Well - Happy New Everyone!
We have returned from 3 weeks away - Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai - a very different Christmas but a good one!
By the Mekong River for lunch
A quick boat trip to Laos for a passport stamp! Ian bought a snake is a bottle of whisky but had it confiscated on the flight home (as it was in his hand luggage and liquid - not because it was a snake in a bottle of whisky?!)
We are standing in Thailand, Burma is behind and Laos to the right - no opium in sight now!
We were the crazy Farangs who set off on bikes most days around the town much to the great amusement of the locals!
'Can we play again' should be the phrase of the holiday - after teaching the girls 'Poo Head' (their version) it was a regular pastime - we also discovered en route that apparently playing cards is illegal - we escaped OK!
At our hotel in Chiang Saen - cold - amazingly! (this was Christmas Day)
Great presents from Aunty Susan - Pippin got taken everywhere!
Our baht bus journey to the lovely hotel for Christmas Day lunch - a perfect burger! (seriously in need of some western food! - bliss!)
It says it all!
Amber and Poppy both got to ride on the shoulders - a great experience - and very bristly!
Drinking locally grown tea in a Lesu hill tribe village out of handcrafted bamboo cups. Great stuff - girls walked for 2 days and loved it sleeping on a bamboo bed under a huge mossie net - and again it was cold - sat around a camp fire in the evening!
Oops - back to Christmas Day - obviously haven't totally sussed technology yet!
Back to the hill tribe village with Amber helping to cook!
Eating at a local market in Chiang Mai (my favourite place of the whole trip!) Ian asked in fluent Thai for the local dish of Khao Soi (which is fab!) but ended up with a plate of plain boiled rice!
After seeing round an amazing temple in Chiang Mai on New Year's Eve we then had a 'monk chat' which was fascinating - girls questions; Amber - 'why do dogs follow you around all the time?' and Poppy - 'where do you go to the toilet?'
New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai was incredible - an experience I will never forget - 1000's of wish lanterns going up everywhere, people everywhere and fireworks - quote Amber 'going left, right and centre' - it was awesome! No-one really knew when midnight struck but nobody cared the celebrations had been going on all night!
On our way up to a temple on New Year's Day (big mistake, huge!) a journey that should have taken half an hour took 4 hours - the clutch on the baht bus gave out and we had to bundle to get one home - all good experience and the kids munched roast chestnuts all the way back?!
Really beautiful temple and definitely worth it (but can't fit another photo in!) - what else would you be doing on New Year's Day?!
Funny sign huh?!
Another bar in Chiang Mai where we had a surprise meet up with friends from school!
The main reason for going to Chiang Mai was to visit Hope - an elephant that Aunty Susan adopted for Amber for her birthday - totally worth going - amazing, inspirational place! However - Hope is a rather naughty 12 year old bull elephant that no-one can go near apart from his mahout and he wears a bell around his neck 'so you know when trouble is on its way!' He flings poo at the vet we were told and all the elephants are a little wary of him! Amber got to see him a lot though and we all got to feed many ellies!
Washing the elephants in the river turned into a family waterfight - we had to call a halt though when Amber caught a huge floating elephant poo and was about to throw it at us!
This is the infamous Hope!
Ian receiving a nice elephant kiss!
You have to have a bottom shot - it would be rude not to!
Mud wallowing - fabulous to watch and we were soooooooooooooooooooo close!
Tubing in the river whilst elephants bathed.... Amber also nearly met a water snake en route!
Ian having a man to elephant chat
We managed to do 'Flight of the Gibbon' which was awesome - and funnily enough not nearly as scary as the high ropes course in Gulworthy! (I didn't hug a tree once!) There were about 30 zip lines, abseils and scary steps - we all loved it!
'I'm a little fairy'.............
The girls had their hair cut for the first time in Thailand - and washed - all for £3 each - I think they shall be returning to a salon soon!
So - that was a mammoth session - sorry if we've bored you there - I promise the next one will be smaller!
Have a superb New Year everyone!
Liz, Ian, Amber and Poppy xxx
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