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Our next project is not due to start until February and we decided to use the intervening time to visit the north of Thailand so booked a train up to Chiang Mai, one of the main cities in the northern region.

Chiang Mai is about 300 miles north of Bangkok and we took an overnight sleeper which left Bangkok about 7.30pm and arrived the next morning at 9.30. We were very impressed by the comfort, cleanliness and service on the train. We had picked up some take away dinner and a few beers before getting on the train from the food stalls in the station and had a very enjoyable evening. When we were ready, the carriage attendant came and set up our beds – the lower bunk being formed cleverly from the two seats we had facing each other, and the upper bunk folding down from the roof. The beds were perfectly comfortable and with curtains providing privacy we had a very pleasant sleep. When we woke we were travelling through mountainous jungle with the morning sun streaming through the trees. We were brought some breakfast and coffee which woke us up nicely before our arrival.

The old part of Chiang Mai is contained in an area of about 5km2 surrounded by a square moat. Inside this, there are lots of temples and little sois (lanes). Our guest house is situated on a quiet lane within this area and although the room is quite basic, it has a fridge (essential to keep a few beers cool) and a little balcony with views over the town. Whilst Drew has been set up working outside on the balcony finishing off a couple of websites from previous projects, Heather has been exploring the city and trying to research and make arrangements for onward travel. There are over 300 hundred temples in Chiang Mai and it is very pleasant to rent a bike and pedal through the quiet leafy lanes where there are many old teak houses and discover the hidden, small temples as well as visiting the main, big attractions.

Chiang Mai is also known for its Thai cookery courses and having always been big fans of Thai food, Heather joined one of the courses for a day to learn a few of the specialities and techniques. The day started with a visit to a local food market where we learnt about different types of rice and the main spices and ingredients of Thai food. We were then taken to a beautiful organic farm outside of the city and shown around the grounds where they were growing papaya, coconuts, Thai eggplant, holy basil, chillies and many more staple vegetable and spices. It was interesting to see that although the environment and vegetables grown are very different to the UK, the styles and methods of farming are very similar. We then spent the day learning and making some of the most popular Thai dishes including curries, spicy soups, papaya salad, noodles and some favourite desserts. Having eaten as much as she possibly could, Heather still had a good selection of doggy bags to share with Drew for dinner. However, on her return found a rather poorly Drew with an upset stomach, slight fever and achy back. This thankfully did not last long and he enjoyed the food the next day whilst Heather suffered from the strange 24hr bug.

On Sunday, Drew took a day off work and we rented a couple of bikes and headed out of the city for the day. Whilst cycling within the moat is very pleasant with little traffic, negotiating the busy intersections and one-way systems to get out is a hair-raising experience. We then had to cycle along busy roads and a three lane highway for about 20minutes before getting onto a path which alternated between abandoned road and narrow dirt track alongside a canal. The traffic on the busy roads is, in general, much more tolerant of cyclists than we have found in the UK, leaving plenty of space when overtaking and slowing down to allow you to cross lanes at junctions and turns. The worst aspect in the busy sections is the nostril-burning pollution but we were soon out of that and into the countryside which carried more alarming threats including a couple of menacing looking dogs with muzzles – as they ran out to chase us along the path, we couldn't decide whether the muzzles were more or less comforting but were just happy to get away. Our destination was Huay Tung Thao Reservoir about 12km outside of Chiang Mai at the base of the surrounding hills. Having cycled the 5km around the lake, we found some lovely bamboo huts built out over the water where we relaxed and had some lunch. The speciality of the area is apparently 'dancing shrimp' which is live shrimp served in a garlic and chilli sauce. We decided against that, the fried frog and the snakes-head curry and opted for plain old chicken and rice with some papaya salad. After a siesta and a paddle, it was time to head back to the old city where one of the main roads had been shut off and turned into a lively 'walking street' with lots of interesting food and craft stalls and musicians dotted along the way providing entertainment.

The climate here feels a lot cooler than Bangkok although this is apparently mainly from the reduced humidity rather than any marked temperature change. Within the old town area, there is also a very pleasant, laid back atmosphere which is a nice change from the frenetic pace of life in Bangkok. We are thinking we will be here for the rest of the week, hopefully with some time to explore the area a bit more, before heading back down to Bangkok for a few days en-route to the next project down on the Andaman coast.

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