Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you are all having a relaxing time over the holidays.

We spent Christmas Day with our friends Dani and Jess aka The Globetrotter Girls in sunny Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our sad lack of an oven meant that traditional Christmas food was not on the menu but instead Dani & Jess treated us to a feast of all the foods we miss in Asia: cheese, bread, olives, salad, kettle chips (salt & vinegar!) and chocolate doughnuts. It was a fun and relaxing day and we were happy that although we couldn’t be with our families we celebrated with good friends instead.

The rest of December has been about getting our heads down and working – that’s why we have settled in Chiang Mai for four months. We have taken breaks though to meet up with new friends, explore more of Chiang Mai’s amazing vegetarian restaurants and eat some tasty Burmese food, visit some shimmering gold wats (temples) and head off on a few moped adventures.

The first was the Samoeng Loop – a daytrip from Chiang Mai driving through the mountains past waterfalls, elephants, rice paddies and stunning views. Our first attempt was sadly unsuccessful as we managed to get two flat tires (the same tire on two occasions) before we even got to our first stop. Luckily the kindness of Thai people meant there was always someone around to help us get the tire fixed. We set off on the same drive the following week without any mishaps and enjoyed the beautiful ride.

The Samoeng Loop was a test run for our first multi-day motorbike adventure –driving to Burma just before Christmas to renew our Thai visas. We travelled over 500km in two days – a long way on an automatic 125cc moped without full face helmets. It was a challenging, exhausting, exhilarating and chilly ride and although we wondered at times why on earth we hadn’t just taken the bus, we did enjoy the freedom of motorbike travel, the feeling of intense focus that made us appreciate the scenery, and the chance to visit some incredible temples near Chiang Rai. We’ll be writing more about the epic trip soon.