Laos

I got myself to the Chiang Rai Bus Station. Now, I was actually advised (by everyone) to get on a bus to Vientiane, Laos in order to renew my visa at the Immigrations office which is not open on the week-end. That's why I left on Sunday morning. I had visions of traveling overnight all the way along the border to reach the "Friendship Bridge". But...

When I got off the bus in Chiang Rai, this lady kept waving me towards her bus which she said was going to Laos and would get there in two hours! Two hours. Less money. I think that bus only cost 65 baht. So, what the heck.

I got on the bus and called one of the teachers to get her advice. I told her I may as well get a one-month visa and save all the time and money going to Vientiane. She seemed to agree.

On the bus, I met a dear young lady from the Netherlands who had actually gone to school in Breda, a little town where I had stayed in an old farmhouse many, many years ago. We talked about the terrible things going on in Europe and I mentioned that ladies were safer traveling in Thailand and Laos these days than they were in Europe. However, she was meeting up with a friend and that was a good thing.

I don't know why border crossings need to be so complicated, but, for some reason they do. Not as complicated as they used to be, though. You used to have to take an overnight ferry to cross the border. Now you just go to the border town, where tuk-tuks pick you up and take you to the border crossing, from which we needed to take a shuttle bus to the Immigrations Office where I was required to pay $41 US just for the priviledge of staying overnight in a little town which I think was called Don Khon.

To get to the little town which was 14 kms from the Immigrations, it cost 100 baht. The skinflint that I am, I was seething. But, of course, what choice do you have? Although there were guest houses all along the way, the "song-tow" took us right into town, where the electricity was off!

He dropped me and a couple off at "Sabaidee Guest House" which was clean and had hot water (when and if the electricity ever came on). So, I left my backpack and went to look for dinner. I was told by the desk clerk that there were "lots" of restaurants down the street. There were, at most half a dozen but none of them seemed to be cooking food or even making sandwiches. It was a bit eery.

Although the sun was still up, there was a dusky, silent, sort of dazed feeling in the air. It felt like being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie or like one of those really old crime mysteries. It was quiet. I realize that when there's no electricity, there's no music, not much noise and everyone seems pensive, waiting for the electricity to come back on so life can go on as usual.

I found a restaurant with dark table cloths on dingy tables buzzing with flies where a very slow waitress finally approached me to take my order. When the food came, it was obvious the rice had been sitting in the pot for a while, getting cakey. But I was too hungry to worry about it.

The town was loaded with Westerners, some of whom seemed to be residents. The river was beautiful. The town was very old-fashioned with clap-board houses and red dirt along the roads that rose up in puffs of smoke as vehicles churned past.

I went back to my hotel, accidentally fell asleep and woke up in the dark, wondering where on earth I was. Then I set my alarm for 8 and fell asleep again. Before the sun rose, a thread of light appeared under my door telling me that the electricity had returned. Hallelujah. But, it was too cold for a tepid shower, so I just went back to sleep.

After an "American Breakfast" which is French bread, one fried egg and some cold-cuts, I caught a tuk-tuk back to Immigrations. From there, you take another Shuttle bus to the border and from there, a tuk-tuk to Thailand where you can catch a bus to your preferred destination.

I took a bus to Chiang Rai and treated myself there to a foot massage! It was lovely! In fact, it was a little taste of heaven. It made me think I should get one once a month.

Now, I'm back in Mae Sai, sitting in my fully electricity supplied room with Wifi and very hot water. So, it's time for a nice hot shower to get off some of that travel dirt!

One more month in Thailand!

Chiang Rai's Spectacular Gardens

This time every year, an enormous and amazing garden is planted in an area in Chiang Rai's downtown. All these plants are brought in once a year, perhaps because the weather is cooler so it's a good time for some of the bulbs and orchids.

                                                          Here is one proliferous bunch of orchids!

 This is a beautiful red, heart-shaped flower with a plastic texture to it and I don't know what it's name is.

What caught my attention as I passed by, was the SMELL! HEAVENLY! Just heavenly!

Do you know, I have rarely been able to catch
the scent from flowers these days? I think it's
because the perfume has left many genetically
modified or cross-bred flower species. I think
the smell has been bred out of them.

 So, I was knocked over by one whiff from these gorgeous creations. I went into the garden, under the arches and found, to my delight, that the admission was free. It really was like a trip to paradise. So many flowers in one place!

 SOMEBODY has a green thumb! Or maybe there are a lot of somebodies with green thumbs!

I never expected to see tulips in this part of the world. I also never expected someone's butt to be in this picture.

Around Chiangrai

This is the nice restaurant next to my guest house. It's got great ambiance and aesthetics and all that...

