Overnight Minivan to Chiang Khong (Thai / Lao Border)

As I talked about in my blog about the Golden Triangle, we stayed at the small luxury resort, Anantara Golden Triangle. I should start by saying that this kind of place is TOTALLY out of my normal budget, but that due to some crafty maneuvering in a silent auction I managed to get 2 nights here and a 2 day mahout course for about US$90. I think it's usually about US$350-500 a night. I have to say that it was really a fantastic experience and I was so impressed by the service and everyone working at the hotel. Not only was the setting and decor impeccable, but the staff were discreet and friendly. I was most impressed by a guy working in the restaurant who remembered our names after asking once. I know that's their job (heck, it's my job too as a teacher!), but it still impresses me. Besides the lovely setting and wonderful staff, I really enjoyed access to the elephant conservation centre where we took our mahout course. It was nice to see a hotel offering a little bit more. My only regret is that I didn't have enough money to thoroughly enjoy the experience. We could only afford to eat dinner there 1 night and then had to go to some surrounding local eateries for our other meals. It was quite a contrast to go from a gourmet restaurant to the local dive with $1 fried rice. :) But, hey, it was all part of the experience. I would love to go back here for real and enjoy everything the resort has to offer. From the private dining to the spa services, it has everything that you'd expect from a Thai luxury resort. If you're into history and seeing the sights, the area offers quite a lot with the Opium Museum across the street and Laos a short swim across the Mekong River. Check out http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/9652 for more pics of the resort!

Today we'd pay a visit to the local tribes that live in the most Northern province, close to Chiang Rai. First we had to go into little mini-vans. It was to steep for our bus to go there, and too many turns. after a nice ride through the mountains we got to the first tribe, the Akha-tribe. they are among one of the poorest tribes. They live in little bamboo or wooden huts. Funny thing was they did have a tv. Well the leader had one. We got a little tour around the village. Animals were running all over the place, dogs, chickens, even little pigs.

We gave mainly food to the people there, milk, packages for noodlesoup. We also bought things from the little stands there. The necklaces and bracelets were beautiful! A lot of women were pregnant, and the ones who weren't had babies. There were a lot of children around....really cute.
We went on to the Lahu tribe. These were a little wealthier. They lived in a bit more luxury compared to the Akhu-tribe. But instead of a view we only got through a sort of improvised street with stands, nothing more. So the Akhu-tribe was more interesting to spend time.

We went to have lunch in a beautiful garden, and after that we went to the Golden Triangle. We went on a boat and saw Birma, Laos and Thailand from the Mekong-river. We even went on land in Laos for a while where we could shop around a bit. It was nice to do because we haven't had  much time to shop during the days we have been on our trip. So later on we went back to Thailand. We also saw very small wooden fisherman's huts...it was a bit of an upsetting site to see how people lived on the shore of the river.

This is our tour group in front of the hotel. There is me in the middle (wearing one of my fake Lacoste T-shirts), Jef and Gerda at my right, Elisabeth and Sonia (the girls from Luxembourg) at my left, and behind them David and Mireille (the Walloon couple). All in the right corner is Raf and Carine, and in front from left to right there is hot, our busdriver, and our Thai guide Mac. Those are the people I hang out with. To be honest, I have already forgotten the names of the others :S

Already missing my lovely hotelroom, I checked out of Dussit Island this morning. No time to waste as we leave for Chiang Mai today, but first, we visit one of, if not the most modern temple of Thailand: Wat Rong Khun. I must say I absolutely love this building. The whole complex, which is even after ten years of work not finished, is white and full of little mirrors that reflect the light. It is very different from the classical temples we've seen before, and the total opposite from the ancient ruins of course. The man who came up with the whole idea is a Thai painter who dreamed on night of the "perfect temple". The next morning he started to raise funds for this project, and ever since he is building his dream here, just outside Chiang Rai.

