On arriving at Chaing Rai we called a few Guesthouses and Al wisely agreed a price with the one furthest away!Cue 30min hike….it was worth it though.The place was great with home baked breads and cakes plus a really good vibe.Cheap too and not forgetting a lovely room.

Whilst in Chaing Rai we went on a day trip around the Hill Tribes, but did so with the PDA, who is a charity working with the tribes to help avoid exploitation etc….this way we felt morally in the clear when nosing about their villages!!In turn they do try to flog you anything and everything…cute kids being the smart way to break down even the sternest of tightwads.One project we visited was Ban Torcha where the villagers are your tour guides & all entrance paid goes direct to the village.We were shown the traps used to catch their tea, the sacred gate to the village which you walk through to leave behind any bad spirits you may have attracted whilst outside the village, a huge swing which they use to celebrate new year & inside their house in which they cook, sleep & entertain, with two separate doors & two separate sleeping areas, one for the women & one for the men. The bonus was that a couple of American ladies with us on the trip were clearly loaded and enjoying the shopping as they were splashing out big time taking the pressure of the rest of the group!The guide was in hysterics as the minibus driver was couriering their purchases back and forward to the minibus!!

In the evenings there was a great night bazaar where you could eat drink and be entertained by the local talents and not so talented!The drag acts where strange at best!!

The other highlight of Chiang Rai was Wat Rong Khun (the White Temple)….if you google this or check out the blog photos you'll see it is stunning…although not 100% finished.The building is a new, mostly concrete and whitewashed building, & covered with mirrored glass.It does stand out & some locals love it whilst others loathe it because of its design…..the inside has been decorated with strange murals including such characters as Superman, Optimus Prime and The Terminator, whilst the Twin towers choked by a petrol pump and the devil coming out the nozzle adds controversy.We thought leave the politics and religion to someone else and remember how great it looks!!

After approx 6 weeks in Thailand (2 more than planned thanks to the Passport thief) it was off to Laos for some 'same same, but different' as the saying goes in SE Asia!