The School run is probably the same the world over: Madness ensues as rushing parents do their  best to get the little darlings safely ensconced in the playground before doing battle with the rush hour. Add to the usual blend, the tuk-tuks, mopeds (3 up no helmets) and open pick-up trucks overflowing with kids and you get an idea of early morning Chiang Mai!

I only know this as I joined the Carey's on their school run so that I could learn the ropes of the weekly supermarket expedition for the Juniper Tree. Apart from having to stop everything and stand respectfully silent, whilst the Thai National Anthem played at 8.00 O'clock; their Makro is like any of our Cash and Carry stores. Except the fresh food: Frozen whole turtles, fresh grasshoppers in all sizes and various bugs all side by side with the usual mince, chicken fillet, and pork tenderloin! Now, fish; that's something to see! Huge aerated tanks containing live tilapea, sun fish & dogfish; mountains of prawn, lobster and crabs all firmly trapped by rubber bands look fantastic. Most noticeable to me was the lack of smell unlike the fish counters in European supermarkets. So with 8 gallons of milk 50 kilos of rice, 15 Kilos of chicken, pork & Mince, mops, buckets, soy sauce and 101 things that filled 2 massive trolleys we headed back to the centre, breakfast with another week of meals in hand.