Bob & Jan Green RTW

Well, the hashing got underway and Bob decided to be brave and do a reasonably long run, only to find it was longer than anticipated and he ended up on a 17k trek up two mountains!! To make matters worse, he then fell off the coach (ALT girls will know he has a thing about coaches!!!) and hit his elbow badly!! Still, it didn't stop him sinking a few beers and consuming large amounts of food at the post hash shindig. Sunday's hash was a more leisurely affair with a 10k run through forests and rivers and even a bull to negotiate (fortunately tethered but blocking a narrow path which was the trail!!) After this he felt he needed some pampering so went for a Thai massage, which turned out to be a bit more aggressive than he had hoped!! Pummelled and pulled he was more exhausted than before he went!!

Jan and Sue started out with good intentions of finding something cultural to do, but ended up by the pool reading, swimming, eating and drinking!!! Well, when happy hour is called what can a girl do?? They made up for it on Sunday with the Thai Cookery Class which was excellent. Five dishes were cooked and consumed and they rolled back to the hotel exhausted and stuffed!!

We all met up at The Pub for a last beer and farewell to the other hashers. Next stop is Hong Kong - something of a contrast to the slowish pace of Chiang Mai, but once again, more to follow ....!

As the Interhash does not start until tonight we decided to use today to do an Elephant and River Trip. We were accompanied on our trip by Don (Shitstix) and Sue. It was brilliant!! We stopped off at an orchid farm on the way and saw many hundreds of beautiful flowers. We then went on to the elephant camp where we first saw several elephants performing many tasks - including drawing pictures!! There were several lovely baby elephants who really stole the show by having little fights amongst themselves to gain the upper hand when it came to the bananas!! We then had an ox ride up to a small village followed by an hour on an elephant!! Bob even got to take the controls!!

The little elephants were causing havoc running round everywhere and nearly got trampled on several times. There were several hashers on the tour so crys of "On on" and "false trail" could be heard from the hills!! After a Thai lunch we then had a leisurely trip down the river on a very precarious raft (a bit like punting but they had a driver on each end!!). Once again Bob took the controls, but only on the easy bits!

Bob and Don have now set off for the start of the Interhash leaving me and Sue to hit the Night Market. We aim to meet up later at "The Pub" where several hashers have been meeting and drinking for the past few nights. Tomorrow the Hash starts in earnest, leaving me and Sue to sample the delights of a Thai massage and our Thai cookery course on Sunday. More to follow ....!

Well, this is it - the start of our journey. We are writing this in an internet cafe in Chiang Mai having spent the first two days of our travels in Bangkok. What can we say about Bangkok - it was everything we had been told - and more!!! Bob did a Red Light run with 350 other hashers and has learnt several new tricks with ping pong balls!! We had a whistle stop tour of the temples of Bangkok and saw more buddhas than you can shake a stick at, so to speak!! We then found our way to Noriega's Bar where the Red Light Run started - great fun on the Skytrain which was fast and efficient.

Then on to Chiang Mai via the new Bangkok Airport - very smart and very big!! The hotel in Chiang Mai (Amari Rincome) is wonderful - by the pool this morning for a bit of rest and relaxation and then the joys of the Red Dress Run in the afternoon. Two and a half thousand hashers in red dresses running round the streets of Chiang Mai is a sight to behold, especially for the locals who wondered what on earth was happening. A great party afterwards in the park saw lots of beer consumed (no change there then!!!).