chaing Mai was like cold water on burns- quiet, peaceful and natural. I went on the recommendation of Ellen and Loz (thanks guys!) and didn't regret it, the city which is built around old castle walls-there's something eternally comforting about having a square to navigate around when you're on holiday and doing the "which way on the map" dance everyday. I am quite possibly the worse person in the world at this (thanks for your patience, 2nd worse person in the world at it dave ;))



The countryside really reminded me of Japan. natsukashii ne...



The elephant trekking was-uh-interesting. I'm not sure if we chose the wrong tour or what but the chains and the way they were treated really disturbed me. I've heard good things about the conservation park. Go there. Seriously. It was an unforgettable experience though. not entirely for good reasons though unfortunately. apparently i was breathing like a 20 a day smoker on the elephant. I'm not that brave when it comes to big animals.



God the food was good. And one of my favourite parts was cooking school. A hilarious camp Thai man showed us how to make a mean thai curry from scratch as well as other delicious things. I heart spicy things on sticks for 10baht.




...Its hard to believe that this was once all ingredients