Chiang Mai

From Kanchanaburi we moved on to Ayutthaya where I celebrated my birthday, then Sukhothai. Both are ancient capitals of Thailand and have lots of Wat's (temples) and Cheddi (burial tombs for cremated remains of kings). We were a bit horrified on arriving at our guesthouse in Ayutthaya as it looked like it was in a kind of slum, but our rooms were fine if the bathroom was a bit mank and the lady who owned the guesthouse was so nice she more than made up for it. As she said "small guesthouse, big take care". For both Ayutthaya and Sukhothai we rented some bikes to take in the ruins as they cover quite a distance, Ayutthaya seemed a bit more impressive and the local people were just so so nice. We cycled through a village to get to the elephant sanctuary and every single child (and a few of the adults) waved and called "hello", Innes' bike chain also came off his bike and we were offered some assistance from some little girls who couldn't speak any english then he had it fixed for free by a man u fan with a spanner at a local garage. Really really nice people.

We travelled between Ayutthaya and Sukhothai by train and were given free food and drink by hostesses- it felt like we were on a plane. The bus today was not so posh but cheaper. We're liking the look of Chiang Mai so far, the guide book describes it as a city with a village feel and we're certainly picking up on that so far. Rabbit warrens of narrow streets where tuk tuks, cars and mopeds squeeze past each other. We're planning on some trekking followed by a traditional Thai massage :)