Edinburgh, a beautiful city rich in fantastic architecture, history and culture is now rapidly becoming one of Europe’s most popular destinations. Edinburgh fuses together the medieval Old Town, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Georgian New Town, creating a harmonious balance of traditional and contemporary design. Quiet and mysterious cobbled lanes merge effortlessly with a bustling high street full of fashionable shops,  bars and restaurants. Here’s our run down of Edinburgh’s top five must-see attractions:

Edinburgh Castle

One of the oldest and most dominant structures in the city, Edinburgh Castle has a history that dates back to around 900 BC. The Castle has been home to royal blood since the reign of David I in the 12th century and has been the site of numerous historical battles and conflicts over the years including The War of Scottish Independence and the invasion of Oliver Cromwell in 1650. Today Edinburgh Castle stands as the single most important building in the city and attracts over 1.25 million visitors per year. On display in the castle are a number of historical artefacts including the Stone of Destiny and the giant cannon ‘Mons Meg.’ Edinburgh Castle attracts many visitors for the Military Tattoo, held each year in August as well as for the firing of the One O’ Clock Gun that takes place every day at precisely 1pm.

Edinburgh Dungeon

One of the city’s scariest attractions, the Edinburgh Dungeon is the place to go to learn about the gory history of Scotland’s capital. Discover how those who inhabited the old city centuries ago lived out their lives with a number of gruesome exhibitions and frighteningly real live performances. Delve into the brutal history of the Clan Wars or wander through The Haunted Maze which stretches far out into the tunnels and catacombs of the Royal Mile. Highlights include the cave of Sawney Bean, where visitors travel by boat deep into the heart of the murderous cannibal’s lair and face his horrifyingly bloodthirsty family in the flesh. New for 2010 is the chilling Burke and Hare live experience, as visitors wind up in an eerie graveyard trying to avoid becoming one of the notorious serial killer’s next unfortunate victims.

3D Loch Ness Experience

One of the world’s most famous lakes is brought stunningly to life, as the 3D loch Ness Experience seeks to uncover the mystery of the monster. Presented by scientist Adrian Shine, visitors will experience illusions, hoaxes and real life eye witness accounts of the Loch Ness Monster in a clear, 3D surrounding. The experience raises questions about the existence of Nessie and presents interesting and eyebrow raising facts about the mythical creature’s life over the centuries. Created by the award winning Loch Ness Centre, which was opened by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the 3D Loch Ness Experience will entertain children as well as adults.

Auld Reekie Tours: Terror Tour

Visited by televisions “Most Haunted” team on Halloween 2006 and described as their scariest location ever, the Auld Reekie Terror Tour is sure to entertain…and scare. A strictly ‘adults only’ tour of Edinburgh’s old underground vaults and passages led by a costumed guide explores the gruesome horrors and paranormal activities that dates back to the 17th century. Visitors will be led by candlelight around the cold and damp underbelly of Edinburgh’s Old Town and discover how torture was common practice among those who inhabited the streets. A small museum dedicated to the infamous instruments of death will turn fear into reality for those who brave the trip, who all the while may be stalked on their journey by the notorious South Bridge Poltergeist. A free Vodka mixer is included afterwards at Edinburgh’s most haunted pub to calm any frayed nerves.

The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour

The award-winning Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour takes visitors on a journey around some of Edinburgh’s best pubs in a 300 year old celebration of some of Scotland’s best loved literary characters and writers. Led by Clart and McBrain, a literary duelling duo, those along for the ride will be entertained by witty and colourful verses from Robert Burns, a spine-tingling reading of the metamorphosis from Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde and a humorous account of Muriel Clarke’s divided Edinburgh. Clart and McBrain also engage in a passionate debate over the importance of a pub atmosphere’s ability to produce creative and intellectual thought. An engaging evening where drinking, if anything, is encouraged.

As this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival slowly approaches, it’s probably a good time to start looking at some affordable accommodation in the city.  There is enough choice of hotels in Edinburgh to ensure that you certainly don’t need to spend a fortune, helping you free up money to enjoy the festival. We have provided our choice of the top five cheap places to stay in the city during the Fringe Festival.