 It's called "Melt in Your Mouth". They have put up dozens of signs directing cars to it and that's how I find my way home on my bike. Just follow the yellow "Melt" signs.

 I'm going to have my coffee upstairs next time because it's a great view of the river from up there.

                                 A river flows by it and lots of motorized long boats.

            This is the entrance of the restaurant. I kinda went nuts with the picture taking.

 The house next door to where I'm staying in the guest house. I just think it's so cute. But, mostly I love the trees.

 This is the guest house I've been staying at for the past week or so. The yellow sign says: "Ps Guest House". It's not really a guest house anymore but more like a rental.


  

My long-handled orange bike. It has two speeds: slow and slower. I shouldn't complain though because, since I've been using it, my thighs have gotten in much better shape.

                                                 The Kok River in Chiangrai

 A lovely walkway along the river. This time of year, Thais from Bangkok come up north to get out of the heat and enjoy the cooler weather we enjoy in the north of Thailand. New Year's Eve is very crowded out in the restaurants and pubs with all the tourists these days.

                           There are so many varieties of palm trees and I love 'em all!

Changing Countries

https://www.google.co.th/maps/@20.8016104,98.7850768,4.99z?hl=en


The thing about changing countries is that one sees the world in a new perspective. Instead of looking at the map from south of Thailand, I'm looking at it from the northern tip of Thailand, in the tip of the "elephant's ear" right where the border of Myanmar and Laos touch Thailand.

They call that the Golden Triangle. And, of course, charge tourists to go there on a very interesting tour, which I opted out of.

Chiangrai is a very pretty little city with not much going on, but at least the Thais have figured out that we Westerners LOVE our coffee. Coffee shops are proliferous. To me, the old stingy Scrooge that I am, the price of coffee is outlandish. I mean, two cups per day would run me between 75 to 100 bhat.  That's almost $4 Canadian! But, the coffee is very good. There is a nice Thai coffee grown here, too.

They mostly sell cappuccino and espresso coffee when you ask for "real" coffee. The Americano is just espresso watered down, but it comes out very strong. They usually only fill your cup 2/3 full, so I ask for another cup of hot water and top it up myself.

So, looking at the world now, China is just the other side of the border that runs between Laos and Myanmar. Wouldn't it be nice if there were no borders? Then, for example, Canadians wouldn't need to pay the highest visa price in Laos. It's $42 U.S. for a Canadian to buy a visa to Laos! That's like three nights in a hotel with your own private toilet.

Is my Scrooge-ness showing again? I guess the visa would be worth it if they gave you a nice long time but I think you only get 30 days.

 This gentle giant is one of the beautiful glories near my studio. We're out in the "real Thailand" here, surrounded in that stuff we remember as nature. Lots of friendly people who actually say, "Hi,".

This is a shot of a granddaddy tree along the road. It's hosting all kinds of other growth like a garden in the sky.

 What the heck is all this shtuff, anyway?

 I wonder whether these humongous trees have a cooling effect on the temperature? There are lots of deciduous trees in this area. 

The view from off my balcony.

It's a nice place to visit but not easy to sleep here! A cacophony of noise erupts every night right around 1:30 am. The barking lizards seem to be the loudest, joined immediately by the roosters who imitate the lizards and the doves. Then there's the cats who sound like babies being tortured. Barking dogs are sort of just background noise. Those lizards get so loud, I have to shout at them to shut up out of my window. They stop when I turn the light on in the kitchen.

 Another view from my balcony...

The bed area of the studio with chair and wardrobe. Note the tiled walls. Give it a cold castle effect.

 TV with kitchen area and window at the back and washroom to the right of that. Note air con above. It's brand new but the weather is so cool I haven't turned it on in the week I've been here because it wasn't needed. In fact, I needed another blanket. B-r-r-r!

On the Road in Malaysia

 I took the bus from Seremban to Hadyai, shooting pictures out of the window along the way. Unfortunatly, the memory card in my camera malfunctioned and I have temporarily lost most of the pics.

Although they are oil palms farmed for their oil, they do look pretty in the rainy season with their leaves shining in the sun.         

                         Did you ever just want to take pictures of clouds?

Upon reaching the Thai border, I was told directly by the bus driver that I had exactly 20 minutes and no more and that if I didn't get back to the bus, he would leave without me. WHAT?

It was sort of funny and sort of not. I'd never had a bus driver say THAT before. So, I knew there was a temptation to start getting a little stressed out when the person in front of me started taking a lot longer than usual. Everyone else just breezed in and out. Not this person in front of me.

