Wiang Inn Chiang Rai

... there was no more orders! Some people opted for the cultural, local choice of bacon double cheeseburger followed by battered mars bar with a diet coke. We travelled 15k up and back down the candle lit river which felt peaceful and serene.


Once we were back at our starting point we all bartered with tuk-tuk drivers to take us into town to the night bazaar where we all bought jewellery, fakes and gifts for family at home.

... dark it became apparent that we were the only actual guests in the hotel. The rest of the people there were western men bringing prostitutes back from the massage parlor in front of the hotel. I wouldn't stay there again, but it was ok for a couple of nights. We have been away from wireless connections for a while now, but I will be putting up some of our pictures when I can get a chance.

... and by the end of the year they will be in a good position to continue things without me. I think by the end of the year I would have finished contributing to them having more money, more volunteers and them reaching out to more people in a wider area. So that is good. I think I have made a difference. I am thinking that I may try to work in disaster relief. This is something I have been interested in for a while. It would ...

... begin to say how much i am missing out to cut it down. if your retinas are falling out,or your boerd to the brink of suicide, then i won't mind if you give up. not that i would know!..... but hey, i'm still rambling! i'll cut this next bit as i want to say a few things about thailand in general. i went from pai, to chaing mai (4hrs), then straight onto a bus for chaing rai (5hrs), spent one night in a flea pit and got a bus the next day to the thai-laos ...

... and have the afternoon free. I 'accidentally' found out the password for the wireless internet for hotel guests, so here we are sitting in the hotel lounge acting like we own the place. Actually, Andy has wandered off to find a massage parlor - which is about as difficult as finding a needle in a pile of needles...and ok, I just got back from getting a foot massage (Tara, Kim, Debbie, Molly - think Beijing, absolutely amazing). We spent the ...

... myself a 2 day hilltribe trek departing the next morning as an antidote to my enforced week in Bangkok, and set off for the Hilltribe Museum to find out a bit about the different tribes I would be visiting over the course of the 2 days. Chiang Rai itself doesn't have much to commend it. It's a pretty busy town catering for quite a different tourist scene to Chiang Mai (predominantly middle-aged Americans)- relatively expensive ...

QUOTE: "Assume it can be done and then find a way to do it." Derek Lucas AO. This morning I rode my motorbike to Baan Apa to collect Apair and take her to hospital. Beautiful ride once you get into the Huay Mae Zai valley area. The rice fields are an incredibly vibrant green, smiling kids playing in the stream. Lu Mien women walking back to their village with woven baskets on their back. Background: a week or so ago I visited Baan Apa with ...

... french speaking hostess who runs the place and makes you feel pretty good while robbing you blind. Okay, it wasn't that bad. I told her I was interested in going as far as Muang Sing in the north. She convinced me to purchase a bus ticket right the way there through Luang Namtha, a place most other backpackers hit via the minivan. I agree and pay an additional 200 baht (just about seven bucks) to go all the ...