Day 5 - Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai

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This morning bags to coach was at 8:15am. The drive to Chiang Rai this morning was only about 4 hours and it was broken up by a quick stop on the way where Nui bought some sticky rice for us to try; sticky rice is a traditional Thai dessert. We also stopped at a cafe / rest area on the way called 'Cabbages & Condoms'. I kid you not.
I honestly don't know where the cabbages bit came from but the condoms bit is because any profit they make at the cafe goes towards buying communities condoms to help prevent the spread of HIV. We were here for about 15minutes, just for a quick toilet break and to get some snacks and then we were back on our way to Chiang Rai.
We got to our hotel, the 'Wangcome Hotel', by about 2:00pm where we had to prepare some documents for tomorrows border crossing into Laos.
After this was done, Jackie and I went in search of lunch. We were going to try and find some western food but ended up having noodles with chicken again. Not as good as the previous days but still pretty good.
After, we had a quick stroll around the shops before heading back to the hotel to meet the rest of the group for our trip out to the hill tribe villages. The first tribe that we visited was the Karen Tribe.
The Karen Tribe came from the north of Thailand and have no 'real' religion, the only thing they 'believe' in is their witch doctor. The Karen Tribe don't brush their teeth, instead, they eat a thing called the 'Beetnut'. It protects their teeth better than toothpaste but it also colours them. one to ten years of eating them and the teeth turn red, after that time their teeth will turn black. The second tribe that we walked through was the Long Neck Tribe.
I never quite knew why these women had these rings on their necks and there are many different accounts of why they practice it. Their own mythology explains that it is done to prevent tigers from biting them! Others have reported that it is done to make the women unattractive so they are less likely to be captured by slave traders. The most common explanation, though, is the opposite of this - that an extra-long neck is considered a sign of great beauty and wealth and that it will attract a better husband. Whatever the origin of the custom, one of the more common reasons it continues today, particularly in Thailand, is tourism.
Some of the women and kids also have the rings, which is actually one long piece of metal that is heated then wrapped around, around their ankles and wrists. This is said to protect them from snake bits.
Honestly, I, and a few of the others, wasn't a fan of this whole situation. To us it felt like we were walking through a zoo, and we were just gawking at them.
After this, at about 4:30pm, myself, Jackie, Matt and Luke decided to go for a walk to fill in some time before we were to meet up for the night markets. We walked up and down the main street, not finding much, before returning to the hotel and freshening up before meeting in the lobby at 7:15pm.
We made our way around to the 'Chiang Rai Night Bazaar'. It was just another night market really, more fake designer bags etc.
We had some dinner at the markets; Dean tried to get us to eat all sorts of bugs including cockroaches. I politely declined; I actually said "hell no, not on your life". Luke ended up eating this huge cockroach after Matt tricked him into it saying he'd already eaten one.
After dinner, myself, Jackie and Luke went for a stroll in the markets, bartered a bit then made our way back to the hotel. We had a bit of time for a chat before we leaft at 9:45pm to head to 'Sperm Bar'.
Nothing special really, just a Thai Band on stage singing covers, in Thai and in English. It was a really good night out for the group, a little too good for some who stumbled in at all hours.
Jackie and I jumped in a Tuk Tuk with Jack, Nui and quite a few other and we were back at the hotel by just after 1:30am; very, very sleepy.

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