‘Resting’ in Chiang Rai

So I said I will try and relax in Chiang Rai… that really didn’t end up happening. I went and rented a scooter after an interesting breakfast at a very local restaurant where I tried some bits of pig I’m fairly sure I’ve never tried before like liver tripe and blood cake.

I wanted to go up to the Tham Luang Cave with a Thai boys football team got trapped and the golden triangle where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet but I wasn’t sure I had the time before sunset, plus that would’ve meant a few hours riding a moped on the motorways which I wasn’t ready for.

Instead I went around the touristy spots, mostly religious, and drove through some of the beautiful countryside through the backstreets. The blue temple was cool and different but the white temple was possibly the most beautiful temple I’ve seen in Thailand so far. I was too late to get inside but it meant I arrived there for a very good sunset.

The Bandaam (Black house) was also very interesting. Full of folklore and more like an art exhibit, it’s comprised mostly of various animal skins intricate furniture and lots of wooden penises.

Then this evening was the Sunday Walking street markets where I was joined by Canadians Harry and Nathel, and German Tanja. I grabbed myself another Khak Soi, Which was quickly becoming my favourite northern dish, then as I tried to find a table I was invited to sit on the floor and drink whiskey some locals. I accepted and had one of my best nights yet.

They spoke very little English but I think drinking culture helped break down the language barrier. Alongside finishing a bottle of harsh Thai whiskey between three of us, we also joined in with the traditional tie circle dancing. I don’t think I did an amazing job of following the footwork of those in front of me but I was a little tipsy so didn’t care and I think I did a better job than Nathel Who was the only other one from the hostel who joined in with the dancing (and they had all left the drinking to me).

I felt less hangover than I expected so I took Harry on the back of my mopeds to see a massive (~90m) White border on a hill outside town. I then got my first time massage after booking the slow boat to Laos which was a fair bit more painful than expected.

I was torn with what to do with the evening and since I was relaxing on a boat for the next couple of days I decided to go on an extended walk around the town. The town of Chiang Rai Itself has very little to offer tourists and most attractions are a drive outside of the town. This however made it very interesting to walk around and see what the locals were up to. After over 2 1/2 hours of wondering I return to find Harry waiting for me to go to dinner we grabbed a tasty noodle soup from a restaurant I passed earlier then pop to the night bazaar to top up on food.

After a quick chat with Sophia I retrieved my head torch from a Greek guy called Antoni who had lent it so he could go and explore a cave I hadn’t had time to explore. He showed me photos of inside but more interesting he told me of a monk who had met on the way back who lives in a different cave complete with a few large golden Buddhas. The monk talks non-stop in Thai, half to himself as Antoni didn’t understand and gave him a tour of his home. it would be good to find more people like Antoni are willing to do completely random adventurous things like that and I kind of wish I joined him although I wasn’t sad to miss out on the five hour walking round trip he had to get there.Read more