Travelodge Edinburgh Central

As with all Travelodge’s across the UK, the name of the game is simple and affordable. The Travelodge situated on Rose Street puts you in the heart of Edinburgh’s lively city centre, a perfect location during the Fringe Festival. Located just off Princes Street, Edinburgh’s equivalent of London’s Oxford Street, you are only a stones throw away from the beautiful Princes Street Gardens and Edinburgh Castle. Rose Street Travelodge is also just a five minute walk from Waverley Train Station and bus stop, the main port of arrival into and out of the city. The Travelodge sits on a pedestrian street lined with bars and good restaurants, ensuring you will never be away from the action. Rooms will be basic but provide you with enough necessities to feel at home while rates per room start from around £35 per night although prices will be higher at weekends.

Edinburgh First at the University of Edinburgh

Situated just across from the National Library of Scotland and within touching distance of the beautiful Edinburgh University, Edinburgh First is just over a mile away from the heart of the city. Set amidst picturesque grounds, Edinburgh First is a modern option in the cities Newington district. Rooms are basic but provide the essential tea and coffee makers plus complimentary bathroom toiletries. Guests have a choice of using the coffee shop/café and the restaurant which houses a comfortable bar and lounge area. Conference rooms and banqueting facilities can all be made available and guests are served a complimentary breakfast each morning. Room rates start from £30 per night.

Halcyon Hotel Guest House

Located on Calton Hill, this beautiful old Georgian property is just a ten minute walk from Princes Street and the historic Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre. This grand building is blessed with typical Georgian features, with a quaint living area and medium to large sized rooms. There are a total of fourteen rooms within the Halcyon, twelve of which are en-suite. High speed wireless internet access runs throughout the building and guests are also served a complimentary breakfast each morning. The Halcyon Hotel Guest House is run by a committed and friendly couple who share a passion for good service and rooms start from just £35 per night.

Cairn Hotel

The affordable two star Cairn Hotel sits alongside Edinburgh’s Royal Terrace Gardens and is only a ten minute walk from Waverley Train Station. Set in the heart of the cities lively theatre district, visitors to the Cairn Hotel can enjoy a comfortable and spacious lounge area in a modern setting while the typically Georgian architecture gives the building a sophisticated and luxurious quality. A small bar and large restaurant allows guests to relax with some good food and a quick dram before heading out for the night. All fifty two en-suite rooms are fully equipped with tea and coffee making facilities, television and complimentary bathroom amenities. Conference and banqueting facilities are accessible upon request and private parking is also available. Rooms start from £39 per night.

Chalmers Street Apartments

Set back a little from the main city centre, Chalmers Street Apartments puts guest in the quieter region of Meadows Park. Within walking distance of Edinburgh Castle, the National War Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland, Chalmers Street Apartments are situated in an ideal location for soaking up some culture. Guests are provided with well equipped rooms with a kitchenette complete with microwave and refrigerator plus en-suite private bathrooms. All rooms are fitted with televisions and telephones and guests have access to a communal kitchen and lounge area although there are a variety of excellent restaurants nearby. Rooms start from as little as £50 per night with a laundry service and high speed internet access also available.

Last week a couple of partners asked whether they could integrate their own search forms with sletoH.com hotel search. We have re-written a piece of the search engine to make this possible.

To create your own search form you will need these form input components:

1. Text box for the hotel, city or airport name.
2. Date input for check in date (date format is dd-mm-yyyy).
3. Nights dropdown.
4. Rooms, adults and children dropdowns. When children > 0, child_age must be supplied for each child.
5. Currency dropdown (EUR, GBP, USD).

Refer to the search form at www.sletoh.com for dropdown values and ranges. For example nights is between 1 and 28, rooms between 1 and 5.

Your search form should send traffic to the following URL:

http://www.sletoh.com/find.php?search_term=halifax&country_id=&check_in_date=27-07-2011&nights=1&rooms=1&adults=1&children=1&child_age_1=6&child_age_2=-&child_age_3=-&child_age_4=-&currency=GBP&partner_id=0

Parameters search_term, check_in_date, nights, rooms, adults, children and currency are mandatory.  Parameter partner_id is given to you in your welcome email and can be retrieved from the partners login area. If you add a country dropdown to your search form, take the country IDs from the list of all cities and countries.

Custom Search Forms

You can create a custom hotel search form without getting into any technical stuff. Custom hotel search form.

Get In Touch

We would love to see your search form implementations. Send us your URL and we may even link to you to show others how it’s done.

