Chiang Rai for a Couple of Days

The grafitti on the door of this hippie looking place says a lot.

Delicious fish and beautiful to look at too.

Aoy and Ed on the bus from Chiang Mia to Chiang Rai

I departed Chiang Mai yesterday morning by bus to Chiang Rai. The bus was comfortable and I made friends with Aoy who had been back to her home in Chiang Mai for Songkran. We chatted the entire way and when we got to Chiang Rai she offered me a ride to my hotel. We stopped for a long leisurely lunch on the way where I took lots of pics. The place we went was locally called Pattaya Chiang Rai (Remember Pattaya, the beach town where I went to the hospital?) because this is the river and beach where these mountain folk come to swim. One of the most beautifully presented dishes I have seen so far was the whole fish covered with crispy fried herbs like mint, basil, kaffir lime, etc.

Today I have been a little unnerved because my computer has been acting up and I really enjoy being linked to home via internet. I found a repair man who did not do a very good job and then I thought of system restore and that (or he) got things going again. I will take a bus in the morning to Chiang Kong and from there cross the Mae Kong (Meekong) River into Laos. In Huai Sai, Laos I take my visa for Laos and then I travel by river or by bus to Luang Prabang. These are all towns I had never even heard of before this trip. I am a bit off the usual track and I enjoy taking "the one less traveled by."