CHIANG KHONG

The journey to Chiang Khong, via a change of bus in Chiang Rai, took us further north and through the increasingly smoggy countryside. The hazy conditions and smoky air were the result of the slash and burn policy of the local farmers who burn old crops to get rid of insects and disease at this time of the year, and to help fertilise the soil. Doesn't do much for the environment or air pollution, though, or the scenery, although it's stunning even despite the haze.

We arrived at Chiang Khong at about 5pm and realised yet again that our impeccable organisation skills meant that we didn't have a clue where our next review hotel was located. As it was a new place out of town, none of the local motorbike taxi drivers had heard of it and unfortunately we had happened upon the one village in Thailand where there wasn't an internet café to google it. Or at least that's what the tuk tuk drivers told us, but in our usual stubborn way we refused to believe them and conducted our own thorough search for an internet connection. But of course they were right. We returned to them to accept their offer of a lift to the next town to head to an internet café. Their mototaxis were different to the ones on Koh Lanta in Thailand, our only prior mototaxi experience, with wooden benches welded behind, rather than to the side, of the moped. This short ride gave us our first view of Laos, and of the infamous Mekong River, which marks the border with Thailand. We quickly found the directions to the hotel, and were delighted when the friendly café owner (a Liverpool fan with LFC padded seat belts and a 'You'll Never Walk Alone' car sticker no less) offered to give us a lift up into the hills.

We were the only guests in the hotel and were looked after extremely well in what was a totally different experience to any other place we've stayed so far. The hotel is a partnership between the hotel company, a Thai NGO and the local villages. The local Hmong and Lahu tribespeople provide all the services to the hotel, including cooking the tasty traditional local dishes that we ate, and undertaking all the construction and maintenance work. The aim of the project is to harness the positive potential of tourism to improve the living standards of the local people, and it seems to have got the balance right between providing an interesting and comfortable stay for the guests and making sure that the needs of the local people are met without exploiting them. Pretty much everything in the hotel is made from bamboo, reeds and wood, just as the local village huts are and, although the accommodation is relatively simple - well, particularly in comparison to other more swanky hotels we've reviewed along the way - it's really nicely and thoughtfully done, and the setting is simply stunning. On our first night we spent a good while before dinner gazing out over the hills to the river. After a tasty dinner full of delicious fish from the Mekong, and the kinds of vitamins our bodies had been craving for months, a local group, fully kitted out in traditional regalia, gave us a performance of traditional dances complete with a recital of music with bamboo instruments unlike anything either of us had ever seen. Absolutely fascinating, although quite a long way from our usual tastes, musically speaking.

As well as visiting a couple of the local villages, we went trekking in the hills, hacking our way through thick undergrowth and seeing those ill-conceived forest fires up close and personal. We also tried our hand at Batik designs using cloth, ink and beeswax under the guidance of a friendly local woman who laughed at our patent lack of artistic ability. We also had our palms read by the village Shaman (witch doctor) who, through two translators (from Hmong to Thai, and then Thai to English), told Emma that she would be very lucky, and Duncan that he too would be lucky but unfortunately not as lucky as Emma. On further probing it transpired that Duncan wouldn't be all that lucky as he would only get to have one wife which is presumably why Emma would be luckier. We both left his hut feeling slightly miffed about his interpretation of our fortunes, as well as slightly concerned that a hell of a lot more seemed to have been said in the local languages than got translated eventually into English.

Despite the smog the views across the hills to the Mekong were pretty spectacular. After dinner on our second night we stayed up reading awhile until it got too chilly - a rare occurrence in Asia, where we've become used to sweltering our way through the evenings - and, more pressingly, we started getting absolutely covered in ash blown across the hills from the burning crops.

This wonderful retreat in the hills, where we really got an insight into tribal living and were totally spoilt with wonderful food, fabulous service and some energetic exploration of the local area, was a really great end to our final two days in beautiful Thailand.

In the end, we felt that we both fell for Thailand far more than we ever expected to, for its warm welcoming people, beautiful islands, great food, lush landscapes and fascinating history and cultures.

After our two-night sojourn in the hills, we got a lift back to Chiang Khong and headed straight to the banks of the Mekong where we passed through Thai immigration in 30 seconds. We then boarded a crowded longtail boat for the two minute ride across the river to Hoauy Sai in Laos, country number 15 of our big adventure.