Once again it’s time for the biggest arts festival in the world to take centre stage in Scotland’s beautiful capital, and for three weeks this August the Edinburgh Fringe Festival will showcase an eclectic mix of talent from across the performing arts board. A mix of some of the best loved names in music, theatre and comedy will look to cement their places in the annals of the Fringe’s history alongside a cast of un-known talent eager to make a big impression. Here, we run through a list of the top ten free acts to see at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Nimming Ned Poke Fun with Folk Punk

A quirky two piece folk outfit comprising of Chris and Tobe, bring their curiously entertaining musical style to Edinburgh Fringe this year. The duos high energy take on folk punk, played with acoustic guitars and fretless bases will be sure to entertain and amuse.

Where:  Laughing Horse and The Pear Tree
When:  August 13th

Visit their website

Lunchtime Concert by South West Camerata Concertante Ensemble

Classical music plays a big part at Edinburgh Fringe this year and the South West Camerata group will be bringing their beautiful arrangements to life with a series of free shows. Their lunchtime concert will feature pieces from Schubert’s two-cello quintet as well as an array of classical chamber music performed by young musicians from Devon and Cornwall.

Visit their website

Where:   St Giles’ Cathedral
When:   August 17th

 
West End Fair

This outdoor art and craft fair has over 80 exhibitors every day and offers visitors the chance to purchase an array of excellent contemporary work directly from the artists and designers themselves. As well as art, jewellery, fashion, furniture and photography will all be available, making the West End Fair one of Edinburgh Fringe’s liveliest daytime venues.

Visit their website

Where:  St Johns Church
When:  August 7-29th

 Six of the Best

Six of the Best is a unique collaborative digital art exhibition featuring six highly accomplished designers; Neil Davies, Mike Giblin, Maryna Halton, Nick Harris, Olly Howe, and Kate Knight will each display nine pieces of original artwork, showcasing their love for contemporary design and ability to merge together a blend of images taken from a range of books, prints and magazines.

View their website

Where:  Digital Design Services
When:  August 9th-27th

 
Reality Vaccine

Surreal psychological illusionist Ian Souch brings his mind bending show to Edinburgh Fringe this year. Aided by Psychiatric nurse, Nikki Campbell, Ian Souch will perform bizarre psychological tricks and experiments on members of the audience as well some unbelievable tricks and magic of the mind.

Visit his website

Where:  Laughing Horse at the Newsroom
When:  August 5th-23rd

 
Rogues Handbook: Bumper Book of Horror

A bizarre and comical improvised sketch show bordering on the strange and supernatural, the Rogues Handbook returns to Edinburgh Fringe this year to tackle dead policemen, serial killers, disabled poltergeists and movie monsters. Belly laughs and gore aplenty from the group comprised of Paul Gannon, Graeme Casey, Eli Silverman and Adam Lannon.

 Visit their website

Where:  Laughing Horse at the Counting House
When:  August 7th-22nd

Metropolitan Cathedral Late Night Voices

A relaxing late night show from the beautiful voices of Emma Turnball, Jessica Leary, Bartek Matuszak and Simon Nieminski, whose talents entwine together stunning arrangements on the piano, organ and harp, including Schumann’s ‘Dichterliebe.’ The beautiful Catriona Price and Esther Swift aka Twelfth Day also perform their elegant blend of traditional Scottish folk music and contemporary jazz.

 Visit their website

Where:  St Mary’s Metropolitan Cathedral
When:  August 17th, 19th, 24th, 26th

Sheep Ahoy

In a show ideal for children, cartoonist, poet and stand-up comic Phil Sheppard brings an entertaining one man show to Edinburgh Fringe, packed with humorous stories and wonderful cartoons. A wacky mix of sheep, chickens, dinosaurs, dragons, princesses and superheroes are thrown together in a melting pot of cartoon drawings, jokes and impressions.

Visit his website

Where:  Laughing Horse at the City Café
When:  August 14th-22nd

Set to Stun

A comedy rock opera, Set to Stun brings a massive stadium rock feel to a tiny stage at Edinburgh Fringe, delivered by comedy/mash-up duo ‘Ray Guns Look Real Enough.’ In just one hour of unrelenting energy, the high octane duo manages to fuse together over 70 classic rock songs to an audience with just a single guitar and a tambourine.

Visit their website
 

Where:  Laughing Horse at the Three Sisters
When:  August 5th-29th

Maxina Todd NVQ

A modern take on the hit musical Sweeney Todd, this updated musical comedy merges together a fresh set of characters and is set in a Fleet Street beauty parlour. Strictly for adults only, this tale depicts Maxina’s lust for revenge and blood and as the demand for puffy pies start to increase, so do the number of people reported missing.

