BANGKOK AND CHIANG MAI

From our marina in Phuket we flew to Bangkok for an overnight visit. Good hotel with free beer at happy hour. Bangkok is a mixture of modern high rise buildings and wooden shacks on stilts. Very good transport system. Lots of Buddhist temples which are very ornate and the population is mainly Buddhist. Portraits of the king and queen are everywhere and they seem to be well respected. We saw the ladyboys perform their stuff! We then flew north to Chaing Mai near the Burma and Laos borders. This was a lovely town and from here we visited a hill tribe village where the ladies stretch their necks with rings. This process starts at about 6 years of age. The rings cannot be removed as their necks will collapse and suffocate them. We were allowed to pet tigers at a tiger sanctuary and went elephant trecking. These were wonderful experiences. Finally we went white water rafting which was great fun but exhausting. We are now about to leave Phuket and cruise the islands of Ao Phangnga bay.