Worry more about monkeys than snakes if you go into the jungle!!

That's what she said. She knows who I'm talking about! I made that update, read that comment, walked out of the net cafe and into a temple, to find a snake 10cms away from my shoulder. I don't think they've seen anyone creep sooooooo slooooowly so damn fast! Granted it was tiny, smaller than a whipsnake and it was green, and in retrospect kinda cute (WHAT?! Did I just say a snake was cute? There's something wrong with me!). But still!

My first snake encounter was fairly painless (and heart attackless), and so was my next one. But I have heaps to tell you about before I get onto the second snake encounter!

My first day in Chiang Mai was spent wandering around the streets, looking through shops, having a look at tours available, and sitting in a gorgeous restaurant eating the best pad thai in the world! Was a great first day. I left the restaurant about 4 to check my email and Si was online so we chatted for a bit and then I ran off at to try and organise a day trip for the following day. Which I did - jungle trek, village visit, bamboo rafting and elephant riding all in one day. So I had that sorted.

Then I asked another travel agent about cooking courses. I'd decided to only do an evening one and asked if they had any for that night (5.10ish by this stage). And they did, it started at 5, so they came and picked me off and took me on a joyride around Chiang Mai with 2 Israeli chaps. By 5.45 we still weren't there and wondering where the hell we were (had decided that we were catching the food, then cooking). Was in fact about 15 minutes out of Chiang Mai, but the roads here are kinda illogical. Got there and started cooking by 6. Started with Pad Thai and I must say I was very impressed with my efforts! Have always said that I can't cook, but I think pad thai will be on the menu for a loooooooooong time now!! We cooked another couple of dishes, including flaming (or whatever it's called, can't really remember, where the flames go everywhere and looks impressive) morning glory. Was fun, bit scary but was over in 2 seconds! We finished there about 9pm, and a much quicker trip back into the city for our respective hotels. I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, hadn't realised how tired I was!!

Was up this morning at 7 to get ready for my day trip. They picked me up at 8 and we went round collecting the others for the tour (2 Japanese girls, and 4 French girls). First stop was a jungle trek which was awesome and hard work. Today was the first time I realised how much I had conned myself into believing that I hadn't put back on that much weight and that I was still fairly fit (yeah bloody right!!). So that is the first thing to be sorted out when I get home. Hassle me people and Bec and Trish, write it in your diary :) But the trek was still great fun, and included a bamboo bridge which I was convinced was going to break under the weight of 9 of us, but it didn't.

Back to the mini bus to head of to find elephants to ride, and we found some :) Because I was the only person there by themselves, I got an elephant to myself. Travelling by elephant is not something I could do full time! They are more uncomfortable than camels, and very headstrong. Mine kept squirting snot everywhere (and all over me!), so as soon as I was back at my guesthouse, the shirt went in to soak! It was a very weird experience, specially going downhill! Was convinced I would fall of screaming! But I didn't or this update would have started with "Guess who fell off a flipping elephant!". For the last bit, we crossed the river, much to the elephants delight as they all started squirting water everywhere!

Onto the minibus again for lunch and then onto the village visit. The village wasn't what I was expecting (and since I've thought about it since I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting - make sense of that!). It was a white karen village, with about 150 people living in it. Their weavings that they do are to stop them getting bored (first reason the guide gave us) and to give them some money (second reason, would have thought it would be the otehr awy around) during the off-rice season. Didn't have the exquisite colours, or the millions of little kids running around (there were 2, followed us for the whole hour saying "10 baht, 10 baht" over and over).

Then we went to a waterfall, not sure why though. It was decent sized, but not something I would have taken the trip to see.

Last but not least was the bamboo rafting, which I hadn't really been looking forward to. Was sleepy and didn't fancy getting wet thank you! But it was a hoot! I shared a raft with the 2 japanese girls, and our driver (can't think of the right word right now!) was crazy! He would have been 18 or so, and loved trying to get us wet, and drag the raft over rocks. It was also very long (an hour) and I thought it would have been about 10 mins or so.

So it has been one busy day! I'm off to get some dinner and to update my journal and am off to the night market after that. Tomorrow I want to go to Doi Suthep in the morning and I plan to be on a bus to Laos tomorrow night (not sure which way I'm going though which is handy!)

I know I still haven't put photo's up, but I haven't forgotten! I promise I will do it by the end of this week.

