Chiang Mai & Dao

We are now in Chiang Dao after spending two nights in Chiang Mai. We took the sleeper train from Bangkok on Tuesday night and this time both of us managed to get some sleep which was good! - no grumpy people! It's a great way to travel and so different to our Vietnamese experience - no old man poking you with his cane!
We stayed in a place called Julies Guesthouse in Chiang Mai, a real backpacker place but cheap ($6) and clean. They even picked us up from the train station which avoided the usual tuk-tuk haggling. Spending the first day wandering around the town and stopping at some of the Wats we looked at other activities to do the following day. We eventually plucked for an all day Thai cookery class - something different! That evening content with our plan for the following day we went to the river for a refreshment (beer) and then mooched around the night bazaar which is endless. On the way home we broke with tradition and ate Italian food!
The next morning we were picked up from Julies for our all day cookery course. We were in a small group of 7 people and our teacher was a chap called R. Before the cooking commenced we were taken to the market to buy some of the ingredients that we would be using. We had to carry little wicker baskets which made Mark look at bit camp!
During the day we make 6 different dishes and to get the most out the day we selected different ones so Mark made dishes that involved red curry paste and Rach made dishes with the green. After cooking each dish we then sat down and ate them - some more successful than others but we're sure after a bit of practice we'll be experts. We enjoyed the day, Rach especially as when we got back to the room she said it was nice to apart from each other for the majority of the day! A nice change!
That evening we hooked up with a Canadian woman called Jen who was on the cooking course and was also staying at Julies. We didn't need any food that evening due to basically eating all day so went to the night bazaar again and stopped occasionally for a drink. Back at the guesthouse we shared stories and travel tips as Jen was travelling through Laos & Vietnam next and she'd come up from the south of Thailand so we got suggestions on the islands.
Today we left Chiang Mai for Chiang Dao, a 60km journey made easier due to the place we were staying (Chiang Dao Nest) picking us up from Julies!! Something we weren't expecting and it saved us having to travel by local bus. Arriving we sensed a more laid back atmosphere and were greeted warmly. We are looking forward to exploring around the area and chilling for the next couple of days before returning to Bangkok on Monday.
Hope all is good at home.
Love
Mark & Rach. xxx
P.S - Sorry no pictures, the camera USB is playing up. We have plenty but can't get them onto the computer at the moment!