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Published: February 9th 2023
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I‘d researched the best way to get to Chiang Rai and it seemed that was to use Greenbus, a 3-4 hour journey, depending on which class you choose. I pushed the boat out and booked the VIP one. The company website was a pain in the neck all round and I should have just paid a tiny bit more and done it through 12GoAsia. It was mostly in Thai but somehow I managed to book, pay and choose a front row seat. I must have printed it off then and there (just as well, if you don’t it disappears and you cannot find it anywhere) and it didn’t look much like a ticket although it had some QR codes on it. I assumed I’d have to go to the counter and get a proper ticket on the day. You don’t. I queued and he just flapped his hand towards the platform.
I used a new app, Bolt, for a taxi and it was very cheap. At first it said only a bike was available but after rush hour a car came in 7 mins. Pay in cash. It was obvious which platform the Greenbus was and it was super organised,
uniformed staff and printouts. My ticket and seat were fine and they put a tag on your luggage depending on where you want to get off. My front row seat had a wall in front of it which separates the driver from the rest of us. There was loads of legroom but not as good a view. You get a bottle of water and a snack. The toilet at the back was NOT VIP, it was barely manageable as the door wouldn’t close and when you flush, RUN FOR IT! Poor people at the back. The journey was non stop and the roads were very good.
At Chiang Rai it stopped at bus terminal 2, do not get out here, stay on until the station in the centre of town. There were tuktuks touting for business but I could walk to my guesthouse. I’d forgotten to ask for an upstairs room and got room 1. Uh oh! Right next to reception and the lady and her mum were up clattering about and running water before 6am. I booked a one day tour for tomorrow for 1000bt but there are some extras, to go in the temples and 300bt for
the long neck tribe, looks like I’ll finally get that chance to be super uncomfortable! It is 8am-7pm, quite the day out! I’m staying at Grandma Kaew’s Hose, south of the bus station and it is far from traffic noise. The room is big, huge fridge, clean as a pin and there is an extra room with sink for laundry. The main problem is that people walk past the window all the time so for any privacy you have to keep the curtains closed. Still, £15 a night is a bargain and the housekeeping after the last place is great,
I walked around a bit and bought a few supplies and sussed out the station for my bus on Saturday, which is as local as you can get. I went into Cafe Amazon to try it out, clean, cool, you can sit there all day. I had Thai milk tea, which was a wild orange colour and delicious. The night market was setting up as I walked through and I went back there later. There are lots of very similar food stalls and a central seating area. I bought a beer and saw 2 people waving at me. It
was the Japanese couple from the songthaew to Doi Suthep temple. I sat and ate with them and it was hilarious. They tried so hard with their English and we showed each other photos of our homes. A really fun evening.
Today was a rest day so I didn’t appreciate the involuntary early wake up call. Google came up with a plan for breakfast and it was a cute place (Xibiao’s Bakery and Cafe)with recognisable food but more expensive. Then I found the post office to send off postcards, finally. I had to go along the market street and the indoor one was huge, with very dark alleyways. Nobody paid me any attention as I walked through. Then I remembered I needed to buy some paper to give to the village schools along the Mekong. I didn’t want to carry it with me. Google showed 2 stationery shops. The first one wasn’t, no idea what it was really, but the second was perfect. I said I didn’t want a whole ream and the lady had packs of 20 sheets for 20bt. When I said I was giving them to a school in Laos she showered me with free stuff,
more paper, rulers, pencils. It was so kind of her, I could have cried! She said thank you for teaching the children. Which I’m not.
Then I walked a long way to find a coffee place (Bechegu Coffee) the Japanese couple had recommended. It was way off the beaten track in a garden with birds singing, so peaceful. Inside it was quite smart but the outside was made of wobbly bamboo and wood, charming but seemed dangerous to walk on. The walk back to town was far and hot, past the enormous hospital. I went to the bus station again to observe the red bus to Chiang Khong actually set off. It nearly did but then there was a change of plan and they all had to get off one bus and onto another. There are clear signs and it’s the only red bus with a lady selling tickets (70bt). The sign says it only goes to the Friendship Bridge border if there are enough people for that, otherwise it leaves you outside town and you have to get a tuktuk. No problem for me, as I’m on a Nagi of Mekong cruise. Much more expensive but all the
hassle and uncertainty and bag humping taken out of it! 180USD with single supplement and the cheapest of the accommodation choices.
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