The inside of the temple isn't finished completely. Only two of the four walls are yet painted: the one behind the Buddha statue, that shows modern images of a meditating Buddha, and the one opposite of the statue, at the front door. This wall is not at all what you'd expect to see inside a temple. Colors are bright and the images are all blending together into one big storyboard full of modernly painted scenes. You'll find a straight on charge against injustice, violence and greed upon this wall, featuring a mix of sometimes ironical sketches, portraying no less than collapsing WTC towers, leaking oil pumps, sexual escapades, weapon machinery and so on and so forth. Just this one wall alone is worth visiting Wat Rong Khun, but the outside is just as nice. I really recommend this place, because it is beautiful, artistic and on top of that pretty different. Aside the temple there is a gallery where you can by paintings of the architect/artist, both originals and copies. I liked quite a lot of them but I bought only one little copy. Since it is all blue and my room at home pretty orange it doesn't fit in at all, but I thought it would match perfectly with my future bathroom :) No kidding, that is honestly what I bought it for. The painting portrays a meditating white Buddha, floating in the air on a lotus above a peaceful garden of eden like environment, with plants and flowers and waterfalls. It is a nice souvenir, and above that, my tribute to the temple of Wat Rong Khun. I wonder how many little mirrors they can buy with this modest donation?

Worlds loveliest bed stands in Dusit hotel. I haven't sept this nice since the beginning of this trip, very apt, like a rose. The breakfast then, is all what you can expect from a luxurious palace as this. Just name something, and I think I can find it for you here. Sun is already shining on the terrace, while I finish my pineapple and get ready for a fully packed day. While waiting for the bus outside the hotel, the clock hits 8 and the national thai anthem is being played and flags are being raised. It isn't the first time we see this happen, but it is the first time we all really take time to watch what's going on. Something like this is just not imaginable in Belgium. No way you'd make anybody stop and listen when playing our anthem, no way we will all watch the flags in respect for the king. It is yet another difference that makes this country special, and even though it feels like home by now, still idd and sometimes just unbelievable. I mean that in a good sense. By this time, I am really in love with Thailand. If I could, I would never leave again.

Not far from the hotel we take a pick-up tuk tuk to drive into the mountains. We are visiting two tribes today: Akha and Yao. I feel pretty mixed about this, because of several things. First of all I've read a lot about these people not being respected much by the Thai, and being seen as dirty and low class. On the other hand I also think it is really sad they have to degrade them selfs to some tourist attraction begging you to sell stuff, in order to make a living. And I don't know how to feel just walking around in their homes taking pictures. It all feels really weird. Most other people, however, look forward to this a lot. They are all fed up with temples and history and want to do something else. I'm sure some hope to see some poverty too, which is simply decadent.

We arrive at Yao first. They are said to be the richest tribe, and our guide finely adds they are much cleaner that the Akha too. Akha are really filthy, she says, and they are also not as clever as the Yao are. I'm pretty much shocked by that. How can a tourguide say something like that? Apparently they don't care much about discussing the background of these people, their culture and religion etc. But they do care about calling them filthy. That's just rude. Things become ruder even when we walk into the village. That is for the couples, who are openly disappointed because these people "aren't poor". I quote: "We could have better taken some pictures of those slobs in Bangkok, this isn't poverty. I mean look: they even got television!". That simply made my stomach twist. Instead of being glad that these people have found some way of gaining income and feeding their children! No, they rather have them starving on the ground in some puddle of mud. Because frankly, that is what they hoped for, isn't it? I start of a discussion with Raf and Carine about it, but I don't get to them, so I give up and decided to hang out with the Luxembourg girls for the rest of the visit.

Yet it isn't all bad. The nature around here is just amazing. Green mountains and brown fields, some mist between the trees. It is really peaceful. And even though this whole tribe visit thing is of course a tourist attraction, it is nice to see the villages and the way these people live. Yes I do know they just get into those traditional clothing because then maybe someone takes a picture of it and pays for it, but no matter what, the clothing is still beautiful, and so are these people. Instead of giving money for the pictures however, we hand out candy to the children, who seem really happy with that. Yet they don't seem to know how to open it. We have to get the paper of for them, or else they just put it in their mouth unpacked.

