Beautigul, calm, bliss. I loved the leafy chilled out north Thailand. I also highly recommend the overnight sleeper train. It was a good experience. We went second class air con. It was very civilised.
The best bit of my trip to Thailand was Chiang Siam elephant training school. Where you ride the elephants bare back and learn how to say commands for them to stop or turn. Riding through the jungle on an elephant is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. As a child I would read stories like the jungle book and want to see and ride them. They were very well looked after. We also got to play with them in the river and wash them. Magical.
Part of our experience was to stay the night at the sanctuary. We also spoke to yhe trainers and our guide about thai culture and being with the elephants. They all seem to love their jobs. They feed them through out the night.We slept in a bamboo hut without eelectricity/bathroom. You used the river to wash in!
Second day we wrnt bamboo rafting. Tjis is literally 8 stilts of bamboo strung together. The locals all came out to splash us and I had a go at steering.
We also went to the Sunday markets. These are massive and sell lots of authentic handicrafts made by locals. I got my nails done.
I also had a massage which was interesting. Not sure im all that into it.
