Thailand Laos Border

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Geo: 17.8841, 102.747

We have been travelling since 25 January. We just<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">spent the last three days in Chiang Mai, Northern<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Thailand. The pace there was quite hectic but we<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">enjoyed the experience. <br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">We overdosed on consumerism ie shopping, eating and<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">drinking. Chiang Mai is at the base of the Himalayas<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">but the hills were shrouded in smog. We took a hair<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">raising trip up the hill in a Salom (taxi/ute type<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">thing) yesterday to a temple atop the hill for a<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">superb view over the city. We also visited a Hill<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Tribe and found Opium Poppies amongst the terraced<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">gardens. We watched traditional dancing, practiced our<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">bartering skills and experienced the friendliness of<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">the locals in the "land of smiles".<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Yesterday we travelled here to Nong Khai, Northeast Thailand.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">We are staying at a guest house on the Mekong River<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">and can see Laos on the other side. It is lovely and<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">relaxing and we don't plan to do much for the next few<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">days. We may hire some pushbikes/motor bikes and<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">explore some of the local area. Or we may just lie on<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">a hammock under a tree and sip (no I mean guzzle)<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Singha beer and watch the boats cruise up and down the<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">river.
Today we hired a 110cc 4 speed auto scooter and rodeabout 140km return trip to a national park with<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">ancient shelters and rock paintings. Boy was my bum<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">sore!! It was quite serene and uncanny how much it<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">could have been in Australia. Perhaps near Chillagoe<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">or in Kakadu. The rock formations were sandstone. Sort<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">of similar to where you went on your ride near<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Herberton.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Tomorrow we go to Laos. Kind of sad to leave Thailand <br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">and the serenity of the guesthouse on the river but it<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">is time to explore further afield.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">We took some photos of some bikes in one of the Honda<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">shops we passed on the way today. One bike was similar<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">to a NSR125 but was a 150 with Repsol colors and a<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">single sided rear swing arm for only $3500 Aussie<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">Dollars!!!<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;">

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