Ahka tribe is our second stop. This village is much more vivid and build in an amazing setting on a hill. There are lots of children around, although it's Monday. Each one of them is really cute and sweet, dressed up in traditional clothes, but would have looked better at a schooldesk though. It is both amusing and sad. We sing "Broeder Jacob" with them, a child song that apparently exists in every language of the world, also in Thai :) Then we hand out all of our candy and the couples hand out pens, because they've heard that's what you do to poor people: you give them pens. These children probably don't even have paper, and they clearly don't know what to do with the pencils because they just put it in their mouth and chew on them, but who cares? The whole bucket of pens gets distributed anyway.

I leave the mountains with an even more mixed feeling than the one I arrived with. Have I done good to come here and spend some money so these people have income? Or do they see me as just one more disgusting tourist that snapshots their long gone authentic way of living and spoils their village with plastic wrapped sweets? I honestly don't know, but I feel more like the last description. I can't say I didn't like to visit the tribes, but I can't say I wasn't happy to leave neither. It just isn't my place, walking around there like it's bloody Disneyland, then returning to the Dusit Resort to order roomservice. It just isn't right.

The Tuk Tuks descend the hill and we get on the bus to visit the Golden Triangle. Another real classic on the list of must sees in Thailand. Yet I look forward to it a lot, touristy or not. We get in a longtailboat and make a trip over the Mekong, so we can see the neighbouring countries from upon the water: Burma, Laos and Thailand, all in one glance. After a while we get of at the other side of the water, in Laos. Well, not really really Laos, because the stamps you can get in your passport here ain't official at all and the souvenir shops have everything priced in Baht. But technically it is Laos, so if I want to be really false I can now add it to my countries visited list :D Yet no, I won't :)

The couples will be pleased. As soon as we get of the boat and walk over the bamboo climber young kids come running up to us begging for money. They hang around our group all the time looking at us really sad and telling us that we can take pictures if we pay for it. I feel another discusting scene coming as it is very clear the couples are relieved to finally have found some poor people, so I leave them alone with their fresh found poverty for a while.

After all we stop here basically to drink Whisky: whisky with animals in it. I don't eat roasted bugs, but I have no problem with snake steeped alcohol. So I chose the bottle with the snake in it. It is a big snake for Belgian standards and it is sad they killed the animal just to put it in the bottle, but at this moment that doesn't cross my mind. I just want to taste it. To be honest, I didn't taste any snake. I've just tasted whisky, which is bad enough already, but it wasn't as strong as the one we had before so it did taste a bit better and burned a bit less. Mireille decides for David what to order. He gets a glass with tiger testicle whisky. I guess we all know what that's good for, naughty Mireille :) Now I come to think about it, I don't know if a snake has any side effects. If anyone knows, let me know, so I can check if it worked :)

When I meet the couples again they are at a terrace, watching Carine who is surrounded by little children. They are all screaming and grabbing coins out of her hands. She wanted to hand out money but things clearly and literally got out of hand. After some seconds all money is gone and the children who were able to get some run of fast, so no one can take it from them again. The others start crying and after a while disappear as well. It is striking to see the difference with Thailand here. Maybe our tourguides have very well succeeded to keep us away from any poverty until now, but we have never seen such bad circumstances in Thailand before. And here, just across the river, people sleep outside on the ground and children fill their days begging instead of going to school. One can just feel that life is much harder here, and that these people are unhappy. I don't know if handing out coins makes things any better, but I am sure however that Carine meant it well. She's been really upset about it for a long time afterwards. I'd say she got what she asked for so she shouldn't complain. But my conscience isn't clean either. I've bought up to three fake Lacoste T-shirts that were already priced just 200 Baht each, and non the less I have got the evilness to bargain about the price. I don't dare to write down only what I've payed for it, but it was scandalously little. Lets say I haven't even payed 200 for the three of them. I would start to feel a bit guilty for that if it wasn't for the whisky, which has obviously eased my mind. As soon as I got out of the shady shops and in to the hot sun, the visual effects I experienced some days ago, emerged again.

Back in Thailand we pay a short visit to the opium museum, before returning to the hotel. This is a small but nice place, just next to the Mekong. It doesn't take long to walk through it, but it is worth doing so though. After all, this is the golden triangle right? We must see some opium before leaving again. Damn does that sound petty! I must be still a bit drunk...

