Golden Triangle Inn Chiang Rai

... 8217;ve found my place. I&#8217;ve found my platform. And I couldn&#8217;t be happier.<br><br>I&#8217;m in Chiang Rai, right up in the north of Thailand and as I write this I&#8217;m glowing. I&#8217;m glowing cos&#8217; I&#8217;m back in the real world, back in the mountains, a mere sniff away from the Golden Triangle where the Mekong meets the Nam Ruak and where Thailand meets ...

... i pointed out to the waitress that there was an ant in my rice. any normal situation (unless in asia of course), there would be apologies,the manager ionvolved and the promise of a free meal and much grovelling to the unhappy customer. instead she rooted around in the rice with her finger and gave chase to the intruder in my food. she finally caught it and was so proud of herself and looked at me as to say "dig in my good man, for this food is now ...

So yesterday i partook in a tour. I was picked up at 7 from my hotel and so my first problem started...you see, i wasnt meant to give it wellie the night before but being me i just kinda did! I stopped in O'Malleys just for a swifty quite early on in the afternoon, and left many hours later. I blame my new friends Cole, Bill and Scottie.....they are great crack. 2 of them came to SE Asia with the US Army during the Vietnam war, and never ...

... driving on the sidewalk. But in Thailand - Well everyone drives just like me... I can blow throw stop signs, make random U terns and drive into oncoming traffic and I am considered normal. In Thailand I am not the only one being honked at. In Thailand everyone honks at everyone and it's normal. The Bad - Well I think despite it's convenience renting bikes in Thailand maybe dangerous there are many walking wounded ...

... and the roads are packed dirt. The family has offered me a basket of bananas and a bottle of cold water. They also brought the fan and the chair I'm sitting on. Luxurious though this might be, I'd still be hard-pressed to pick any of my hosts out of a crowd. I miss my friendly Lahu household, with their adorable little daughter. I gave the girl my squirrel Chipper, who, as many of you know, has accompanied me to many parts ...

... vol met rotsen in een tropisch blauwe zee. Onze eerste haltes waren dus de zee-kraters. Je moet met twee overstappen in een klein rubberbootje en je hebt je eigen boot-man die peddelt, en dan vaar je zo onder de rotsen (plat liggen!!) om dan uiteindelijk uit te komen in die prachtige mangroves. Paradijs op aarde is daar geen slecht woord voor! Daarna zijn we een bezoek gaan brengen aan het beroemde James-Bons eiland, dat met die rots war Ursula ...

... dus 3 nachten hebben geslapen en zijn we per 'speedboot' lees een houten bootje voor 4 personen met een hele grote motor er achter, naar de grens van Thailand afgereist. Deze reis duurde maar liefst 6 uur afgezonderd van de wc-stops tussendoor. <br>Het was stroom opwaards dus de gloven sloegen soms goed door naar binnen. <br>Erg blij waren we dus ook met onze langebroek, 2 truien en regenjack, zwemvest, helm en niet te vergeten onze oordoppen(waarvoor we ...