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Published: December 15th 2007
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Chris has arrived!!
His plane landed at 10 in the morning, in Chiang Mai, last week. I picked him up on my motorbike (yes, learned how to drive one 12 hours beforehand!) and took him to all my spots in the city. It was so exciting! We talked for hours catching up about the long five weeks of separation-- all the things Chris did to keep busy and the many generous friends that hosted and hung out with him. And I filled him in on things Thai, like eating with spoons and not forks, and how he can say 'thank you' as a man instead of a woman...
We stayed in Chiang Mai a few nights, stumbled upon the cutest guesthouse just down the soi from Eric's hotel. It was a big teak house with dark wooden rooms (but big bright windows), colorful sheets, and a really friendly female owner who sat in the patio downstairs most of the day.
Chris slept most of the first day, but on the second we took a long motorbike ride way out into the countryside (past the town of Mae Tang) in order to see one of the world's largest spirulina farms.
It was quite a ride into the beautiful rice paddy fields, lined by palm trees and thatched huts selling fruits and meats... Spirulina is an algae with loads of vitamins and minerals, and while it was a nice trip out we ended up having to buy a bottle from their outlet back in the city. We stopped in a random market on the way back, purchasing some dragonfruit and Chris' first bowl of streetstall noodle soup. He loved it. I think Thailand will do him good. 😉
After a few nights in Chiang Mai, showing him the markets and wats, we caught a lift with Aom, one of Eric's friends, and stayed with her at her house in Phitsanulok. Its a pretty cruddy city, but we got in late and left early the next morning on a bus to Lom Sak, stopping at a beautiful waterfall en route. Plus, we got to talk for hours with Aom, a successful young Thai woman who makes tons of money as a pharmacuetical rep. She is going to Jordan for Christmas, so we talked a lot about travel-- she
goes everywhere in Thailand, but has never been abroad-- and also what is life as a pharm. rep. like?
From the falls we ended up hitching a lift to Lom Sak with a well-to-do Thai family; we watched X-Men 3 from the back of their van with their son, who was shy to practice his English. The views in the mountains were absolutely amazing-- a bit like southerm California but lush and rolling. There were some pretty fancy houses along the way too, I can only imagine what the 'green' rainy season is like there.
It was a bit difficult, but we took a late bus to Champea, then transfered to Loei, then to Khang Chan. There doesn't seem to be a real route system that connects them conveniently, but our Lonely Planet was simply vague about the whole area. We finally arrived at the sleepy little town of Chiang Khan at 1 am, met a flambouyant 'lady boy' who was very interested in drunken conversation over a bowl of noodle soup, and then wandered the silent streets gawking at the solid teak houses. Absolutely everything was sleeping, so we pitched ourselves on what may have been an
abandoned porch over looking the river. Not until we woke up in a hazy, blinding fog did we realize what an amazing town we had stumbled on. All along the Mekong was a brick promenade with gorgeous views of the water, banks, and across to Laos. We walked up and down the street umpteen times throughout our stay, always sighing at how wonderful and peaceful it is there. We checked into a cosy guesthouse along the strip, with a terrace overlooking the water, and run by a friendly toothless woman. She laughed hysterically as she told us how she fell off her motorbike and now has no teeth, and after several conversations we learned she used to be a psychology professor at the Phitsanulok University-- and now quietly resides in Chang Khan, doing yoga and playing with her cat.
Although sad to leave, we had to move on, so we hitched a ride (we got help from the guesthouse owner) on the back of a truck to the next town with a bus stop-- Pak Chom. We ended up waiting a few hours, Chris sitting with monks who gawked at his sketches, while I sat with a pleasant Dutch
woman we had seen earlier in the guesthouse. As a woman, I am not allowed to sit on the bench with monks, or to hand them anything, but in my excitement I forgot and tried to hand one particularly friendly monk a folder of Chris' artwork. When he scooted over and pointed to the bench I absentmindedly took that as an offer to sit and just when I plunked my bum down next to him I realized my mistake-- I jumped up and threw the folder to Chris saying 'You give it to him!', and scuttled away...
We weren't sure why we decided to stop in Sampong, and sort of regretted getting off the bus on a dusty, nowheresville street, but instantly became elated once we saw the guesthouse. We stayed at Buoy, which is a Lanna word for a name game, where there were bungalows set out overlooking the water, each equipped with a hammok, chairs, and mosquitoe net. The grounds of the guesthouse were gorgeous-- packed full of lush plants, flowers, trees, etc., and set across from the cute office/restaurant separated by a rickety wooden bridge. I woke up early in the morning to sit outside, wrapped
in a thick blanket, and watch the sunrise over the Mekong. It was breathtaking; first the sky grew orangey-pink at the first light, then calmed to blue as day became visable, then all of the sudden a huge fireball rose up behind the far mountain and illuminated the sky and water with sparkling rays....! I will never forget that one. 😊
Again, we had to part with a seductively sleepy riverside town, this time heading to the border-crossing at Nong Khai. We didn't get a room at Mut Mee, the really nice lush guesthouse, but settled for a decent place next door. For the afternoon we walked several km to a crazy sculpture park, built by a Laotian man, and full of Hindu, Buddhist, and various other mythical figures and pieces of his art. The sculptures were huge-- and some quite grotesque. His vision of the afterlife and philosophy of life, etc. Really it was just weird.
For dinner we savored our last Thai meal (for now) at Mut Mee, sitting with the same Dutch woman from the bus stop previous. After a day of wandering, getting lost in the tired pursuit of a decent meal, we ended up
finding salvation in their relaxed atmosphere-- and prepared for the border crossing into Laos.
Now we are here in Vientane, the capital of Laos. Its pretty big, and dirty-- typical city. But there is an obvious French flare in the architecture and food, which is nice at the very least just for change. We teamed up with some fun travelers (two French-Canadian, one Finnish) who helped barter our way from the bridge to the city (22 km) and together we got accomodation and wandered some markets. This will probably be the first and last chance to write e-mails/ update my blog but who knows? Just don't fret if there are no postings until Vietnam.... 😉
I haven't yet seen any differences between Thailand and Laos (except they drive on the right side here?), but by the next entry I will report my conclusions.... Salut!
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Brandon
non-member comment
First!
Sorry. Just something us bloggers do state-side.