Andy was back to his routine this morning and discovered a running route around the city walls of the old city.

At 8.30am we met our guide Ning to go on a morning walking tour of the city. We were joined by Mark and Ryan our fellow travel companions from Oz and Canada respectively.

In order to set us on the right path our first port of call was a trendy coffee shop around the corner from our hotel.

We then crossed one of the many river bridges in the city and started our tour of this pretty and very inviting friendly city.

With the popularity of Thai boxing on the rise, we weren’t surprised to walk past a gym where one of the locals was taking a break between bouts.

We then ventured to a temple ground to view some of the famous signs which provide guidance on how we should be living our lives. Very thought provoking and inspiring.

Ning, our tour guide arranged for us to have a meet and greet with a young monk called Nop, a 20yr man who is studying at the local university. It was so interesting and inspiring to hear his views on life and how hard he is working to maintain his monk and uni studies as well as maintain a life with family and friends.

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Nop kindly gave us 30mins to chat and ask him about his life, Buddhism and his hope for the future before finishing with a blessing. In return we gave a gift of food for lunch.

From there we visited Wat Chai Phra Kiat temple, Tha Phae Gate, Wat Phra Singh Woramahawihan and marvelled at the beauty of each.

After a busy morning working up a hunger we stopped at Naree De Klangwiang a Thai restaurant and massage which provides female prisoners the opportunity to gain work experience before returning into the community.

After an enjoyable lunch, Andy and Mark decided to experience a Thai massage with the masseurs being female prisoners on day release. Both survived to tell the story and seemed to enjoy being stretched and bent back into shape.

In the evening we returned to the street food market we visited last night. After hearing comments about the vegetarian food on offer, Andy tried it out for himself and is now a convert.

As a treat, ice cream was on the menu for dessert including a combo of white chocolate, m&m’s, caramel and oriel cookies. Delicious!

To cap the night, we visited a Chiang Mail ‘lady-boys’ cabaret show. Wow what a funny evening.

And here they come, the most amazing array of dancers & performers who helped to ‘camp’ up the evening.

As we were on the front row, we knew we might be targeted, so before the performance started Andy retreated a row. It proved to be an inspired idea, as all other guys were kissed, cuddled and brought up on stage for the ultimate humiliation. Hilarious to watch from a distance!

Truly an evening to remember, and one of our later ones as we eventually returned to our hotel post midnight.

Tomorrow we move on again with a 5hr minivan journey up to the Mekong River, on the border with Laos.