Polly: After our minivan ride from Pai to Chiang Mai, we jumped on the next bus to Chiang Rai. It was very cheap, but with five seats per row, was also very intimate, especially after four hours. In the spa in Pai, Ross had cunningly acquired a copy of the 2007 edition of the Lonely Planet for Northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, & Vietnam. So, on arrival we had a look in our new book for some accommodation. We didn't plan to stay in Chiang Rai for long, but saw it as a pathway into Laos. Therefore, we decided to pick the guesthouse furthest away from the town, 'Akha's River Cottage' for some peace and quiet. It seemed that everyone else had had the same plan, because after a ten-minute tuk-tuk ride, we arrived to discover it
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