8/11/10 (chiang mai)
Annie Lin
Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai
After spending an entire week in Chiang Mai we headed up north to Chiang Rai. We both really liked Chiang Mai and agreed it was our favorite Thai city. Staying at Mr. Sak’s, gave us a reprieve from the tourist center, and having a car, gave us the freedom to roam the city, which made all the difference in our experience.
We had gotten to know Mr. Sak during our time there and can only describe him as a jolly man who showed no worries. Even when we changed our plans last minute to stay another day he was more than accommodating. We offered to wash the dishes in the restaurant, which brought a roll of laughter from him and the staff. Before we left we filled up the car with gas and took it for a carwash. One of his passions is vintage cars and he owns four Mercedes Benz all over forty years old. My favorite is the bright gold one with matching gold lock/unlock buttons. He takes immaculate care of his cars and his driving is a force to be reckoned with on the mean streets of Chiang Mai. He drove us to the bus station and as we parted ways he invited to come back every year to stay with him. As a token of our appreciation we bought him a shirt from the night bazaar, which I hope he likes and will wear.
We were experts on bus rides and were prepared for anything and everything the Thai buses had to give us. Surprisingly the bus ride was one of the more pleasant ones we had been on. We went with a company called The Green Bus Company and they provided everyone with a bottle of water and a pack of cookies. It was also one of the newer buses and after playing Thai music for about an hour, not even at a blaring volume, they had shut it off. We couldn’t be happier.
After three hours we arrived in Chiang Rai, which looks like a smaller version of Chiang Mai and was a little sleepy town. We checked into the Orchids Guest House at $12/night with a/c, tepid hot water, and blazing fast internet. I grabbed a light lunch for us while Jon worked with Pai on how to get the remaining software he needed. Pai offered to send us the software saving us a bundle because we otherwise would’ve needed my sister to send the Time Machine from Los Angeles to Chiang Rai. We needed to extend our time in Chiang Rai to wait for the package from Pai but luckily at $12/night it was within our budget to stay an extra few days.
We both took a nap to refresh ourselves since the last twenty-four hours had been stressful trying to deal with the hard drive crash. We ventured to the night bazaar for dinner where there was live music. There were four singers dressed in traditional Chinese robes lip singing to Thai music. We are pretty sure one of them was a lady-boy. It’s always an adventure at the night bazaars. After filling our bellies with noodle soup, fried noodles, vegetable tempura, beef meatballs, coconut shake, and a jug of Singha we were ready to call it a night.
What started off, as a disaster with the computer crash, is becoming something of a minor inconvenience and delay. Things are looking up.
As a side note, Mr. Sak has bungalows that he rents at various rates depending on the season. He has rooms suitable for one person to families. He has no website so it's only by referral. His bungalows are in the midst of a forest-like atmosphere and is located about 10 minutes from the city center. If you are interested in a bungalow please call him at 08-1882-3390 (international code not included).
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