Chiang Rai was our next stop, it took 3 and a half hours by bus from Chian Mai. It was like being on a rolla coster for the first hour or so, getting over the mountins on a new but very windey road with a bus driver that thought he was in a rally car! By the time we reached Chiang Rai it was absolutely pelting it down, i tell you when it rains it pours out here! So once the rain had died down we walked to the guest house we had booked for two nights.

The room was ok, lime green bed cover and a massively high ceiling but all clean enough. Its the guesthouse that has been the furthest from any place we have stayed...still only about a ten minuet walk, so we thought it must be really quiet...har har har silly us, at about 7am every morning was like a morning call, we still dont know what it was but it sounded like maybe someone reading something followed by music and then more reading. This was being blasted from speakers all around town, and there happend to be one right outside our window, oh the joys :) we tried to ask the lady who owned the guest house but she spoke almost no english so we didnt get very far, just lots of nodding and smiling.

There isnt really much to do in Chiang Rai. There a few nice cafes and food places and then there are the temples...i have been limitied to the number of temples we are allowed to visit in one day! They have a beautiful temple which is home to an emerald green buddah, in a green glass tiled room at the top of some stairs, really stunning, even damo said it was worth the trek across town to see. We actually got usherd in by a monk who was very keen for us to see his Buddah. It doesnt take you very long to get used to seeing Monks walking the streets, to begin with we were looking at them like they were celebs walking the street in thier golden orange gowns, but you see so many of them you soon get used to them, still facinating to see though.

There is a night bazzar which is like a number of rabbit warrens that open up into a number of big squares. I think the squares would normally be packed with people and really lively but as it was wet and cold they looked rather desserted. One of the squares was lined with food vendors selling all sorts from the expected sweet and sour chiken to fried insects, damo refrained from the bug eating this time. Damo decided to treat himself to a tray full of deep fried stuff, spring rolls, shrimp, green beans, broccoli and then whole little fishes and other fishy looking things, i stuck to my chicken and cashew nuts.

Day 3 and we are on the move again, up to Chian Khong another 2 and a half hours north to the Laos boarder crossing.....in the rain :(