On from the hot springs, we stopped at one of the oldest temples in Thailand. The temple itself is being rebuilt as a lot of it's treasures were stolen in the last conflict of Thailand.

We then carried on from Chaing Rai further north to the Laos and Burmese (Myanmar) border which all meet together in an area named the golden triangle. It used to be an area where opium was traded for gold.

We took a ride in a long boat (thin long boat with a 2 litre toyota car engine bodged on the back... it went very fast and we got quite wet) up the Mekong River. The Mekong is a very fast running and long river which stretches from China, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and joins the ocean in Vietnam. We reached a Laos village the other side of the river, paid about 35pence for a day pass (visa) and had a brief wander around.

We then got back in the long boat and were taken up towards the Burma border, but couldnt enter the country as there is some civil trouble there at the moment.

Then we went back to Thailand for a traditional Thai food buffet and pushed on to Mae Sai another border town with Burma (apparently the border gates have been closed completely for a few weeks now, no one enters, no one leaves...)

We travelled on to some hill tribe villages, again meeting some people from the Karen and Akha tribes (these tribes seemed to be more of a tourist attraction from the previous ones we had visited, they were less remote and were there to make money from tourism, which is a bit sad that there way of life has been altered through the likes of us.)

We also made a short trek to see the Long Neck tribe, which have what I can describe as brake pipe wrapped around there necks (it was made from brass and very heavy) which causes the lower neck and collar bone area to be pushed down giving the illusion of having really long necks. Once the tubing is on (it has to be heated to trist it around the neck, apparently a very painful experience) it stays of for the rest of their lives.

The Long Neck people originated from Burma, but through wars and trouble have ended up in the northern hills of Thailand, it was since then that they wore the hoops around their necks and they vowed that they would only take them off when they have a country to return to...