Another border crossing…

After our stay at The Bamboo Nest, we were dropped back into Chiang Rai at midday for one night before continuing our journey northward the next day to the Thai/Laos border. We stayed in a simple guesthouse close to the Clock Tower and walked up toward the market just as the clock struck 7pm and did a little light show! Some things in Asia are so kitch and we often feel we have been...
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Stopping to smell the roses…

Late afternoon visits to the markets were often our only outing for the day.  The Sunday walking market was almost identical in wares to the Saturday walking market, held within the old city rather than just outside and they also had some quite upmarket  goods for sale dotted amongst some amazing artwork that I would have loved to get.  The streets are closed to vehicular traffic for these...
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‘Some days you tame the tiger. And some days it has you for lunch’

Phoebe especially loved all the big ‘cats’ at the zoo and the girls noticed The Tiger Kingdom advertisements that adorn nearly every tuk tuk and taxi we got into. It is probably one of the most visited ‘animal attractions’ in Chiang Mai – a testament to their very successful ad campaign. Tiger Kingdom is owned by a Thai MP and the contrast with the zoo is quite stark. The signposting...
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When the student is ready, the master appears. ~Buddhist Proverb

Our second week in Chiang Mai was very relaxed (mostly!) with schoolwork in the mornings and every afternoon in the pool of our apartment block. Phoebe and I put in a couple of full days of schoolwork, however she is proving to be a bit harder to motivate when it comes to schoolwork than Imogen. While Imogen gets stuck in, gets the work done and often asks for more, Phoebe draws it out, is...
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A day at the zoo…and another temple!

A visit to the Chiang Mai Zoo was one thing that the girls had been looking forward to since first arriving in Thailand. This may be in part due to the book series I am currently reading to them called ‘The Secret Zoo’, all about the adventures of four kids into the world of animals and a secret world. Whilst zoos are not among my favourite places, we are not including Africa as part...
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A sensational day – by Phoebe

I woke up – it was my birthday.  Happy birthday to me!  I open my presents. I got a card from Mum and Dad and Immi, and one from Grandma and Granddad and Lara and Teddy. I got an Ipod and ‘Stitch’ to hang on it, a necklace, friendship bracelet and some lollies.  We then went in a van to the Elephant Park. We fed them, then got on them bare-back and went for a walk in the jungle and then...
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