Take care all of you and speak with you soon
M

Just a quick update, am in Chiang Mai, arrived this morning on the overnight train. Of course by the time I booked my ticket they only had upper bunks left, so I booked one of those. How bad could it be?

Everytime the damn train moved I was shitting myself think I was going to fall out! And that happened alot, being on a train and all! Was fun, even though I didn't get much sleep.

One thing I've been meaning to write but keep forgetting (and it's kinda creeping me out). Along my hairline, I have short, curly bits of annoying hair that never grow, just sit there. Well, they're growing! They're probably 4cms long at the moment, it's really bizarre!

Rural Thailand is beautiful, absolutley gorgeous. I really want to go on a trek, but I start freaking out everytime I think of it. The jungle around here is perfect snake territory, and there's no way I could enjoy it. But I might have a look into some and just do a day trip, maybe. I have to be brave!

Am heading off to explore now, talk to you soon :)

This is a shock anouncement - I'm loving Bangkok! But you should know that this only occured in the last hour or so.

I spent the last day or two hanging around Sukhumvit, wandering side streets, ignoring vendors (I think I have it down to a fine art now - not sure if I should be proud of that or not though), reading, drinking heaps of water, and thinking that I've lost weight (my trousers are bigger on me than when I left home - I really am melting away!).

Yesterday I booked my ticket to Chaing Mai. Leaving Hua Lamphong station at 7.40 tonight.

I was slowly getting used to Bangkok but not too sure. Today I went to an Aussie pub to watch Bathurst - which was great fun. Sitting in a bar with 5 40+ Aussie men, 3 of whom had gorgeous Thai women hanging off their arms, and for most of the time I had my own gorgeous Thai woman hanging off my arm. I think because I was young, Australian and female, she just wanted to practice her English - which was fine by me during the ads (Si can tell you what I'm like when I'm watching the V8s, I show my bogan colours! I think 2 years at Ouse was way too much for me Mum!). I shocked the men by explaining to new comers what was happening, correcting people when they were talking about who drove with who last season, and random stuff that my mind remembers. For example, I was told once that Dick Johnson had a rock dropped on him during one Bathurst, and one of the guys was asking another who it was. So I pipped up "Oh that was Dick Johnson, not sure what year it was though" to which I received an incredulous look :) Si and Steve have trained me well!

I wandered around a bit more this arvo, then headed back to the hostel to read in the garden (which is bloody gorgeous, it's so relaxing I want a house just like it), part of my "ease myself in to Bangkok" program. Yeah right, more like hide from Bangkok! So I read, examined a map, then packed up my bags and headed off in search of Sukhumvit station. How easy is the Bangkok rail systems! After I got over the skyrail and subway differences, I was on my way!

So now I'm at the station, waiting for my train. My impressions of non-Sukhumvit Bangkok:
* The people are so friendly and helpful. I got to Hua Lamphong and asked at their help desk about where my platform would be and where I could wander while I waited. So I pottered off and have a look around, then it got dark so I headed back into the station, walking past the help desk one of the guys there stopped me asked if I found what I wanted ok and where my friends were, and a couple of other convo making comments. It was my first convo with a non-hostel, vendor, 7-11 person, so I walked away grinning thinking "I've arrived!"
* If you touch the emergency button on the train, you get one month in prison, or a 1000baht (about $32AUS) fine.
* I saw my first monks, 2 of them, would have been early 20's.
* In Singapore, I was blown away with the colour coded train system. Here, it's colour coded AND numerical :) Hows that for tourist friendly! And I thought it was some big scary place! I've been laughing at myself ever since I got off the train!!
* For those in the know, are nuns dressed like monks, but in white? I saw a lady dressed the same way as the monks I saw, but she was in white from head to toe (including a gorgeous white bag, can someone PLEASE make me stop noticing bags!!)

Anyway, I'm headed off to get some food and catch my train. Hope you are all well, miss you all, but I'm finally having a blast (reall, I am now, not just saying that I am!).

Mabs

So I'm in Bangkok. Am not sure what to think yet, apart from the "What the hell am I thinking" type of thoughts. The trip from the taxi to where I was staying had me terrified. I feel so out of control and out of my league, it was unreal. If this was what Thailand was like, what the hell will Laos and Cambodia be like? Why the hell didn't I pick somewhere EASY! Wanted to tell the taxi driver to turn around and take me back to the airport, and I'd spend the next 30-odd days there. Aren't I melodramatic! Am feeling better now, but still a bit bewildered (Jules, I need your advice here, you always make things better!!)