On our way to Chiang Rai we make a short stop at one of the largest lakes in Thailand, of which (shame on me) I forgot the name. We were supposed to arrive just before sunset but by the time we got here it was almost dark. Yet there is just enough time left to take a look at the beautiful, silent water. The stop here is too short, not so much because of the lake (although it is nice) but because of the great atmosphere that hangs around it. Beside the water little groups of young people are playing guitar or playing cards, a little further others are practicing some sort of yoga, and all around there are nicely enlightened stalls that sell the most delicious smelling food and play nice music. I try suggesting to stay here for dinner but it is no use, after only 10 minutes we leave the lake behind and drive on to our Chiang Rai hotel...

Dusit Island Resort is the most luxurious hotel that I have ever seen. You may say I'm not used to much fancy stuff, which is true, but still it stays really impressive. The surrounding area is beautifully designed, with plants and water and flowers. The lobby has a waterfall in it and is full of marble and precious decoration. The service girls all wear gala-like dresses and are the most friendly personnel that I have ever met (not to mention the cute old man at the elevator, who's only job is to press the buttons for me and say Sawasdee Krab). My room (just a standard) is fully equipped, with everything my hart could possibly desire, and wonderful. I can not but adore it. As we arrived late most people decide to shower first and eat after. But I don't feel like rushing for diner, especially because frankly everyone plans on eating in the steak restaurant, and I don't steak... So instead, I decide to have a relaxing evening and to order roomservice. I have to admit I did order spaghetti instead of Thai food, but honestly, I couldn't make much of the Thai names on the menu. I guess I'm a bit spoiled with buffets lately. It is a lot easier to choose from something you can see and smell than from a name and three word description on some piece of paper. But anyway, the spaghetti came in some 15 minutes after ordering, and it came with two delicious garlic breads, a rose (gotta love that) and a sweet Thai waiter. Not like I have any special "plans", but still, he was really friendly and for some reason just cheered up my mood even more. Kop khun kaa for that, mister waiter. This is my first ever roomservice ordered, and I don't regret it for a second. The dish tastes wonderful too, after which I decide to go to bed and watch some television before going to sleep. It's been long since I had such a calm evening, and some real spare time just to be on my own, without rushing to pack my bags or to get ready for diner. It feels wonderful.

And it was raining for 3 days without a stop...ok ist is never cold but after a while too wet do stay active...

This temple is a kind of asian "sagrada familia". The builder, a famous artist, uses the revenues of selling his pictures and the donations of the visitors to build this temple. The construction is said to take some 10 years more to finish...
It has a very interesting mixture of traditional and modern elements  - the hands symbolize the worries of the earth, there are arms with expensive wristwatches, red fingernails, skeleton hands...the stairs lead up to the nirvana, the temple building. inside on the paintings are also traditional elements mixed with celular phones, Keanu Reeves as Neo, Cars and Weapons as the dark side of live, on the top of all buddha that helps to overcome the worries of life.

Om 9 uur vertrokken we naar de ‘Golden Triangle’, oftewel het drielandenpunt waar Laos en Birma aan Thailand grenzen.

Ditmaal kregen we een chauffeur vanuit het resort. Eenmaal daar aangekomen gingen we eerst per longtailboot een stuk varen over de gigantische Mekong-rivier (4909 km lang en grenst door China, Birma, Laos en Cambodja!) Jammergenoeg was het vandaag erg bewolkt en mistig. Eerst gevaren richting Birma waar we vanaf de rivier het gigantische casinocomplex zagen liggen. Daarna zijn we aan land gegaan in Laos, waar we eerst een soort visum moesten kopen. Natuurlijk alles gericht op de toerist met tientallen marktkraampjes vol met spullen, voornamelijk drank en sigaretten. Even 2 sloffen Marlboro ingeslagen voor het thuisfront. Een slof kost omgerekend 3 euro 50, hahaha echt grappig! Daar heb je in Nederland nog geeneens een pakje voor. Ook zagen we veel flessen met sterke drank met cobra’s erin. Waarschijnlijk mag je dit niet invoeren in Nederland dus hebben we die maar laten staan. Hierna zijn we weer teruggevaren en een tempel (ben de naam vergeten) gereden gelegen op een heuvel. Vanaf hier een mooi uitzicht over de drie landen. Vanaf de boot over de Mekongrivier zagen we al een hele aparte tempel in de vorm van een schip met een gigantische Boeddha erop. Ook hier zijn we heen geweest. Hierna hebben we het opiummuseum bezocht. Was best interessant! Vroeger was deze streek ‘het wereldcentrum’ van de opium- en heroïnehandel, maar sinds 1959 werd de opiumteelt in Thailand verboden. Het schijnt dat er in Birma en Laos nog steeds veel verbouwd wordt maar op dit moment is Afghanistan de grootste producent ter wereld.