 Visit their website

Where:  Laughing Horse at the Counting House
When:  August 5th-18th

Edinburgh accommodation and info

So now you’ve seen our run down of the top free shows at this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival, you will no doubt be eager to book some accommodation around Scotland’s capital. In the centre of Edinburgh we recommend the Hilton Caledonian in the cities Haymarket neighbourhood for its luxury and location plus the Frederick House Hotel for its great value and well preserved Georgian features. We also highly recommend the Witchery by the Castle set on The Royal Mile for its unbeatable atmospheric location and décor.

Compare Edinburgh hotels and refer to our Edinburgh guide for more information on the best ways to get around the city.

From May 20th 2010 Travelodge UK will stop paying commissions on sales through Affiliate Window as they focus all advertising and marketing spend on other channels. The Travelodge program will remain active on the network but with zero commission! Commission may return in 2011. Not much comfort for the affiliates that have invested a lot of time and effort in promoting Travelodge properties!!

On a positive note the Travelodge Ireland program (with 11 hotels) continues to offer 5% commission.

For all Travelodge UK affiliates wondering what to do with their links they may consider switching them to our affiliate program. We have 160 Travelodge hotels in the UK and we find availability through merchants including Superbreak, Laterooms, ActiveHotels etc. Of course Travelodge may decide to terminate distribution deals with all these companies but as of now we have not heard anything about this and it is less likely to happen as these channels are outside affiliate marketing. In the worst possible scenario of all channels except consumer direct being turned off, at least links to sletoH.com will show alternative hotels that do still pay commission.

Here is a list of all our Travelodge UK properties:

In April we launched hotel search forms that can be customised to fit perfectly into affiliate websites. The new search forms can be configured with width and height to fit into any part of an affiliates web page whether it be a vertical side bar or wide horizontal space. Background and text colour can be adjusted to fit the look and feel of affiliate travel sites.

After setting up the look and feel and site integration affiliates can preset the search form destination box to match the content of their web pages. A page about London can preset the search form to London or any of London’s airports; a site about Bodrum in Turkey can do the same.

The search forms use AJAX technology for fast user input and ease of use. When the user clicks ‘Find hotels’ the sletoH.com website opens in a new window displaying hotel price comparison results. The user can filter these results by price, star rating, distance and board type (for example all inclusive, bed and breakfast) to match their requirements. Hotel booking is then just a click away with the various websites that sletoH.com searches.

A good example of an affiliate integration can be seen at diytravel.co.uk on the Barcelona hotels page. The search form has been customised to fit into the suitcase layout on the right of the page and seemlessly looks like part of the diytravel site.

Hotel search form example

Get your own search form on the search forms page.

Wow! Vang Vieng is a serious party town!

Arrived at 9pm into Oh La La bar where 23 people (yes 23!) were playing killer pool. The rules were clearly designed to get patrons drunk: miss a shot and down a whisky; pot a ball and down a whisky; win the game for a crate of beer and whisky!! Vang Vieng is all about drinking and partying.

The main reason, probably the only reason, to take the trouble to get to Vang Vieng, is actually for a day time event and not a night time one. The town is infamous for riding down river on an inner tube and popping into the riverside bars along the way. See a bar you like, tube in, have some drinks and enjoy the music and dancing, tube out. As the day progresses and alcohol consumption increases, tubers start using the high diving boards, death slides and rope swings to enter the water in spectacular fashion. Just be careful of the unmarked underwater rocks!

Despite there being more than 10 bars down the river, it seems that 90% of all revellers stick to just the first three bars. This being in part due to the fact that an inner tube is not needed to visit them and because the other bars are not being promoted effectively. It’s a shame that tubing is going out of the window in favour of the first 3 bars and I hope that the downstream bars up their game to bring tubing back into fashion.

At the end of the tubing day, Vang Vieng’s nightlife comes alive. The order of play seemed to be Oh La La Bar, Q Bar and then Sunset Bar. These places have established themselves as the best circuit and are promoted during the day at bars 1, 2 and 3 on the river. I imagine they are all owned by the same person.

As with all bars in Laos, 11.30pm is closing time so it is not advisable to sleep after a hard days tubing as you don’t have time to get back out before everything closes down. This results in days merging into nights and drinking sessions lasting from 1pm ish to 11pm ish every day. There is little else to do in Vang Vieng and that is what the majority of people are there for. It’s a great place if you are mad for it.

