We left to a solemn farewell from the guys at Diva guesthouse, I really do hate goodbyes!! On a local bus to
Chiang Rai. Well for our £5 ticket we just about got the works. A seat so
large it was like a lazy boy, even Sy's legs didn't reach the chair in front when stretched out at 90 degrees! Snacks & drinks were plentiful & an inhouse movie! The journey was only 3 hours or so. Was gutted after an hour of holding my bladder that indeed there was a sneaky toilet through a sneaky door at the back!
Arrived to find our guesthouse was only a short walk away, bonus! That's about the only good thing it had going for it, it definitely wasnt a room we were going to want to hang out in much.
Usual search for food, was shocked to see that everything was twice the price of Chiang Mai. Found a little local restaurant and ate there instead. I find it funny how quickly you turn into a skinflint on the road when in reality it's still cheap & you're grumbling over a difference of £1.
The next morning saw us at the White Palace. I read somewhere to treat it as an art exhibition rather than a palace & I think that's a fair statement. The religion & dress code is there but it was nothing like we'd ever seen. I have wondered why Gwen & I hadn't visited it on our previous trip. The answer was simply that 10 years ago, this place wasnt near completion. Even today it's still building & growing but the completed front section is awesome.
On 1st view it's white & glittery but look closer and it's ghoulish with hidden eyeballs, clawed hands and strange creatures. We had a great time taking snaps, visiting the artists gallery & hanging a token for our families.
I wanted to head up to some gardens. The reviews looked good but it was a bit out of town. We got the local bus to a town about an hour out of the city. We then bargained for a tuk tuk to take us up to the mountain. We agreed a price & off we went. The drive was stunning up this mountainside road with amazing views. We reached the top & things turned a little sour as the driver doubled the price we agreed. With no English we bartered again writing down our prices. We were really annoyed but he had us over a barrel as there was no other way down from there.
The gardens were lovely but unfortunately for us we completely had a sour taste in our mouth so didn't enjoy them (apart from the orchid house!). We were ready to leave about an hour after arriving. Just by the exit we spotted some flasks of orchids which Sy's dad had really wanted. We picked a few & somehow that one purchase had made the trip worthwhile. Lets hope they get back to England ok.
We got back to the tuk tuk & the driver wanted paying. We refused & said not until we're back in the town. The journey down was a quiet one as we both sat & stewed in our own annoyance at how open this man was being at ripping us off. We've been really lucky on the trip so far & we both didn't respond well to his horrible nature. Sy decided to give him less & walk away, so we did & apart from a little grumble he didn't say anything.
We got the public bus back & set off on a mad dash to buy packaging, box & post the orchids before the post office shut as in the morning it was time to go to a new country.....

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