Chiang Rai

We made our way to Chiang Rai from Chiang Mai on a VIP bus which was just that and offered;
Wide leather seats that almost reclined to a sleeping position - and only 3 seats per row.
A driver who had two stripes on his shirt shoulder resembling an airline captain!
A steward who served us water, a snack and offered us towelettes at the end of the ride
A very comfortable 3 hour ride for under $10.

There were two mountain ranges  to traverse so very picturesque.  But very hilly at times - and for Ingrid a two Ginger Gravol ride.

After Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai has a real country feel to it which we are both relishing particularly as there is less traffic and therefore so much less  pollution.  The Kok River runs through the town and our hotel is right on the river.  We have a huge room - two beds, a sitting area, a very large bathroom, and lots of cupboard space for all the clothes I don't have with me!  Our room has a river view and a view of a very sizable pool which we have not yet tested.  But I did use the exercise room's treadmill  and free weights.

Ingrid suggests we not get used to this type of accommodation - we were a little late booking a hotel here so there was limited choice.   However, it has been a great spot to recuperate from our cold/flu.

As posted by Ingrid:

Although we would like to sit by the hotel pool until the lanterns come on and the mosquitoes come out at night, there are two aging bodies to exercise and new venues to explore. So on Sunday, in order to do both at the same time, we undertook a self-guided walking tour of Chiang Rai's most see-worthy attractions. And since we have now fully adjusted to the new time zone and are quite unable to crawl out of bed before 8:00 am, we set off during during the time of day when only mad dogs and Englishmen venture forth. However, the day was beautiful, 25C with a slight breeze and we walked through the inner town, along beautiful public gardens, up to the highest spot, visiting the most important temples along the way, Wat Pra Kaew, Wat Pra Sing, Wat Doi Ingammuan and Wat Doi Thong. The reward for all that heavy work was a wonderful decaf cafe latte, cheese cake and a warm and succulent banana and blueberry muffin.

The wonders of Chiang Rai are not so much it's sightseeing attractions but the surrounding country side. The town of 200,000 souls lies in a valley littered with limestone and granite karsts and surrounded on both sides by mountain ranges. One hour further north by car lies the 'Golden Triangle', the place where the borders of Thailand, Burma and Laos meet, and a favorite spot for trekking tours. Instead of taking a tour we wanted to visit a Royal Villa and immense public gardens roughly in the same direction. Unwilling to take an expensive tour which includes many aspects we did not want to see, we rented a car and driver on Monday and had a wonderful afternoon walking through sculpted gardens, original forest and new and old varieties of orchids that were spectacular. All for half the price and on our time table. There is something soothing to the body and spirit seeing leafy trees and flowers in the colours of the rainbow at this time of the year.

After nearly two weeks of Asian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, we were hankering for a good old fashioned pizza. We nearly found what we wanted, but it would have been greatly enhanced by a big plate of green salad. Alas, we are still afraid to eat raw greens, nervous to turn our receding flu into a stomach upset.

This independent travel thing is turning out wonderfully in some aspects and not so successful in some others. Helen spent a frustrating few days booking the two day Mekong river trip and related hotel. Although we had selected a private boat operator, every chosen hotel at the half-way point was sold out. As a last resort, we were offered a room for USD190 (!!!) a night. We found an alternative at the same hotel on Agoda for half the price, however when we pressed the final button to book we realized that is was for one person only. It took Helen two days, a call to the U.K. and numerous e-mails to straighten things out. Then the boat operator wanted more ID information over the internet than I was prepared to divulge and so on, and so on....

While Helen was ripping her hair out, I did battle with our hotel in Chiang Mai where they had charged my credit card for our stay TWICE. It is amazing how hotel staff loses the ability to communicate effectively in English overnight! That little skirmish is still ongoing and I am looking forward to another round tomorrow........

And, we saved the best for last - our most exciting trekking tour so far! Early this morning, when the fog had not yet been burned off by the sun, we set off on a long tail boat for a one hour ride to a Karen tribal village and their elephant camp. I had spent two days worrying how to mount these gorgeous creatures and need not have worried after all. We walked onto a raised platform straight onto a bench strapped to Wunpan's back. Gosh, was it ever high and quite a jolt when we set off, swaying back and force. For the first 15 minutes we held on so tight, our hands hurt, but then we started to relax and thoroughly enjoyed the hour long ride through dense foliage, up and down steep hills and through brooks containing large boulders. Wunpan, munching on bamboo along the way, was more sure footed than we would have been!

And that was only the beginning of our day. A 1.5 hour trek uphill, lunch at a Lahu tribal village (the soup was cooked over an open fire) then another 1.5 hours walking steeply downhill, onto an Akha village where Helen could see what a homestay would have been like, and then back in a songtaews where I fell promptly asleep in the warm sunshine. Never mind that we are on Advil tonight, it was totally worth it! What a glorious and unforgettable day.