Monday 18th June - Chiang Mai to Laos
The last few days in Chiang Mai have been relatively peaceful. After covering a lot of miles in my first week I needed a bit of time to relax and get ready for a long slog through the other SE Asian countries.
I had travelled up to Chiang Mai with Lee, a guy I met in Bangkok, which made things a lot more enjoyable. We also made friends with Lisa and Francois in Ayutthaya who we then bumped into again, randomly, in Phitsanulok and travelled the rest of the way up to Chiang Mai with them, so we had a nice group.
After the hill tribe trek we made friends with a few more people, Jo and Amelia, John and Laura, Mike and Sioux, Sarah, Barry and a couple of others. My friend, Angela, the Dutch girl I was keen on left the after our trek and is now somewhere in Laos.
The last few days have just flown by, with us not really doing much other than sitting by the Pool, playing cards and drinking in the evenings.
The main bar area in Chiang Mai is around the Night Bazaar (night market) where there are lots of small open-fronted bars, each with a free pool table. There is also a stage in the middle of the square where Thai performers sing and dance. We never quite worked out if some/all/none of the performers were lady boys or not! Our favourite bar also had Jenga and connect 4, which always entertains! I also highly recommend a bar called the Rasta Café. This bar had a live Rasta band that were really good and very entertaining staff. The "buckets" went down well (a sand pale full of Whiskey and coke), and a free T- Shirt every time we bought 2 was inspired!
I had an interesting experience in the toilet of a club called "Spicy" after the Rasta bar.
As I was doing my thing one of the toilet attendants came up and started massaging me. This wasn't too much of a shock, as the same thing happened when I was in China, and I
wasn't "special", everyone got a massage unless they asked to not have one, as you are expected to pay for it. What WAS unexpected was after washing my hands he grabbed my head and cracked my neck... Both sides, then my back, then my shoulders. That was a shock. I thought he was going to break my neck!! It felt bloody good afterwards though!
I did feel one was enough and asked for "no massage" after that!
We also spent a lot of time in The Local, a supposed English bar, even though it was nothing like anything I have seen in England, and only one girl spoke a bit of English!
Still, it was next door to our guest house (S.K Guesthouse), was friendly and had a pool table. Oh yeah, it did a mean all day breakfast, WITH baked beans! One night Jo decided to buy a "Thai Kebab", as we dubbed it. Basically a plate full of deep fried crickets! Now, I REALLY don't like creepy crawlies so there was NO way I was going to try one. Jo kicked it off with a small one and then all eyes were searching for the next person to try. We were all adamant we were not going to, but for some reason, I still don't know, I just picked one up and in it went! One bite and it pretty much disintegrated in my mouth. And it actually tasted pretty good! Just like barbequed meat. I was expecting to find bits of leg and wing in my teeth for ages after, but none. The thought of eating it, and the thought of what I had just eaten were far worse than the actual cricket itself! A good exercise in mind over matter, although I have no reason to repeat it! I did it and don't need to prove it to myself again. None of us tried the big cricket. That was just too bloody big and looked like it had a juicy tail that would explode in your mouth and a crunchy head.... Eeeuugghh.
One of the days, Lee, myself, Lisa and Francois hired out scooters and took a ride up the hill next to the city to a Temple. This was a lot of fun, the roads were very windey and, in places, quite steep. Since Lee and I were sharing a scooter (I was driving) it was rather underpowered on the steep bits. Riding back down in the rain was kinda fun! As was navigating the Chiang Mai rush hour. It was like being back in London, only crazier. The general rule of the road is to "Grab your balls and go for it"! I loved it!
I also had time to arrange my Visa for Vietnam, while I was in Chiang Mai. Thailand, Laos and Cambodia you can get a 15 day visa (some say you can also get a 30 day, but I’m not sure yet) when crossing the border, but Vietnam you have to pre-arrange.
I am now sitting on a non-air conditioned bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai. It isn't too bad. The windows are open, so when we are moving we get a good flow of air.
Unfortunately the seats are not very wide and I’m next to a "larger" Thai man, so I am pretty much "one cheek on, one cheek off"!
Lisa and Francois are pretty much doing the same trip as me through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, so we are starting out together. Lee went back south to Bangkok and then on to the islands. It is sad to see him go as we have been roomies for the last 2 weeks.
From Chiang Rai we get another bus up to Chiang Khong where we cross the Thailand/Laos border, by boat, into Huay Xai.
A boat ride from here will bring us up to Luang Nam Tha where we will spend a couple of days coming back south to Luang Prabang which is meant to be gorgeous. It is also quite likely that we will met Jo, Amelia, John and Laura in Luang Prabang as they are going there directly on Thursday.
Up until a couple of days ago I had only suffered about 3 or 4 mosquito bites which went quickly and didn't itch. I hadn't even worn any Deet (insect repellent) until my hill tribe trek. The last couple of days I have been bitten a bit more, but these are still small and, on the whole, not itchy. Unfortunately some of my travel companions have not been so lucky, with lots of bites and some that grow to look like bullet wounds! I am still not wearing Deet, but will do when we are on the river. I guess I am just not that tasty to mosquito's. I'm a little bit offended that I’m not that tasty, but somehow I think I'll get over it!