What's on my mind on a Friday?

How about strolling through the night market? (The above photo is from one of the many stalls)

Or floating on a bamboo raft...

Or riding an elephant...

Or visiting a hilltop tribe...

Actually today we did all these four things but before i get into the details let's back track to yesterday and all the exciting things Sab and I did in Chiang Mai.

We did nothing!

I spent yesterday watching Christopher Reeve wear the blue tights twice. During the week i picked up the original Superman Movie and Superman II. It was fantatic and slightly sad to see Christopher Reeve at his peak wear the Man of Steel suit with such ease. Throughout the day i also read Geroge Orwell's classic novella, 'Animal Farm.' I have been reading a few classic books recently and Sab and i purchased two of his otherbooks to read. Sabs currently on '1984' while i'm about to start 'Down and Out in Paris and London." After i finish reading that i'll be making my way over to F. Scott Fitzgerald's seminal work 'The Great Gatsby.'

Then again i'm currently in the middle of the third book in the Jeremy Clarkson series. For anyone outside of the United Kingdom he is the host of the coolest car show in the world 'Top Gear' and basically has written a few books that seem to only have two topics. They are "I really like this" and "I really hate that."

Last night Sab and I made our way down to the 'Irish Pub' which defended it's Irishness by having a couple Guiness posters on the wall and an old wooden floor. It seems that anyone can open an Irish pub if they manage to get a hold of a signed Gaelic football jumperand hammer it to the wall and a couple of pirated U2 live albums even if it means you are being served by someone called 'Nam.'

We were there to participate in the Quiz Night which turned out to be presented by the most boring American i have had the displeasure to be in the same room with. Now if my dear friend Kate (who is from Boston by the way everyone) is reading this i mean no offense to your per-se but this bloke had as much personality as i do one night stands...none.

A Quiz Night should be hosted by someone who makes you feel happy to be there. The best example is the Quiz Night guy at Dickens Bar in Hong Kong. He has a laugh at the crowd and generally keeps the mood light and entertaining. This Seppo bloke might as well have been hosting it in the City Morgue. Well Sab and I didn't fare to well in this quiz and we were tied for second last though i did manage to guess that William Shakespeare was 52 years old when he died. The again i didn't need to guess when i knew that Meatloaf was the bus driver in the movie "Spiceworld."

Fast forward to this morning and I was trekking in the middle of a jungle to see a hilltop tribe. Now these tribes are native to the area and treat visitors with warmth and humility which explains why i could have a few cracks at a fruit with the aid of a homemade crossbow. After slugging it out for 40 minutes in very humid conditions the group of 6 we were in made it to the village and before we knew it we were making our way 40 minutes back to our van. During that time my t-shirt turned into a skin tight Ian Thorpe swim suit.

After a short drive we made our way to another village which seemed to be exactly the same as the one we just came from. Our guide told us they speak a different language but being a slightly ignorant traveller, i couldn't tell the difference. Back in the van we went and we were on our way to a waterfall where we could "swim." Well according to that theory the only humans that can swim at this waterfall were 5 month old babies still in thier mummies tummies. The waterfall itself was lovely and i managed to go for a little climb up the rocks to behind the waterfall. I also managed to fall on my ass and graze my arm. Here I was getting all excited to swim at a waterfall (i love waterfalls) and the deepest i could get was halfway up my shin. Wow...lucky i didn't pack the Floaties!

After a lunch that consisted of rice, slightly questionable chicken and pineapple, the group was on its way to the elephant trek. Sab and i spent an hour on the elephant and all the elephant wanted to do was eat and shit. Our guide told us to bring nothing except our cameras so when it came time to pay money for some bananas to feed the elephants, Sab and I were the only ones not to buy any for our hard working beast. We felt like a couple of idiots. Add to the fact that our elephants baby elephant was following us and raising its trunk against our legs for bananas, we felt really really guilty for some reason. I'm sure these elephants eat 1.5 million bananas a day anyway.

At the end of the trek Sab and I quickly bought a bag of nana's and fed them to our elephants so there was some vindication there. Which leads us to our final adventure of the day...bamboo rafting. I was given the task of steering the back of the craft in the manner of a gondola rider from Venice. Not only did i manage to fall off twice but my stick got jammed between two rocks in the middle of the river and i couldn't get it out! The craft was rudderless and going down the river. Later on the guide at the front of the boat knocked another stick from the side of the river so i jumped in, quickly swam against the rapids and latched on to my new steering stick. It made no difference as i found out a i just couldn't get the grasp of this steering thing.

Still it was a fun ride and after an hours trip back into town, a nice hot shower and Indian dinner here i am about to tell you that tomorrow we are going to do some mountain bike riding and an evening cooking course. I'm not really into cooking but Sab was keen to do one. Chiang Mai has been great and we leave for Laos on sunday. I'm sure i'll be able to do one last update from Chiang Mai before we leave.

Enjoy your weekend everyone.