it's Valentine's Day here in Chiang Mai, Thailand and when the truck driver with the very loud speakers advertising a Muay Thai kickboxing match went past yelling "Are you ready to rumble?", I thought to myself "No". I'm ready for flowers. Ready to photograph them, that is.

It seems the world is a small place when it comes to love and the commercialisation of 14th February. Thailand is no exception and like many countries, the schoolboys buy fake red roses for their sweethearts and the schoolgirls giggle (after they post it on Facebook).

After the fourth consecutive Thai taxi driver today asked me if I was alone and replied with the same sad look and pitying "Ohhhhh" each time I said yes, I did what any self-respecting solo traveller does on Valentine's Day evening. I went to a temple, chatted with a Buddhist monk for two hours, got a deeper understanding of Buddhism. This was followed by the sensation of agony, then total numbness in both legs during the meditation session. Just lucky that "the mind is master" otherwise I would have REALLY been in pain.

Did you know that we each have 121 minds? But that's for another blog......

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY