Hi from Chiang Mai

So we are here in Chiang Mai, 5 days into my 8 day tour and having a good time. There are 8 of us on the tour, 5 Aussies, and American, a Brit and a girl from Belgium. We have been having a fun time traveling around the Central and Northern parts of Thailand. So we have been to Sukothai, an ancient capital of Thailand, from there it was off to Lampang with a trip to the Elephant Sanctuary and Hospital. Do you know they make prosthetic legs for elephants that have stepped on land mines, so very cool.
From there we went to a home stay somewhere out of Chiang Mai where we spent the evening and had the most beautiful ride around the village on bicycles today, learning how to play drums at a monastary, dehusk rice at a lady's house, pick farmed mushrooms at another home, teach english songs to children at a preschool and then come back to our homestay and have lunch before heading off to Chiang Mai. I think today has most definately been the best day in Thailand so far, it was just relaxed and a lot of fun. The elephants were fun too but it was very touristy and organised, but it is amazing to see them paint!!!!!
In Bangkok, before I joined this tour I managed to see a few sights, the Grand Palace and the emerald buddha and the reclining buddha, both fairly amazing, but so completely glitzy at the same time, so different to the temples in Bhutan which were a lot more subtle in their beauty.
So we have tow days free here in Chiang Mai and we are currently trying to figure out what to do for the next two days, tomorrow will probably be a cooking class where we get to cook 4-6 dishes and we also get to keep a cook book from the day, so that sounds like a lot of fun. As for the next day, I am still not sure what I'll do, possibly just walk around town....
Anyway I prpbably wont have time to write again till bangkok, after an overnight train journey so I may not make much sense :)