Hierna hebben we aan onze chauffeur gevraagd of hij ons in Chiang Rai af wilde zetten ipv het hotel. Eigenlijk wilden we morgen Chiang Rai bezoeken, maar aangezien het vandaag erg bewolkt was, leek het ons beter om dit vandaag te doen.

Rond half 2 waren we er. Eerst een lekkere pizza gegeten en daarna zijn we de stad gaan verkennen. Maar omdat we geen kaart hadden (we dachten dat het wel zonder kon omdat Chiang Rai niet zo’n heel grote stad is) verdwaalden we al snel.. hihi gelukkig konden ons startpunt terugvinden en daar hebben we dan ook snel even een kaart gekocht. We hebben de lokale markt bezocht. Het blijft echt verbazingwekkend hoeveel eten er is in Thailand! Gigantisch veel fruit en groente. Vlees, vis en ingewanden liggen gewoon open en bloot (ongekoeld!) op de marktkraampjes. Ook de thaise ‘fastfood’ kraapmjes zie je overal weer terugkomen met hun worstjes, vleesspiesjes etc. En op elk moment van de dag zie de Thai dit eten. Hoe blijven ze toch zo dun?

Hierna hebben we de Wat Phra Kaeo bezocht. Inderdaad dezelfde naam als de grote tempel bij het Grand Palace in Bangkok! In deze tempel was  vroeger de beroemde emerald Boeddha Boeddha gehuisvest die later (rond 1400) verplaatst werd naar Bangkok. Er staat nu een replica van groen glas. De tempel staat (net zoals alle andere tempels gelegen in een stad) in een omheining van muren en is mooi aangelegd met veel groen. Het blijft verbazingwekkend hoe rustig het is zodra je deze muren binnenstapt. Je hoort geen auto’s, brommers, tuktuk’s en ander lawaai meer. Hierna hebben we een massagesalon opgezocht (we hadden toch best zere voetjes gekregen van al dat geloop) voor een heerlijke oliemassage. José had olie met lavendelgeur en ik met jasmijngeur die heerlijk rook. Massage was weer geweldig!

Ondertussen was het al avond geworden en hebben we de nightbazaar opgezocht. Hier (nog meer) leuke spulletjes gekocht (oww je blijft kopen!), nog meer kussenhoesjes, zilveren oorbellen, armbandjes, een cd met thaise muziek en een apenhorloge!

Gezellige markt! Er zijn weinig toeristen (of heel veel Chinese toeristen, ik zie nog steeds niet goed het verschil tussen een Thai en een Chinees). Netzoals de nightmarket in Chiang Mai had je ook hier een groot plein met allerlei eettentjes eromheen waar je allerlei kleine Thaise gerechtjes kan kopen (soort tapas) en dan op het plein opeten. Hier hebben we voor het eerst (gefrituurde) larven, krekels en kakkerlakken gezien! Ulgggg! We hadden gelijk geen zin meer om hier te eten, hahaha. Een leuk (en veilig) restaurantje opgezocht waar we een mooi uitzicht hadden over de markt en het plein. Hier was trouwens ook een podium waar Thaise muziek werd gespeeld en Thaise danseressen optraden. Erg leuk. Hierna een tuk tuk genomen terug naar ons resort en weer in ons heerlijke bad gedobberd voordat we gingen slapen.

Today was the longest bustrip of the whole vacation. Yesterday was long, but today would be even longer. We got up at 5.30 am, and left an hour and a half later.
First we visited Wat Mahattat, de second most important temple of Thailand. Very beautiful, and we got explanations about the different Buddha's, one for every day of the week. Our guide also told us there were different colors for each day. We got some time to walk around before we left for our next stop, Sukothai National Park.

