Chiang Khong respite

After our day long ordeal we stumbled into the Bamboo Riverside Guesthouse; a ramshackled collection of bamboo bungalows nestled in a jungle like setting and perched next to the river. Complementing its bohemian look and feel were the two owners - seemingly "hippy" Thais who were renowned for the best Mexican food and chocolate cake in town. It all seemed a touch surreal.

Our first night's stay was spent in what can only be described as insect filth (please refer to "outhouse" in any dictionary). Because the walls and roof were thatched with palm leaves, all sorts of critters had happily made their homes. Peeling back the strategically closed window curtains revealed a half-inch high pile of insect droppings while the ceiling showed evidence of ant nests - active ant nests! And to finish everything off - the double bed was 2 singles pushed together (one being the box spring) and the mattresses and pillows seemed to be made from wood (or stone). Needless to say, after quite a sleepless night (due to the critters munching and squeaking, Si's snoring and the Tee Pee Bar's blaring music) we found ourselves relocated to a much more suitable room.

Despite the state of our dwelling, the town was very nice and friendly. To help get over the "ride from hell" (See Mae Sai to Chiang Khong article) and the less than comfortable nights sleep, we found a little massage parlour and indulged ourselves in a 1 hour Thai Massage. Too loosen the cramped muscles each morning we ran and worked out along the riverside as we watched the boats ferry people and produce between the two countries. We also discovered an amazing "street meats" stall selling the most luscious river fish in all of Thailand. It was so delicious that we ended up eating there every night and the owner ever tried teaching us some Thai words and phrases.

After 2 days of R & R we hired a little scooter (no way near as big as our previous 125CC bike in Chiang Rai) and headed for the hills. Our initial plan was to visit a scenic lookout, a waterfall of local renown and a beach to sunbathe on. Despite our best efforts at navigating, our grasp of the Thai language let us down as we couldn't read any of the street signs. Instead we found ourselves winding up mountains and down the other side, riding over dirt and gravel sections of roads on our little trike. At the peak of mountains we would have to rug-up due to the cold winter air and as we descended things would gradually heat up again. As we searched for one of our 3 planned destinations (the waterfall) we took a side route and found ourselves riding through the middle of some village. From the looks on the children's and adult's faces, we don't think that they have either (a) seen many white people before, or (b) we were definitely not meant to be in their village -possibly a bit of both we think.

Realising that we were never going to find the lookout, waterfall or beach we decided to follow the road to a town called Phu Chi Fa - or so we thought. Kilometers rolled on beneath our feet as we continued up and down more mountains, through rice paddies, bamboo groves and villages. At least we could follow the signs to the town of Phu Chi Fa. Well.... another surprise was install for us! Phu Chi Fa was not a town, not even a village, not even a hut! Phu Chi Fa was a national park on top of yet another mountain. Somewhat disappointed but eternally amused when we arrived and realised this fact, we stopped off and had a lunch of roasted chicken and purple wild sticky rice. With bellies once again full, tourist map (in Thai) in hand and the sun starting to set in the west, we headed down the far side of Phu Chi Fa (through Ban Huak, Thueng and numerous small villages) and eventually made it back into Chiang Khong (just in time to grab the last fish from our favourite vendor). Many thanks to the school children of Thoeng for pointing the "farang" in the right direction!

On the trip we decided that it was time to cross over to the other side - to go into Laos. We were recharged and ready!