I was getting a little tiny, itsy bit stressed, but not really, when it was my turn. The Immigrations officer stopped to read my passport. They had noted that I was entering Malaysia for only ONE WEEK and then required to report to Immigrations in Kuala Lumpur.

"I was supposed to get a teaching job in K.L.," I told the officer, "But they couldn't get a work permit for me because I'm... too old." I tried to smile or at least to show my teeth. But, it didn't help. He sent me to another room. Ok, not so bad. I explained to them that I was hoping to get a position in Vietnam. (Though nothing was definite.) THEY wrote on my passport:

"En route to Vietnam via Thailand."

But, to my joy, they also gave me a whole month in Thailand. I could get back to my bus in the nick of time. Maybe that bus driver saw my little black border cloud over my head. Or maybe I have it written on my forehead: "Border Crossing Loser" or something. But, I got to Hadyai.

Hadyai was when my first cold set in as a result of the freezing air-con bus.

I spent one night at my usual guest house (The Cathay Guest House) in my usual room. Then, decided to head north the following morning.

Bike for Dad in Bangkok

I got to Bangkok in time to see the "Bike for Dad" bike ride that took place downtown for the King of Thailand who is presently in hospital. The King is 88 years old. The Thais dearly love him and rightfully so. He has been an enormous help and strength to his people, a real king with real apathy for his kingdom. He is such a good example of a leader.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej or Rama IX took the throne on June 9,1946. He is the world's longest reigning monarch.

Krabi

 I left Seremban at 8 pm on Monday night. My taxi driver had showed up a bit early, so he offered to drive me to the petrol station to get his tank filled to kill some time. I discovered then that there are two different fuel tanks in the taxis and the one in front takes a cheaper fuel, which I assume is diesel.

My bus left at about 10 pm and we got to the border at about 4 am. The border was slow going. However, I was very pleased that they allowed me into Thailand with a smile. When they asked where I was going, I said, "Krabi", although I hadn't fully decided on making the trip up the coast. Still, upon arriving in Hatyai and filling up on padsiyu at my favourite restaurant, I made the decision to go. Of course, the bus agents overcharged me somewhat, but, I figured I may as well get used to the Thai style of business. (I had forgotten that you're really supposed to barter and not accept the first price they offer. In fact, one should just walk away if one wants the price to drop dramatically. And it will! In most cases, to a third of the original price.)

The mini bus was an hour late. My time was an hour ahead of Thai time, so I had a bit of a wait while the black flies were making mincemeat of my legs and toes. The flies don't even seem to land and bite but, they quickly light and bite without you feeling it until they're gone. Then you get this nasty sensation and annoying itch, though you can't see any mark on your skin!

To be honest, the bus was a nightmare. I know I'm getting old and all that, but seriously, it was the most uncomfortable ride I've had since riding in the back of a truck in Borneo. First off, the driver drove around and around in Hatyai for an hour, trying to pick up more passengers and I finally complained that they were two hours late, so I wanted my money back. (We left shortly after that.)

My knees were jammed right up against the seat in front of me, and although the headrest was padded, the material on the seats was very uncomfortable. But, the worst part was the ride. There seemed to be very little if any suspension and we hit every bump in the road, of which there were ample. I mean, we were literally bouncing out of our seats, which can be annoying when you're trying to catch a few winks.

Once in Krabi, I was let down at another bus agent and told that the cheap hotels were around the corner. That is, if you consider 1,200 baht to be cheap. I don't. I thought I'd be able to find a guest house for what they had in Hatyai which was 200 baht. Not likely. So, I walked around, pulling my little suitcase, going in and out, checking for the cheapest price, since I was on a tight budget.

Finally, I found a room for 450 baht with no air-con and no hot water. So, I asked if he could lower the price and he gave me a "special" price of 400. That's double the price in Hatyai at the Cathay Guest House which has hot water, albeit the toilet is a squat toilet.

The bed was GREAT. I loved the bed. There were two of them and a nice overhead fan. What more could one ask for? I was exhausted and slept like a baby.

The bottled water was free. That was a good thing because the food is expensive by my terms. Of course, all the Western tourists that flock the town are probably enjoying such cheap prices. A nice meal with a "real" cup of coffee is about 100 baht or 10 ringgit which turns out to be about $3.50 Canadian. In US dollars, that's just about $2.50! And we're talking about an entire breakfast or dinner.

So, really, I shouldn't complain. There's a beautiful walkway along the river with picturesque karsts rising off to the side and beautiful trees everywhere. The people are just lovely and the market is fun. I love the baby coconuts and the durian is to die for!

Tomorrow, I'm planning to finally get to the beach.