After leaving the tourist trap that was Chiang Mai, we headed off on another bus adventure - this time further north to Chiang Rai. The "Lonely Planet" made it pretty clear that there wasn't teribly much to do in Chiang Rai except arrange a trek into the mountains, do a bit of rafting and sleep with the odd Hill Tribe. But as we expected, it was much like Chiang Rai with the same areas and same Hill Tribes being visited. Si calls it eco-tourism gone a wry. Anyway, it didn't really matter because we'd already decided to leave the Hill Tribes, trekking and rafting alone until we get to Northern Laos where there are strict environmental guidelines and protocols for such activities. And above all this - there are organisations that put 90% of the revenue raised back directly into the villages.
So with that in mind we arrived at Chiang Rai Bus Terminal after a 6 hour ride from Chiang Rai and jumped in a sawngthaew (sort of a mini truck/ utility with two rows of seats along the covered, rear tray. To you Aussies - like a covered ute with seats running along each side of the tray) and headed for our next Guest House - The Chat House. Here we were greeted by John (a small, funny Thai guy) who ensured we were checked in and all settled. the room was small... but clean and not an ant in sight! There was even fresh towels and a large bottle of water for us. So... after a cursory glance around the room (and the bathroom) we dropped our packs and went on our routine stroll around town - to get our bearings.
We wandered along several back and side streets and through the maze that is the "Morning Markets". As we came out of the darkness we entered what is known as the Chiang Rai Night Food Markets where stalls sell all sorts of wonderful (and sometimes strange) fruits, vegetables and meats. There was everything from the usual watermelon, pineapple, pomelo, tomatoes and Chinese broccoli - through to deep fried fish, grilled chicken, spicy mushroom salads, cockroaches, crickets, grubs and fresh frogs (no not just the legs... the whole Kermit). After sampling some of the local goodness (and cockroaches are particularly flavoursome!!) we headed back to The Chat House.
We all know that looks can be deceiving! And we all know that things are not always what they seem! Well... we know know what its like to sleep on a rock! I thought that futons were tough... Nik thought the beds in China were rough :) But the bed in Apartment 14 at The Chat House was down right solid and flat! At first we thought we had been given another bed base (box springs - but with no springs!!) - then we realised that it was a mattress. For us it may have well been a plank of wood. Needless to say we asked for another room the very next morning and thoroughly tested the "softness" of the mattress before agreeing to the transfer into Apartment 9.
Then on one fine, sunny Chiang Rai day we decided to hire a motorcycle and head for them hills! From the Guest House we hired a 125CC Honda Daytona (all the bikes in Thailand are tiny - nothing seems bigger than 250CC - but they all have such macho names... Tiger, Razor, Devil, Wasp, Pantha, etc...). With a map in hand we rode off in search of the Buddha Painting and Pu Tu Caves - just past the outskirts of town. I don't know about you guys but when I hire a vehilce, I expect there to be a full tank of gas with it. HA!! I should have checked before heading for those hills!! As luck would have it (and Si's poker gang know just how lucky he is:) we ran out of juice about a mile after the road turned from bitumen to dirt. So around we turned and Si pushed the bike to the top of the hill and we coasted back down into a small village. Fortunately there was a gas station in this village. Well.. O use the term gas station very loosely! It was in fact 3 barrels of fuel (I assume Diesel, Super and Unleaded???) with a hand pump and measuring unit attached to the top of each. You manually pumped the gas into the measuring unit - and when you'd filled it to the desired level, you pumped it into your gas tank. 300 Baht later we were all filled up and back on our way.
Tu Pu and Buddha Caves were quite spectacular - with numerous carvings and statues of Buddha... in various states of "enlightenment"... scattered all over the caves. At the Buddha Cave there was a lovely old monk giving sermons to some locals (I wish we knew more Thai as the locals seemed totally intrigued by whatever he was saying), while at Tu Pu Cave they were completing an engraving of Buddha on a huge cliff face (and applying gold leaf to his feet). Then back on our chariot and into the jungle we headed.... up into the mountains, off the regular roads and tracks and into the wilderness. I'm sure that we were riding on someones "private" property for a long time - until the track ran out and the jungle really started. But what amazing views... rice paddies down in the gullies and valleys, Brahma cows grazing on old grass, a stream gently flowing through the countryside and a worker clearing the bamboo. Absolutely tranquil! Afterwards we continued up another path that lead us to a lookout - The Sea of Clouds - that sits some 945 meters above sea level. From here it felt like we could see not only all of Northern Thailand, but a million clouds as well. From the state of the lookout and the track leading to it - we don't think the "tourist hoards" make it this far. On the way down it was hard on the rear brakes as the bike slid sideways... Nik holding on for dear life. Meandering our way further up the valley, we came across a beautifully peaceful waterfall area... with no one but the 2 of us and a few workers building some tourist contraption. When the spray of the falls had cooled our faces and we'd caught our breath, we saddled up again and made our way for the Golden Triangle...
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