• The Night Safari was awesome. I was partially in the mood to go, so I made my self go anyway. I was planning on finding someone at the hostel who wanted to go, so I wouldn't be by myself, but the hostel had organised a trip on the Monday night, so no one wanted to go (or go again!). So I got on the train, peak hour rush so it was PACKED! Got on the bus and there was a british couple, whom I kinda tagged along behind. Theory was that if a monkey tried to get me again, they would recognise me and maybe rescue me! Before I left, I'd bought some mee goreng from the cafe next to the hostel to eat while I was there. I grabbed the back seat of the train, and starting eating (hadn't eating since 12 and it was 8ish). It was awesome! Was great to see some of the animals at night, the lions were walking around, and the elephants were really active as well. Only dissapointment was that I didn't get to see a Tarsier. Simon's parents had bought me back a postcard/picture of one and a toy one and I'd fallen in love with them, gorgeous freaky looking little creatures. So when I discovered they had them at the Night Safari I was wrapt! But I stood in front of their enclosure for about 30mins and couldn't find one. But I got to see otters, which I hadn't seen at the zoo, and weird bat things that were really cool, but I can't remember their name, handy huh!When the train ride around the park finished, everyone moved into the ampitheatre for the Creatures of the Night show. Which was awesome! During the 30 mins before it started they kept telling people to turn off the flashes on the camera's, and to NOT get up and walk around, or changes seats during the show, as there would be animals coming down the aisle and it could be dangerous. They were doing a thing with some night owls, when the guy hosting it stopped and asked a man to sit down, reminding him that he had to stay seated. This man was running around looking for someone called Maggie, who turned out to be his pet. The host started freaking out and they went to look for Maggie. Who turned out to be a python, in a box, 2 seats down from my seat! (For those who don't know, I'm terrified of snakes!). So that was an experience! It was a brilliant performance, and a great show!
• Thursday I spent on the SIA hop-on hop off bus ($3 all day when you show a Singapore Air boarding pass). The whole route took 2 hours, so I did that and then got off in Chinatown to check into the hotel I'd booked for that night (www.hotel1929.com awesome hotel, small but gorgeous rooms). Then I wandered around Chinatown, bought some pressies, and then hopped on the bus again. Went back out to Orchard road for another look, and then back on the bus to Bugis, where I bought the bags I'd been looking at. Then onto the MRT to head down to see the Merlion (about 8pm at this stage). Took me ages to find it, but it was a gorgeous view of the river, and the city lights. And of course of the Merlion!
  

Yesterday I headed to the airport, wandered around there, then got my flight to Bangkok. This flight (at 1pm) was packed. Immigration at the airport took aaaaaaaaages (about 45mins), and of course the queue I was in was the slowest. But I got through there ok, and heading to find a train - was told that I couldn't catch the train, and was directed to a bus which I couldn't find. Was getting sick of it by this stage and got a cab. But you see I couldn't remember (or had I written down) the address of where I had booked. But I knew it was near Nana station, so I asked to be dropped near that. The taxi driver knew where the general area was, but not the station (how could you miss it? It's right on Sukhimvit Rd with signs everywhere, but oh well!) He stopped to ask directions at a hotel, and I just paid him and left. Found a net cafe where I got the address, got a map, and headed off.

Into torrential rain. Why I didn't just stop and wait for it to stop (would have rained for about 20 mins at the most) I have no idea. I was drenched in seconds, but it was good fun! Found my hostel, got a phone card and rang Si. And started bawling :) Was great to speak with him finally, after trying to get through so many times and missing. Then I headed off, got some food, and got some sleep.

Woke up this morning again thinking "Why on earth did I ever think this was a good idea?" I have no idea where to start. But I made it out the door of the hostel, and down the street 100 metres, so I must be doing ok! I'm planning on heading to Chiang Mai tomorrow (although how I'm getting there I have no idea off at the moment!) and then onto Laos by the end of next week.

But it is good, as scared as this may sound. I am glad that I am here, and I know that all I have to do is jump. I jumped from Hobart to Melbourne, from Melbourne to Singapore, and I made the jump to Thailand, now I just have to make the jump from internet cafe to Sukhimvit Rd!!

