We returned in the morning from Pai by mini-van to Chiang Mai to be able to catch the afternoon mini-van to Chiang Rai. I have had better bus-rides in my life, since these vans where filled up with locals who couldn't stand the turning mountain roads (and had to throw up all the time). In Chiang Rai I spend my last night in Thailand for the moment. Next day I was going to cross the Mekong river to Laos.

In the northern Thai mountains some kind of hippy vibe is alive in Pai. I stayed there for a couple of days in a riverside bamboo hut. I got around the area by motorbike to see waterfalls, hotsprings and Thai agriculture. Opium was offered by many locals to the tourists. I wisely declined the offers.

Because of the distance from Khao Yai NP to the north of Thailand I spend one night in Phitsanulok before I boarded a train to Chiang Mai. It was a beautiful ride and for the locals my presence was like an attraction in the zoo (felang! felang!).

Chiang Mai is a laidback place with many temple sites within the old city walls. It was easy to enjoy myself for a week here. I went to Thai boxing matches (with that annoying Thai music they play during the fights), I cooked my meal in a Thai cooking class and I strolled the markets and the temple sites. I even talked with some Thai monks for an afternoon so they could practise their English and I could get an insight in their lives.

On a tour to one of the mountain villages I gave in to settle myself on the back of an elephant. Though the elephants are used to this, I felt like I was doing the wrong thing here. For the same feelings I decided not to cuddle caged Tigers and not to visit the long-neck people villages. People and animals should not be misused for tourist purposes!

Jungle time! The Khao Yai National Park is one of the largest monsoon forests in Asia. I booked a tourguide for two days and we explored some of the NP. The tourguide knew how to spot the animals so this was the first time of my life I saw a wild brown bear! In the evening we went with some crazy guide into some caves filled with millions of bats. When the night falls all the bats come out of the caves to feed themselves in the jungle. For one hour it was a continuous stream of bats on their way to their diner. A spectaculair view!

At a short distance from Bangkok I stayed a night in Ayuthaya, a former capital of the Thai nation. I wandered around the old temples, among them was the royal palace from the mid-15th century.

The nighttrain from the south to the capital city of Bangkok was a lot of fun (I had quite some drinks with the employees of the train...). In Bangkok I found a guesthouse close to the commercial tourist hub of KhaoSan Road. This street is packed with bars, shops and eating stalls. And the party goes on 24/7 on this street. I visited the Grand Palace and the temples around it and I wandered the 46m long statue of the reclining Buddha.

Between the Andaman sea and the Gulf of Thailand laysthe Khao Sok National Park. I got myself a hut in the jungle and did a few jungle treks in the National Park. One night I slept in a floating raft house on the Chiaw Lan lake. I didn't need an alarm to wake up, the sounds of the monkeys in the trees was enough!