Quicky i have to finish chaing mai!! The last night in chiang Mai was crazy good. We were recommended by ginny's cafe (vege breakfast place) to visit the Sunday night market which happened to be in our street. Now I've been to so so many markets now and was so-so about the idea plus I was mega tired but I thought at the least I could grab some dinner there.... So glad I went! Market of all markets... The stalls engulfed the main gate of the old town and meandered through the local streets! The food stalls were sweet as. Everything and anything. We shared a tempura vegetables, a rice and spicy vege dish I've never tried, a fresh passionfruit juice and finished up with some delicious banoffee pie!! Pitty we are watching our wallets cause there were plenty of cool things to buy. Different than every other Thai market I've seen!!!

After a Few days of gorgeous Chiangmai it was time for us to keep moving north. So with backpacks and newly acquired Chinese visas in toe we bused 5 and a half hours north to the river-side town on Chiang Saen. As we entered the walled town in was late afternoon and the sun was low casting a golden haze over the jagged orange walls. The sunlight was seeping through the enormous trees, rebounding off the walls and illuminating the surrounding temples. hmmm first impressions we pretty spectacular.

The previous night becks and I had made a plan and contacted gins guesthouse.. The reviews on trip advisor were appalling however julie, the owner was the lady who was helping us with organising the cargo boat into china, so plan was to check it out. Upon arrival it was evident it was a bit of a walk to Gins guesthouse so we checked in to a chiang Saen guesthouse instead as it was in the center of town opposite the famous Mekong river! The rooms were 300baht ; $10aud between us. They were simple and clean and other than the creepy owner Jim, the place was fine.

In the evening we hired a motorbike and went for a drive along the Mekong. Cruising along the sometimes built, sometimes dirt roads,we came to a grand display of elephants, gold statues and a giant gold buddha illuminated by perfectly placed lights under the night sky. We had made it to the golden triangle! The golden triangle is the point in which the Mekong splits and you have Thailand, laos and Myanmar Abutting each side of the river! No tourists, just us. Fantastic way to see the golden triangle! Definately reccomend! Nw: it's called the golden triangle because the opium trade was rife there and it was worth nearly as much as gold!!

The next day we were up early with the bike driving north.... No plans just enjoy the scenery of northern Thailand! Absolutely stunning! Rice fields, mountains, local villages, workers, crazy cars. Roads were really new so it was easy to cruise for hours! After a few hours stopping for pics and temples, villages and so forth we found ourselves in Mai Sai, the most northern point of thailand. You could see the bridge to Myanmar! Haha.

In the afternoon we went south all the way back to chiang saen and then further south! Awesome temples... Now it's not what u think. I am not becoming a tacky tourist out and about soley to photograph temples.. I promise! But we happened to drive past some stunners worthy of photographs. Check out the pics and ull see! On the way back we found a big beautiful hall with praying monks warbling. Their deep, soothing voices rebounded off the walls causing a low loud melodic hum! :)

So tired, hungry and filthy from the dusty drive it was beer oclock. A quick stop at 7/11 pick up a LEO beer and head to the waterfront and join the local Thais for dinner from the BBQ carts. Sitting on mats with a delicious meal watching the sun set over the Mekong.. What an perfect way to end my 7 month stint in Thailand!

Tommorrow we wake up early for a bus/boat into Laos!

Update on the cargo boat to china... Well Julie our lady who was meant to organise the boat was really weird. Something wasn't right. We never met her even though we had planned to meet her 3 times - she was never there. A mystery. Instead we went to the waterfront where the Chinese cargo boats were they and talked to the captain to see if we could go with them. It wasn't possible. Not sure if it was because we were female or if they really were headin to Myanmar as they said. Hmm we walked all over and it nowhere! We tried! We really did!

So new plan is to get to the Laos border tomorrow. Get the ferry across then bus it deep into the north of Laos. See what happens from there :) no plans. The way I like it!

All in all chiang Saen is a must see. Well off the tourist trail.