The 5 hour mini-van journey from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng reveals Laos’ mountainous terrain. Slowly climbing the winding mountain roads gives breathtaking views of rolling countryside and untouched lands. Roadside villages appear every 15 or so miles giving you a passing insight into their happy lives of near poverty – they bathe with hose pipes, live in shacks and are surrounded by their livestock of hens and cockerels. To a Western eye this seems disadvantageous but the Laos people laugh almost as much as their Thai neighbours and seem to find fun in everything they do.

When the sun went down 3 hours into our journey, the scenery disappeared and the winding roads became arduous and slow going. Bizarrely our driver only put his foot down when he was aggressively overtaking vehicles with his hand on the horn and bumper inches away from his target. In one case he harrassed a motorbike over-flowing with products from a roadside market for 3 minutes before the biker accepted that she couldn’t outrun him. I would have let him past after 10  seconds.

It was impossible to sleep in the minivan as all seats were occupied and the twisting roads had your head bouncing from side to side every few seconds. Our journey finally ended at Vang Vieng bus station at 8pm, some 7 hours after our 1pm departure. It should have taken 5 hours but our full van and slow driver killed time. I would advise anyone taking the trip to catch an earlier service to travel in daylight and travel faster. The temperature will of course be a trade-off.

The slow boat journey from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang in Laos (approx 32 GBP) involved many segments:

1. 5 hour minibus from Chiang Mai guesthouse to Thailand / Laos border area.
2. Overnight stay at guesthouse (included in price).
3. 10 minute minibus to border crossing at Chiang Khong, Thailand.
4. Cross Mekong River to Huay Xai in Laos and go through chaotic immigration and passport control. Process, if you can call it that, takes approx 90 minutes. Enter the immigration office and don’t be too alarmed when a random Laos ‘official’ (who is not wearing a uniform) takes your passport from you – he should hand it to the immigration desk with your completed arrival paperwork to get your visa. Visa on arrival costs $35 USD; you can pay in Thai Baht or Laos Kip but USD is preferred. Once you have a visa, hand your passport to passport control and get your inbound stamp. Now walk 20 yards and show your passport to another passport desk, before another 20 yards where you hand your passport to the slow boat check-in desk. The check-in desk keeps your passport.
5. 5 minute tuk-tuk ride to a restaurant near the slow boat. Here you get your passport back and will be presented with a sales pitch by a well-spoken Laos chap who will tell you that the slow boat journey takes a lot longer than your Thai travel agent told you and that it is in arduous trip. It’s a good job that he is able to help you by selling you over-priced accommodation in Pak Beng the slow boat overnight stop. Most people accepted his ‘help’ and paid 300 baht for a room (this is 50% or so over the odds).
6. 6 hour slow boat ride to Pak Beng for overnight stay. If the boat is packed it’s pretty uncomfortable unless you get one of the car seats that look like they came from a Ford Transit van. We were unlucky to have a packed boat but lucky that we joined a big group of Kiwi’s who had bought 6 bottles of whisky (1 GBP each!!!) and a pack of cards for the journey. The journey flew by!
7. Overnight stay in a guesthouse at Pak Beng. We declined the sales pitch before the boat journey and followed a sales girl when the boat docked to a great place which cost only 200 baht per night (4 GBP) for a new looking twin room with ensuite bathroom. Pak Beng is remote and small and everything shuts early so eat on arrival.
8. 8 hour slow boat from Pak Beng to Luang Prabang. Not easy with a hangover but at least the boat was not as packed as the first day and I managed to secure a Transit van seat.

On arrival in Luang Prabang we didn’t have any accommodation pre-booked and after some aimless wondering took a tuk-tuk to the Lonely Planet recommendations. They were all full. Fortunately there was a good one across the road and we booked in for the night. Our host provided a delicious free evening meal for us all too. I wish I could remember the name - when I do I will add it. 

Luang Prabang is a developed town with good roads, fully functioning sewage systems and Western style toilets, a meandering river and some good restaurants and bars. Worth particular mention is Utopia a river side bar over two levels filled with plants, meandering walkways and a young crowd. A well kept volleyball court and game is usually in full swing and anyone can join in – the standard isn’t great! Utopia, like all other bars in Laos, closes at 11.30pm in accordance with Laos laws. Fortunately there is a bowling alley a short tuk-tuk ride away which somehow has an extended license until 3am ish (I lost track of time). We had to wait 2 hours to get a lane as the place was packed with about 150 revellers. Recommended for a visit.

