I wanted to squeeze in one more excursion
before it was time to go home. Where to go? I'd heard of a boat trip
that one can take from the town of Thaton, or Tha Ton (English versions
of thai names seem to be an approximation and vary considerably) to
Chiang Rai. Thaton is a four hour bus trip from Chiang Mai and the boat
leaves at 12:30 necessitating a very early start to be assured of
catching it. The middle part of the bus trip was very pretty
climbing up and down through lovely mountains. The portions at the
beginning and end were unusually unscenic (trying to find a substitute
for "ugly") passing through endless Thai versions of strip malls: a
hodgepodge of tire stores, furniture, appliances, junk, more 7/11s than
Pfizer has pills, food carts, restaurants, restaurants, restaurants, apartment buildings, car
dealerships, massage parlours, drugstores, etc. Some businesses slick
and glossy next to derelict, dirty buildings; banks, car dealerships and gas
stations always immaculate.
Tiny Thaton, (2,200) on the banks of the Mae Kok River is the end of the line. I was early enough to grab a noodle soup and walk around a little before departure. There were wats, yes, wats! scattered around the hills and upscale hotels and bungalows on the banks of the river.
Pretty much on time, the gaggle of us farangs were herded on to the boats and we set off down the river.
If I remember correctly, they call these sorts of little launches puka pukas in South America for the sound of their motors that go, "puka puka puka puka".
In any case, we headed down the muddy brown, serpentine Kok through a broad agricultural valley, rice fields with occasional humps of hills, the ubiquitous wats often poking through the trees.
After an hour or so, the valley narrowed and soon we were in a gorge negotiating some small rapids with mountains rising steeply around us.
The air as actually cool here and we were occasionally further cooled by the water splashing into the boat.
Now and then we'd encounter fishermen standing chest deep in the river casting nets and laughing, naked kids frolicking in the water.
Then there was the obligatory roadside attraction / toilet stop, the attraction in this case being a caged Python you be draped with and photographed and a most unusual huge lizard.
The toilet was far more popular.
Soon we emerged from the gorge and again proceeded through flat farm lands which gradually gave way to more and more development and pretty soon we were in Chiang Rai.
This clock tower is an emblematic feature of the city.
Settling into my guesthouse, sitting in the garden catching up on email, I got into a conversation with a farang couple I'd noticed in the same barber shop in Chiang Mai. Ross and Heather are from London and are at the beginning of a six month bicycle tour through SE Asia. We talked biking until it was time to leave them to their planning and look for dinner. I ate some mediocre pad Thai on a street corner on the steps of a department store that was closed for the day where they set up stoves and woks and a whole slew of little tables on the steps, and cranked out pad Thai to beat the band. Even had wifi. (So far, I've had better pad Thai at home. The price is right here though.) Then I ran into Chris, a young man I'd struck up a conversation with on the boat, and we went to the night bazaar together where he ate, I had a beer and we chatted. He's originally from Germany, became a Canadian and now lives in Argentina but is desperately trying to find cyber work with his MBA that will allow him to live anywhere. These chance encounters are, for me, a fun part of traveling.
Tiny Thaton, (2,200) on the banks of the Mae Kok River is the end of the line. I was early enough to grab a noodle soup and walk around a little before departure. There were wats, yes, wats! scattered around the hills and upscale hotels and bungalows on the banks of the river.
Pretty much on time, the gaggle of us farangs were herded on to the boats and we set off down the river.
If I remember correctly, they call these sorts of little launches puka pukas in South America for the sound of their motors that go, "puka puka puka puka".
In any case, we headed down the muddy brown, serpentine Kok through a broad agricultural valley, rice fields with occasional humps of hills, the ubiquitous wats often poking through the trees.
After an hour or so, the valley narrowed and soon we were in a gorge negotiating some small rapids with mountains rising steeply around us.
The air as actually cool here and we were occasionally further cooled by the water splashing into the boat.
Now and then we'd encounter fishermen standing chest deep in the river casting nets and laughing, naked kids frolicking in the water.
Then there was the obligatory roadside attraction / toilet stop, the attraction in this case being a caged Python you be draped with and photographed and a most unusual huge lizard.
Soon we emerged from the gorge and again proceeded through flat farm lands which gradually gave way to more and more development and pretty soon we were in Chiang Rai.
This clock tower is an emblematic feature of the city.
Settling into my guesthouse, sitting in the garden catching up on email, I got into a conversation with a farang couple I'd noticed in the same barber shop in Chiang Mai. Ross and Heather are from London and are at the beginning of a six month bicycle tour through SE Asia. We talked biking until it was time to leave them to their planning and look for dinner. I ate some mediocre pad Thai on a street corner on the steps of a department store that was closed for the day where they set up stoves and woks and a whole slew of little tables on the steps, and cranked out pad Thai to beat the band. Even had wifi. (So far, I've had better pad Thai at home. The price is right here though.) Then I ran into Chris, a young man I'd struck up a conversation with on the boat, and we went to the night bazaar together where he ate, I had a beer and we chatted. He's originally from Germany, became a Canadian and now lives in Argentina but is desperately trying to find cyber work with his MBA that will allow him to live anywhere. These chance encounters are, for me, a fun part of traveling.
I woke up quite early next morning
and went in search of coffee and breakfast. It was too early for most
places to be open and this was Sunday but I found a large restaurant,
obviously geared for locals where huge vats of various animal parts
bubbled and cauldrons of noodles were boiling. The place was spotless
and very busy. After walking by it two or three times before taking the
plunge, I finally mustered the courage to go in. The was English
translation so I ordered noodles with roast duck. It was quite tasty
but was frankly just too unusual of a breakfast for me. My bus to
Chiang Mai left at noon the next day so I only had time to visit one
attraction in Chiang Rai. I decided on The Black House and was not
disappointed. Had my first tuk tuk ride to get there, little covered
motorcycles with a seat for two behind the driver.
Baan dam Museum (AKA Black House or Black Temple) was created by Thailand national artist Thawan Duchanee. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/top40/detail/7058
The grounds include
nearly 40 small black houses made of wood, glass, concrete, bricks, or
terracotta in various unique styles and design scattered around the
temple area. The cluster of houses accommodates Thawan’s collections of
paintings, sculptures, animal bones, skins, horns, and silver and gold
items from around the world. Several of the houses exhibit Balinese and
Burmese architecture and art dating back to the Ayutthaya Period. The
artist uses bones as a source of inspiration to paint. It is definitely
not a place for animal lovers. There are also various kinds of baskets
and drums from many regions and countries on display at Baandam.
Baan dam Museum (AKA Black House or Black Temple) was created by Thailand national artist Thawan Duchanee. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/top40/detail/7058
The grounds include
nearly 40 small black houses made of wood, glass, concrete, bricks, or
terracotta in various unique styles and design scattered around the
temple area. The cluster of houses accommodates Thawan’s collections of
paintings, sculptures, animal bones, skins, horns, and silver and gold
items from around the world. Several of the houses exhibit Balinese and
Burmese architecture and art dating back to the Ayutthaya Period. The
artist uses bones as a source of inspiration to paint. It is definitely
not a place for animal lovers. There are also various kinds of baskets
and drums from many regions and countries on display at Baandam. 
After my allotted hour there, I rejoined the waiting tuk tuk driver for the ride back to town, got the bus (a nice big comfy, air conditioned one) back to Chiang Mai.
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