Courtney's lonely day in Chiang Mai

After the horrendous bus ride throughout the night, we found ourselves at the Chiang Mai bus station at 5.30am, approximately 1 hour ahead of schedule. Not really a surprise when the bus driver was driving like a complete and utter lunatic.

Our collective health status wasn't wonderful, Jamie had continued to be sick during the early hours of the morning while I was probably now functioning at about 50%, walking around with a killer headache and a sore stomach.

We caught a taxi to our hotel, where on arrival, we were able to check into our room at 6am for only an additional £8 pounds or $300 Baht. Happy with this arrangement, we quickly paid and made our way to our room, where Jamie turned the air con down to 16 degrees and threw himself into bed as fast as I could even put my bag on the floor.

After a quick 3 hour nap, I awoke and saw that Jamie now had a fever and became the best Nurse Nancy that I could conjure up while still feeling like death myself. After cooling Jamie down with some cool flannels and making him drink copious amounts of water with electrolyes, I went out for a walk to check out some of the temples while Jamie attempted to sleep off some of this illness.

The Chiang Mai temples are absolutely gorgeous and were very cheap to visit (about 50p to £1 pound a temple). It took me awhile to realise that there was more to the temple complex than the temple itself, with other monuments and smaller temples often located behind the main temple. I visited about 4 temples before I decided it was time for my first proper meal in nearly 4 days, and found a delicious thai restaurant to sit by myself like a loner. My lunch came to a grand total of £1.50 (70 Baht) which was delightful. I grabbed Jamie some takeaway Green Curry Fried Rice and headed back to the hotel with some electrolyte sachets obtained from a nearby pharmacy, large bottles of water and food.

Back at the hotel, I got Jamie out of bed, which, he moaned about. Fortunately, I had my arsenal from days earlier and just whispered the words "You've got to be cruel to be kind" and he got up willingly. Payback is a b*tch 😋.

After Jamie finished his lunch, he virtually pushed me out the door telling me I needed to go and see more of Chiang Mai and not to worry about him so much. I have now discovered, that when you love someone, and they feel that bad, it is very difficult to enjoy yourself and continue on like nothing is wrong.

To appease Jamie, I went and checked out a local park close to our hotel which meant I wasn't going to be away from him too long. I made a stop at a 7-11, where I picked up some soft drinks, some cashew nuts and Pocky. If he couldnt eat much at least he will be able to get some sugar and nutrient dense food (the cashews, not the Pocky) into him. When I finally got to the park, it was gorgeous. It is used as a recreational facility by the locals with an outdoor gym and running track and small fountains in between.

I decided to walk back to the hotel a slightly different way and made my way around the moat which surrounds the old town observing the old city walls which remain intact, if only just.

Upon returning to the hotel, Jamie still hadn't improved. So it was time to force feed him liquids before making a trip out to a local restaurant for dinner. My poor little Jam could only stomach spring rolls, while I tried a Northern Thailand speciality, Kow Soy, which combines wheat-and-egg noodles and a rich, fragrant curry broth. So delicious and again only about £2 pounds.

By the time we returned to the hotel, it was about 8pm and it was time for lights out in order for both of us to get more rest and recover before our big cycle trip tomorrow.Read more