Chiang Mai

My tour has begun. I haven't been able to get near a computer since a quick e-mail check yesterday morning before heading off for a day of sight-seeing in Bangkok.

I'm not quite sure what I think of Bangkok yet. I'm going back once my tour is over and will do some more sightseeing before I decide on what to do next. We spent the first night (my roommate and two guys from the tour) on Kao San road and then went to a bar where there was some 'live' music. The band(s) all played covers of all of your classic American rock songs. And apparently Zombie by the Cranberries is quite popular (we heard it more than once at the same place.) Maybe we just stayed at that one place too long?

As I said yesterday we spent sightseeing in Bangkok. I really enjoyed the temples (saw the reclining buddha and the emerald buddha). Then we hopped on an overnight train to Chiang Mai. The train was fun at first... That could've been a result of the 'Whiskey' (rum) the girls were sharing. By the time it was 'lights out' (let me tell you the lights don't go out in the train) the guys were pretty drunk roaming up and down the train looking for a 'party'. Unfortunately our group was 'the party'. I was in the top bunk and the fear of falling down was pretty bad... especially when one of the guys in our tour fell off of his (again, they were drunk). The train ride was bumpy and stopped repeatedly throughout the night. The lights never went off so I slept next to a fluorescent bulb all night clutching onto my backpack (this was recommended by the guide). It was all good but let me tell you I was happy to get off that train!

The tour has been lots of fun so far. Everyone's about the same age (one guy is a little older and then there are 4 girls and 4 guys in their 20s) and wants to do the same activities so it's working out nicely. I'm really getting along well with my roommate which makes things easier too. Our guide reminds me so much of a friend I went to University with (he's also from Thailand)... Their expressions and maneurisms are just so similar it's kind of strange.

Today we went and did a Thai cooking class and I have to say that for once I cooked something that 1) wasn't grey, 2) was easy to prepare, and 3) tasted awesome (if I may say so myself). We made green curry, tom yum soup (oh my god, this was amazing!), deep fried bananas and pad thai. I'm not really into the cooking thing but this was really quite fun.

We also went to a monkey farm which was more depressing than anything. All the monkeys were tied up or in cages... I found myself sitting next to a cage with a monkey holding onto my hand, all sad-looking as he tried to get as close to me as possible (as soon as he grabbed hold of my hand he calmed right down and huddled into the corner nearest to me.) It was kind of disturbing.

I'm about to leave on my jungle trek and won't be near a computer for the next 3 days... I hope everyone's doing well and I'll write again as soon as I have a few minutes to spare.