A few photos from Chiang Mai

We're back at the hotel after a long day of sailing around the islands and canoeing Phang Nga Bay, and we finished it off with dinner from the street market across the road, which included some banana and Nutella crepes.

But those photos are still on the camera. So here are some shots from our time in Chiang Mai last week - hilltribes, temples, umbrealla-making villages, pottery elephant painting, and playing with real elephants.

It was a busy three days...

Our first few days in Thailand

We're here at Kata Beach after seven crazy days of travelling around Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We landed yesterday morning and instead of coming to the hotel to check-in we hopped straight onto a bus to head into town for a Phuket Heritage Trails tour. And I have to say, it was one of the best tours I have ever done.

But right now we're spending a lazy afternoon in the hotel room while waiting for the rain to pass, so I had some time to get editing photos while Dan completes his Hulk lego figure that he bought last night at the street market.

Highlights from Bangkok; My favourite day was definitely the floating market at Damnoen Saduak. Of all the reviews I had read it was split between people loving it and people who thought that it was just too touristy. I loved it! It was so fun getting in a paddle boat and floating around all the stalls. And afterwards we had a longtail boat tour around the riverside village where all of the stall owners lived. We could have definitely have stayed for longer.

While we were in Bangkok we were also able to see the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, the Maeklong Railway Market and Jim Thompson's House. We also did a bike tour through Chinatown and a Tuktuk tour at night {which is where Dan discovered Pad Thai, which he's been eating ever since}.

Two weeks in Thailand

We landed in Bangkok yesterday at midday ready to go to bed! After flying through the night and grabbing an hour of sleep here and there, all we really wanted to do was lie down and close our eyes.

But it was Sunday in Bangkok, meaning the weekend market was on, and this would be our only chance to see it while we are here. 

So we sucked up our tiredness, put some shorts on (because it was really hot out) and headed for the metro.

We wandered for ages, and could easily have spent the day there. Everything was incredibly cheap - Dan tried to barter the price down on a little ornament for our 'Thailand shelf' until we realised it was only 60p! 

We had dinner from a couple of the street stalls and altogether dinner cost a grand total of £1.60, and we finished it off with fresh coconut ice cream.

Today we've got a day of exploring - the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun and a night tour by tuktuk. And for the next two weeks we've got a full itinerary planned:

Tuesday 23rd - Cycling tour of Bangkok, Jim Thompson's House and the MBK shopping centre

Wednesday 24th - A visit to the floating market at Damnoen Saduak and the Umbrella market at Maeklong Railway. Then fly to Chiang Mai

Christmas Day - Watching the monks receive alms then visit the temple at Doi Suthep and wander around Chiang Mai

Friday 26th - Visit the hilltribes around Chiang Mai and the handcrafts villages followed by a food tour in the evening

Saturday 27th - Spend the day with the elephants at the Tong Boi Elephant Sanctuary

Sunday 28th - An early flight to Phuket followed by a 'Meet the locals' tour with Phuket Heritage Trails

Monday 29th - Free day to relax on the beach and play some mini golf

Tuesday 30th - A sea canoe tour around Phang Nga Bay and James Bond Island

Wednesday 31st - Safari at Khao Sak with trecking through the jungle to see Monkey Temple, the mangroves and frying along the river.

Thursday 1st - Day at the beach for Stand Up Paddle boarding and snorkelling 

Friday 2nd - A visit to the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project and Bae Ping Waterfall on the way to the airport for our flight back to Bangkok

Saturday 3rd- Flight back to Baku

A quick trip to Dubai

We're back in Baku after a few days in Dubai - and those few days were nowhere near enough.

There was just too much to do to fit it into the short time we had, so we definitely need to go back soon.

We did squeeze a lot in though; a lot of shopping {including an incredible amount of time in Waitrose buying things like brown sugar and horseradish sauce} - the malls there are just something else. We got so lost in the mall on our first night that we didn't make it out until nearly midnight...after arriving just past three in the afternoon.
Dan drove us around the desert in a dune buggy and we went sandboarding one morning. To the water park at Atlantic on Palm Island another morning. We walked around the souks and took an abra ride across the creek for an afternoon.
We saw Dubai from 124 floors up at the Burj Khalifa and met the penguins at Ski Dubai. I'd also booked to go on the Yellow Boats tour to go out to sea, but when we arrived at the marina in the morning we found out it had been cancelled because the waves were too high...

It was an exhausting few days, but it was lovely and warm! And we had cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. Twice.

So now we're back in Baku for a couple of weeks until the Christmas break. I can't begin to describe how cold it is. The temperature may say 5 or 6 degrees, but the strong winds coming from Siberia make it so much colder than that. It's this time of year that I'm thankful for my slow cooker - we're having a lot of stews with mashed potatoes at the moment!