So I'm off to jump, and scare myself witless. I hope you're are all well, I miss you all like you wouldn't believe. Take care, update me on what going on at home, you know I like gossip!

Talk to you soon guys :)

So I'm in Singapore. It's so humid, more so that I was expecting, but the I didn't really know what to expect.

I'd decided to go the the zoo when I got in, so that I could have my photo taken with a snake (I hate snakes!). So I got through immigration ok (cept the officer thought that I'd jumped the queue, luckily the lady behind me assured him that I'd been there the whole time!), headed to the hostel to dump my bag and head off.

I ended up going way past the hostel street, so I decided to find it through the back streets of Little India, which was awesome. People waking up, having breakfast in the streets, children waiting to go to school, heaps of cyclists. I found it, dumped my bag and headed off. Got on the train ok, went to find a bus and went to the wrong side of the station. Once I found where I was meant to be, a bus arrived within 5 minutes and off I went.

The route the bus was taking has so many trees along it, like rainforest (well, modified rainforest at least!) and a canal running along the other side. I started seeing signs about resevoirs and got all excited (I knew the zoo backed onto a resevoir). So at the first sign saying zoo I got off. (I'm sure by now you can see where this story is leading!)

I started walking, and taking photos. Crossed a bridge with "Danger: Keep Out Signs" (but didn't take a photo of THAT!!). Kept walking, walking. By this stage it was 10, so I'd missed the snake photo opportunity.

At one stage I spotted a black thing moving in front of me, which turned out to be a huge lizard, which of course scared the shit out of me when it ran towards me (anyone watching would have had a good laugh!).

So, I got past the lizard obstacle. Then came the monkeys. Yes, the monkeys. Walking past a bus stop (I'd walked past so many of the damn things, why didn't I stop and catch a bus??!?!), a monkey (about the size of a medium cat) jumped out of the tree and landed about 2 metres in front of me, and staring at me started to walk towards me. I subsequently jumped onto a traffic island and walked past it. It kept staring at me the whole way, then jumped into the rubbish bin. The about 1km down the road, I found another one in a tree! Kinda cool though seeing monkey's like that (but of course I had visions by this stage of the zoo animals escaping and there being snakes chasing me down this highway!)

I chucked the shits (sorry Toby!!), and stopped and waited at a bus stop. Caught a bus, the bus travelled 100 metres, turned left and there was the damn zoo!

After that debacle, I did enjoy the zoo, but didn't get my photo taken with a snake, they weren't doing them that day. But I did have my photo taken with an orangutan which was cool.

Headed back into the city for a shower and a sleep, and was procrastinating on my bunk as I do so well when I was asked if I was going on the pub run the hostel had organised, which left at 5.30. At this stage it was 5.15, so I panicked and ran around getting ready and put my name down for the "Pub Run" which was actually a trip to the highest bar in Singapore, New Asia for half price happy hour (cocktails were $9SD, they had a super martini for $83SD, but we didn't get a glimpse of the glass). I had a green space which had all the different kinds of alcohol you could think off, and a frappe berry which had nothing to do with berries! Was a great view though, and good fun talking with the people from the hostel.

Spent today just wandering with Lisa, an Aussie girl I'd met last night and who is going home today after 5 months away. We checked out Clarke Quay, parts of Orchard Road and then back to Bugis/Little India to check out a temple and to have a look at some markets/arcades we'd rushed through the night before.

Surprise, surprise I found some gorgeous bags, but didn't buy anything! That has got to be a first. I did find a gorgeous hot pink fake alligator skin like clutch, but I never really have occasion to use a clutch. Am thinking of getting it anyway and making an occasion to use it!

Tonight I'm heading to the Night Safari which should be good. Tomorrow I'm going to take advantage of the SIA stopover bus, $3 for on-and-off all day! It's route runs around all the touristy and interesting spots in the city so it will give me a good overview of the place. Also tomorrow I move into my funky hotel that I have booked, there will be lots of photo's taken!!

Language is not much of a problem, virtually everyone speaks English of some level. Have taken heaps of photo's, but haven't cleared a card yet, so when I get some photo's burnt, I'll put some up in here.

Am missing you guys, but having a blast. Hope you are well, let me know how you're doing.

Mabs