We got a bike tour through the park. The bikes weren't in the best shape though, one got a flat tire, someone else lost a pedal...quite hilarious though. The tour was nice, we saw a few ruins, beautiful nature and the bike ride was quite nice because it was hot and with the bike ride we could cool down a bit ;)

After that we just drove on to Chiang Rai, with a few coffeestops on the way. We arrived at the Golden Pine Resort in the evening. And that really is something to be awestruck about. It is absolutely amazing, in the middle of ricefields. The garden was amzing, the rooms were little bungalows...it was just perfect!!

Together with Ted I was waiting outside the guesthouse to be picked up at 08:20. When it was 08:45 we decided to call the Akha hill house to ask what was taking them so long. First Ted called and he was told he would be picked up at 09:40. As my trek would start from the hill house (23 km away from Chiang Rai in the mountains) I did not trust the answer and called as well. Then it turned out he thought I was staying at Ben's guesthouse instead of Pam's guesthouse and they had left after they concluded I was not going to show up.

I asked them to arrange a taxi to pick me up and take me to the guesthouse which arrived 10 minutes later. As Ted and I were a bit confused Ted called the guy again and asked if he should get in the taxi as well. Because the guy said "yes" Ted got in as well and we drove off. The ride took about 35 minutes and especially the last part was quite bumpy (as it was just a dirt road with huge holes in it going up really steep). As we got to the Akha village we realised that Ted was not supposed to come here. His tour would leave from the Akha river house in Chiang Rai. Luckily for him he would be dropped off along the route of the trek so he could join from there.

Three other people (2 American girls working as expats in Bangkok and an English girl (Sarah) who was travelling around the world) were already waiting for me so as soon as I got out of the taxi we left.

The hike was really nice going up and down the mountains (or are they hills?) until we reached some sort of resting place. Sometimes the jungle was really dense and you can hardly see a path. The flora is mostly bamboo, but there is also tea, coffee, banana, papaya, lichee and orange trees growing there.

At the resting place the two Akha guides cut a few bamboo branches and cooked food in them on a fire using water from a natural spring. They cooked vegetables, water and an omelet in the bamboo "pots" and made drinking cups and chopsticks from the bamboo. Then they used banana leaves to put the vegetables and noodles together and we got noodle soup. It was really fun to see them cook in this way and it tasted really great (especially after having no breakfast).

The hike continued to a vilage from another trive, but there was nothing really going on there. Then we walked to a waterfall which was really beautiful and returned to the hill house. Once there I checked in to stay the night in a bamboo bungalow with a balcony from which I had a magnificent view on the valley. The owner told me that the hill house and river house are run by Akha people and that part of the profits go into development projects for the village (like improving the school and such).

I ate dinner and had some drinks with Sarah and some Americans that were staying in the hill house as well and then went to sleep. By the way: I wrote earlier that I was eaten alive by mosquitos right? It turns out that it were bedbugs. Sarah explained me they live in beds and bite you when you sleep. I had never heard of those before, but next time I'm gonna check the beds whenever I'm checking out a room... :-)

I woke up early and walked to the local 7/11 to get some supplies for the journey to Chiang Khong - water, nuts and tissues. With the shopping done I went back to Nice Kitchen for some breakfast - so much for eating somewhere new everyday! - and ordered some muesli with fruit and milk, plus a fruit shake. The waitress brought to my table what I can only describe as a 'mound of food in a bowl'. The bowl was full to over-flowing with pieces of fresh and dried fruit, cereal, nuts, seeds and milk. At one point I didn't think I would be able to eat it all. They really do make a beautiful breakfast there, a definite recommendation if you're ever in Chang Mai.

I checked out of the guesthouse and had to wait about 30 minutes for the minibus to arrive.


***


Four and a half hours and two stops later, the bus arrived in Chiang Khong just as the sun was disappearing behind the mountains.

My accommodation for the night can be accurately surmised as a 'shithole'. It beagan with the rather stern Thai lady who greeted us at the guest house - I've already blocked it's name from my memory - and who  assigned everyone to a room. There were lot's of quizzical looks and quiet smiles at each other.

