After quite a strange night spent on the sleeper train, we arrived in Chiang Mai, a city well-known for its beautiful temples and old inner city. We were met by the train station by our guesthouse's worker, and then taken to BMP House. The trip there introduced as to many more tourists who had been coerced into accepting the exact inflated deals as we had, so we were a little relieved to know that almost every foreign student had been targeted too.

We were exhausted by the time we reached our house, so we only popped out for breakfast, before hiding from the midday heat in our room. Around 5pm or so we made our way to BMP Residence, which is the more expensive of the two guesthouses (and owned by the same family), and had a nice swim. It was such a welcome treat!

It soon started to pour down with rain, so we ran to the restaurant to have a beer and play some card games. Once the rain had ceased we started to hunt for supper. This took us everywhere, as we now needed to find very cheap places to have our meals. We ended up in the lively main party street, with its many bars and cafes all about. Quite a sight to behold.

We wormed through the crowds, before reaching the famous Night Bazaar of Chiang Mai. There are even two building dedicated to this market. Imagine a very long street, flanked on either side by little stalls selling clothes, bags, art, accessories, and much more. It was incredible; for the goods were actually attractive, things for once one would like to buy! Now within the buildings are more shops, and then the food courts. We had the most delicious Thai food for supper at last.

Thursday morning was dedicated to seeing all the famous and most beautiful Wats of the old city (Chiang Mai has an inner square referred to as the old city; and this section still has remains of the old city walls surrounding it, with a moat at their feet). The Wats were really worth a vist, especially the Wat Chedi Luang. At every single one of these temples, William wrapped my scarf around his legs, and i covered myself completely with a bright pink sarong. The locals were quite amused at the sight of us!

The streets and side streets of Chiang Mai are pleasant, with quaint little shops and guesthouses popping up everywhere. We spent the afternoon in our room again to avoid the midday heat, before going downstairs to have a beer or two at the guesthouse's restaurant. We met a couple from the UK, whose company we enjoyed a lot. We parted ways around supper time, and William and I just explored the street above our place. An Attenborough documentary brought the evening to a close.

The next morning (this would be Friday) we woke up early and rented two bicycles. Our aim was to do the hike to the highly recommended, yet less visited forest Wat up in the mountain. We never imagined that we would end up getting the biggest, most strenuous workout of the trip so far.

Our first attempt at reaching the start of the hiking path was completely wrong, and so down the steep hills we had just pushed our bicycles up we went. Our second attempt, which led to a really good cardio workout up and down large hills and a winding road around the mountain, was also wrong. Luckily we were in the most gorgeous parts of the area, where rain forest meets jungle, wildlife shouts out from the dense greenery, and small lakes can be spotted.

We had finally, after another incredibly steep climb, found the start of the hike. This hike is follows the Pilgrim's Path, which is a walk that the religiously devoted take to reach two forest Wats in the mountain. It was a beautiful walk amongst the dense forest trees. All along the path, monks had tied little shreds of orange cloth to the trees, to encourage the walkers and ensure that they remain on the right path. When we had finally reached the first forest Wat, we were speechless. It was like something out of a fairy-tale, with a small waterfall flowing down and through the Wat's many aspects, little patches of forest popping up amongst the small, ornately decorated buildings, and giant white statues flanking staircases and platforms.

As we explored the small but beautiful plot of monk huts, viewing platforms (that provided a spectacular view of the city below), and temples, we were approached by a man dressed in white, who kindly provided me with two sarongs to wrap myself with. It is considered disrespectful for a woman to show her shoulders and upper legs in sacred Buddhist places. Whilst we were engaged in viewing the temples, a young monk suddenly summoned us to enjoy a meal with the other pilgrims. We were very surprised and unsure of how to respond! It was one of the most memorable and strange experiences we have had: two very tired, drenched-in-sweat travelers, one wrapped in cloths, sitting beside Buddhists and having a lovely meal. For free.

We found out later that before cars and roads were around, this particular Wat served as a resting point for the pilgrims on their long hike to the main wat higher up in the mountain. It provided the pilgrims with refreshments and a chance to rest. We were to glad to have partaken in this tradition!

Our way home was much easier; and to our relief our bicycles were still where we had left them. We cycled home, rested for half an hour; and then we set out on our bicycles again to have a look at the 'underground city', whose ruins had recently been discovered via excavation means. It wasn't too impressive (but then again, after the morning's expedition, everything seemed a little less impressive), but worth a look.

That evening we had supper at two different restaurants (we enjoy sharing dishes, so that we can experience more than one local place), and then we went to bed, being very tired from a delightfully successful day.