We were pretty happy we didn't have to get up early to catch the government bus to Chiang Khong. We headed down for a feed then packed the last of our stuff. We were checked out & in the lobby by 10.15am, just as our ride arrived. Being the second couple picked up we chose the seats just behind the driver which gave us a fair amount of room. Over the next 20 mins we filled up the mini bus & were off. It's a shame to leave Chiang Mai as it is like a smaller Bangkok. Lots to do & it has a nice feel. We have seen a bit but as you may have noticed our sightseeing has reduced a lot in the last couple of weeks. We had expected it & that was the whole point of traveling so long on the way home. Not to be sick of travel, which we aren't, but more to be ready for home when the time came. The good thing with Asia is it is so close & we know we will have quite a few holidays here. Not that we aren't seeing lots of stuff still, just a little less than if we were on the start of a trip. So once we left Chiang Mai we had a pretty windy trip up through the mountains. The roads were ok, a little bumpy but better than what we are going to get in Laos. Our driver was nice & casual so we didn't feel like we were on a death drive. He just took it easy as he cruised along the windy roads taking no risks, going even slower when we hit heavy rain. Although he did have a problem that seems to plague most Asian drivers. He could not sit on one speed. They seem to struggle to hold their foot at one position on the accelerator. To keep close to one speed it's surge, foot off, surge, foot off. And it seems like nearly every driver in Asia is like that. After a few hours we arrived at the White Temple in Chiang Rai for a 30 mins break. We went & took some photos & had a look around the temple. It was all kinda weird. Beautiful & white it had statues surrounding it of Predator, Freddy Kruger, Batman & the like. In the temple a solitary monk was sitting in prayer. After 30 mins we returned to the bus for the final 1.5 hours to Chiang Khong. Arriving we walked the 10 minutes to our guesthouse & checked in. We then went for a walk in town to find where we would be leaving from tomorrow. We found passport control which led down to where we would catch the boat across the Mekong River to Laos. When we arrive we have to book on to our slow boat on which we would spend the next 2 days to arrive at Luang Prabang, with an overnight stopover in Pak Beng. Confident we had everything sussed out we found a place for some Pad Thai then returned to our room. We misjudged by about a minute as we were caught in a downpour which had soaked us by the time we arrived back. That didn't matter as we showered & settled in for the evening. We're excited about the next 2 weeks in Laos. If it's half as good as we have heard, then we are going to love it as much as Thailand.