We left the train and discovered the guesthouse we had reserved rooms in had over booked so we jumped into the nearest Tuk Tuk and went for some breakfast and tried to decide where to stay. We opted for the 'Night Bazaar Place' funnily enough because it was near the night bazaar and Thai boxing areas - little did we know that it was actually right on top of the bazaar and boxing stadium (I use the term stadium loosely).
We needed to get to the Chinese consulate to apply for our Visa's so we decided to walk, which was a bad mistake! as it suddenly became very hot and by the time we got there we where soaked in sweat and then they had stopped processing applications! so we would have to go back on Monday and re-apply.
That night we went to a Thai boxing event and we treated ourselves to VIP seats which was basically plastic patio chairs and a plastic table near the ringside and a free bottle of water. The night had 6 or 7 fights of different weight categories - the lighter weights where basically kid's gaining experience of fighting in front of a crowd. The fight of the night was the 70kg weight category and Leanne and Amy both took a shine to the fighter in the blue corner. There was a good local presence at the fights so there was a good atmosphere and plenty of shouting and gambling taking place which made the whole night a lot more enjoyable. Also between rounds the fighters in the blue corner (all from the same gym) stretched out their backs by being held in the air by their trainers, needless to say Leanne and Amy thought this was hilarious and reminded them of a kid being picked up by their dad (yes we got a few strange looks from nearby tables).
We decided to look around the bazaar in the evening and there are too many stalls to describe but they sell everything and I mean EVERYTHING! So I picked up an early birthday present in the new white LFC shirt - for 12 quid so I am very happy.
Sunday came and we decide to take part in a Thai cookery school at the 'Thai Cottage' and it was really amazing - they took us to the local market and explained all the ingredients used and how they made Thai curry paste. We then selected different dishes and prepared them from scratch and between us all we made hot and sour prawn soup, veg and tofu soup, and coconut and chili soup for starters - then spring rolls - a red, green and yellow curry (we made the curry pastes from scratch) and Leanne made sticky rice and mango for dessert. It was hosted by a brother and sister and they both had a good use of English, could tell a good joke and made the whole experience fun.
The next morning we said goodbye to Amy who had been with us for nearly 6 weeks and we will miss her a lot - but I won't miss her farts!
Leanne and I then moved to another guesthouse called the Kavil Guesthouse and went to the Chinese consulate to drop our visas off AGAIN!
We then rented a scooter for the last few days and went to see temples that are further out of the city and enjoyed a few more different coffee houses.
Today came and we went to collect our visas from the consulate and we are now very happy we have them and it was relatively stress free and cheap (we had heard some horror stories about trying to get visas for China).
We are now sat in a tiny coffee/bakery opposite Chiang Mai train station waiting for the 5.55pm train to Ayutthaya and hopefully we will be there by 6am.
So next stop Ayutthaya....
To see our photos from Chiang Mai please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/ChiangMaiThailand22ndTo28thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGSs4_Ljcr7xwE#
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