I had a quick look around my room - it was actually worse than the Sitdhi guesthouse in Bangkok - and set out to buy an international phonecard to phone home. I ended up having to walk about three miles along the main road that appears to be Chiang Khong, until I reached the 7/11 supermarket, and then all the way back down the road to the international telephone. I made a quick phonecall home to wish my Dad a 'Happy Birthday', my Mam a 'Happy Wedding Anniversary' and to be wished a 'Happy Birthday' myself in return. What are the chances of two birthdays and a wedding anniversary all on the same day?

After the phonecall I walked to the only open restaurant that I could find - did I mention that Chiang Khong is a 'shithole'? - and ate a beef in oyster sauce and Pad Thai and sunk a few gin & tonics before heading back to my room to read through the Laos section of my 'Rough Guide', which was a good idea since I'd be arriving there the next day and didn't really know what to expect.

After a very good night of sleep (sometimes waking up because some gecko's were making noises) and having breakfast I returned to Chiang Rai using the free ride from the hill house. The trip standing in the back of a pick-up truck was fun. There was a Canadian girl on the ride that will be on the same flight tomorrow so we agreed to share a tuc-tuc to the airport.

I checked in at the Akha river house (related to the Akha hill house), because I didn't want to bother looking for another guesthouse and then went to an internet cafe to see if I could book an accomodation on Ko Pha Ngan. I calld, but they didn't want to book any rooms in advance. Probably there are so many people coming to the island that they will be full anyway.

I wanted to go to "the white temple" 13 kilometers South of Chiang Rai so I went to the bus station and took a local bus there. The temple is unlike any other temple I've seen so far. The construction was started in 1997 and is still going on. The temple is completely white and covered with little mirror tiles. When you enter the temple you have to cross a bridge under which there are a lot of hand grasping up into the air resembling desire or greed. Also most of the statues are pretty scary and decorated with skulls and devil like creatures. Once inside the temple the mural paintings are very modern. There is a picture of a plane crashing into the twin towers with two monsters coming out of the buildings and there are spaceships and stuff.

Most of the people walking around the temple are Thai tourists and they all want to go on a picture with me and they try to practise their English with me which is very funny.

I woke up quite late today, because of the great night I had yesterday (and not even with a hangover!). I had breakfast (again fruit with yoghurt and muesli, my favourite breakfast here) and then went to the hill tribe museum.

The museum shows a movie about responsible tourism to remote villages and has an exhibition on the hill tribes in the North of Thailand (The Akkha, Karen, Lasu, etc). I was glad I did not do a "Karen longneck hilltribe tour" in Chiang Mai, because the museum says the longneck people are not from Thailand originally, but they were "imported" for tourism by a businessman (what a hoax!).

The organisation behind the museum also organises tours to hilltribe villages, but because there are so few tourists here there was not one going tomorrow yet. So I had to return at 17:00 to see if more people wanted to do a tour. I had coffee in the restaurant at the museum and took some time to put on a lot of mosquito repellent. I've been stung like 50 times the past couple of days and the itching is really starting to annoy me. I've bought new repellent at the 7/11 store, but this stuff really burns on your skin (it contains menthol or something)...

I went to walk around the town and visited two wats. One of them had a replica of the jade Buddha (emerald Buddha) that is in the Wat Phrae Kaew (same name for the wat here) in Bangkok. The story goes that the emerald Buddha that is now in Bangkok was found here inside the Chedi that was hit by lightning a few hundred years ago.

At 17:00 I returned to the museum, but unfortunately they had no one-day tours leaving tomorrow or the day after that. I called the Akha hill house then and they had a one-day jungle trekking leaving tomorrow (so jippee!!!). I agreed that I would be picked up in front of the gueshouse where I am staying at 8:20 tomorrow morning.

I met up with Ted again to have dinner and after dinner I went to the Teepee bar again (Ted had booked a three-day hike at the same place and wanted to rest a bit so I went alone). The British girls from last night were there again and also a British couple that were going to travel for two years (I am getting really jealous at those people ;-) ). It was nice to talk to them and have a beer. I did not stay as late as the night before to be well rested for the jungle trek tomorrow.