Thailand Travels: Day 10, Day 3 of the Hill Tribe Trek and Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

It was our final day of trekking today and boy was I pleased. My body was well and truly pushed to its max and every step and bend caused me to make a little squeak of pain! It was another 3 hour trip down the river on the bamboo rafts, but with the sun out and my walking shoes on my feet instead of in my rucksack I was able to cope better with the longer journey.

Nanoo warned us that today would be a bit rougher on the river as we'd be going down a lot more rapids, which meant we were likely to get splashed. In preparation he provided plastic bags to put valuables like phones and cameras into for protection. Unfortunately this meant I didn't get a single snap of the rafting, luckily Venisha and Kirsty did so I've popped their piccies in.

The route through the Chiang Mai countryside was literally incredible and not anything like I'd imagined of Thailand. Before I came to Thailand I'd been dreaming of white sandy beaches and crystal waters, but the north of Thailand was certainly as spectacular as any beach photos I'd seen. There were huge trees and palms everywhere along the river and the only noises were from running water and the surrounding birds and wildlife. It was a true beauty spot.

After a little less than 3 hours we arrived at our rafting end point where we ate lunch and our pick-up truck collected our weary bodies and took us back to our hotel in Chiang Mai. We said an emotional goodbye to Nanoo who we'd grown very found of and he kissed my hand. What a cutie!



Back at our hotel it was a whistle stop. Showers, dumping washing and a change into fresh clothes and then we were off again!

The evening was spent at the Chiang Mai night bazaar which is a shop-o-holics paradise. Hundreds and hundreds of market stalls selling everything and anything you could ever need with pretty fairy lights and lanterns guiding you along the stalls and entrancing you.



Kirsty and I went a bit crazy this evening, enjoying a marathon shopping and bartering session until gone midnight, when we found a tuk tuk to take us back to our hotel at Chiang Mai Gate.