Thailand: Chang Mai

I flew back into Bangkok before taking the very first night bus I could find up to Chang Mai. The city itself proved to be a charming mixture of modern city, ancient temples, bustling night markets and happening night spots, all surrounded by the spectacular nature imaginable.

After arriving early into the very heart of the city, I took my first day there as a chance to relax and recuperate before doing some light sight seeing. Even this proved to unearth a whole treasure trove of wonders, as I past (and then got tempted into) glowing golden temple, after glowing golden temple.

The best was saved for the next day however, as I took a shared taxi up to the hill top temple of Doi Suthep. This complex sat like a jewel overlooking the city of Chang Mai; a rich tapestry of brightly coloured statues, shining buddhas, intricately inlayed doors and walls and in the very centre a spire covered in purest gold. It was a wonderful way to spend my afternoon.

The sun was setting as I arrived back in the city and I decided to join one of my companions in exploring the night markets of Chang Mai. We browsed the market, examined glowing laterns, past rows sequined bags and purses and sampled the wonderful street food on display, before flopping down on the ground to eat. Afterwards I parted ways with my companion and had a rather delightful evening after deciding to pull up a pew with another fellow traveller.

The next day I decided it was time to do something fun, so I decided zip lining was the way forward. As I got picked up we drove through the beautifully pristine forest through which the zip lines had been build. And after a sharp ascent through several flights of steps, I was soon flying through the trees at a rather exhilarating rate of knots. Having slid, tandemed, supermaned and just plain bombed down a zig zag of intercrossing wires, I finally found myself absailing my way down to the forest floor. We topped all this excitement off with an amazing lunch and a walk up to a nearby waterfall.

By the time I arrived back in Chang Mai, I was ready for the return trip back to Bangkok and my final flight home.

Kanchanaburi

 Kanchanaburi was one of my favourite places in Thailand. Its a place that is both immensely beautiful and profoundly sad, home as it is to the infamous death railway. On my first day there I walked up to and over the bridge over the river Kwai. Build by the japanise using slave labour, thousands of Asians, US, Australians and British died in the in its construction (as I learned on my visit to the powerful railway musemum). The bridge and the settings around it almost seemed too beautiful to be the site of such horrific brutality but the large graveyard in the centre of town confirmed the cities' brutal history.

After visiting the bridge itself I walked over to a beautiful Chinese temple that lay over the other side of the river. It was filled with dragons pillars, massive gold statues and the most indescribly lovely pictures carved into the stone of the temple. That evening I met some of my fellow britains who led me to a Reggie bar where they reveled a talent for singing and playing Jazz. The bar became an instant favourite hangout and many a night I would lazy around a beer in hand chatting and watching my friends perform.

I also explored the beauty of the Erawan waterfalls, a seven tiered fall where I swan, slide down natural waterslides and attempted to avoid the hundreds of fishes that would swim and tickle your feet in the pools. Returning that night I sat by the river and was greeted with a spectaular sunset that turned the water a deep purple.