Luang Prabang has numerous temples that were worth seeing and is geared up for visitors with various activities and tours available at good prices. As a stop off point before Vang Vieng, Luang is certainly worth 3 or so days. Next stop for me is Vang Vieng…

Thankfully I only had to endure Phuket for 16 hours before I boarded an Air Asia flight direct to Chiang Mai (approx 40 GBP).

Chiang Mai airport is only 3 km from the city and taxi are cheap at 120 baht (approx 2.5 GBP). To bring the cost down (2.50 is a lot in Thailand!) I shared a taxi with 3 other new arrivals and by coincidence we were all headed to the same place – Julie’s Guesthouse – because we had all read Lonely Planet. Once a bar, restaurant, accommodation or activity makes it into Lonely Planet or Rough Guides, it is financially made!!

Julie’s Guesthouse rocked! The rooms were small and simple with basic beds and brightly coloured hostel decor which I wouldn’t normally go for but the unique selling point at Julie’s is the social aspect. As you walk through the door you enter a large common room with pool table, dining tables, bar and lounging beds. There are always people hanging around and a lot of traffic as people try to get a room – it’s best to book in advance in high season (Dec / Jan). The food is good and the drinks are cheap too. The room itself (a triple with one single bed and two bunk beds, basic ensuite) was ony 270 baht (5 GBP)!!

My new roommate and I spent the afternoon looking at a couple of wats (Thai temples) and hitting some golf balls down a driving range! Whilst at the wats we were tempted into a “Monk Chat” – monks make themselves available to tourists for a chat about anything you fancy. We spoke about Buddhism, the 5 main precepts (monks do not lie, steal, drink, kill or have sex), the other 227 precepts and our monks career which already spanned 8 years of his 25 years of age. Being a monk is quite a commitment but is seen as a rite of passage for Thai men and they can call it a day if they choose to raise a family (and lying, drinking, stealing, killing)  instead.

Chiang Mai is very popular destination for hill-tribe trekking so I booked myself on a 2 day, 1 night trek (25 GBP). I wasn’t planning on doing any trekking when I packed my bag in England and this was obvious from my trekking attire – clubbing trainers instead of hiking boots and a laptop style bag instead of a rucksack!

The first day we rode elephants (I balanced on the head/neck which apparently doesn’t bother the elephant at all), trekked through the jungle for 3 hours and bathed in a small waterfall. The trek was tiring and I would not recommend for anyone who is unfit or has a bad heart. After 3 hours of sweat we made it to our hill-tribe village. The hill-tribe lived at approx 900 metres above sea level and were quite cut off from civilisation raising their families and growing rice amongst hens, cockerels and pigs. It was interesting to see their remote way of life away from TV and entertaining themselves with a nightly sing-song. That evening we dined on a bamboo platform above the jungle and entertained by our guides Tong and Weelow who had numerous games lined up. With no polution and a clouldless night the stars lit up the sky and we were very lucky to see an amazing shooting star scorch the entire sky from West to East! Even more amazing was the fact that the hill-tribe were able to provide us with Chang beer… they are not that cut off then!

On the second day of our trek we had to make the descent back to sea level which was tricky oin trainers with no grip. I was slipping and sliding all over the place but thankfully none of them resulted in injury. We passed by a beautiful 20 metre waterfall and took a dip before hitting the water again for white water rafting and bamboo rafting. Unfortunately, the white water rafting was better described as just ‘rafting’ because the water levels were very low and therefore the rapids were not very rapid. To round the day off we had a delicious Pad Thai and a dessert of pineapple before our lift back to town. Overall a great 2 days, fantastic group (no complainers and we all got along well) and good guides in Tony and Weelow. My outfit also held up although my trainersand bag  have now seen better days.

Our trekking group hit the town that night and followed a recommendation to visit the Roof Top Bar near the city’s East Gate. Roof Top is a great place if you like dance music and a young, party crowd. People were dancing from the start to the end and enjoying the usual Thai cocktail buckets – approx 1 litre of cocktail served in a bucket handy for sharing.

With hangover in full swing, it was time to check out of Chiang Mai and head to Laos, more precisely Vang Vieng for the infamous tubing experience. Vang Vieng is a long way from Chiang Mai (maybe 400 km) and transport choices are 24 hour bus ride, flight then 3 hour bus ride, 24 hours of bus and speed boat down the Mekong River, 48 hours of bus and Mekong slow boat with 2 overnight stays along the way. The latter was described as an experience and so I booked myself a place (33 GBP).