Chiang Rai Road Trip

After our Gibbon Experince, Vince and I headed back to Chiang Rai, rented a car at the airport and headed out to the countryside and mountains. 

Our first stop was Chiang Saen which is a walled city much like Chiang Mai. It's the oldest city in Chiang Rai province and is teeming with temples. It was also Sonkran so walking = soaked with water so we headed out to the bungalows that were suggested to us by friends last year. 

Wheeels = freedom to stop whenever/wherever you like.

Walled city. After speaking to the hotel owner (a brit who has lived in Thailand for 30 years) he says that they are mostly reconstructed...something we hadn't thought about. 

Our hotel pool (Viang Yonok) .....small but very deep. In the distance is Chiang Saen Lake.

I run quite a bit here since it is an easy option and this is the first run that I did not encounter a single dog, scooter or car until the last 5 minutes.  

Our bungalow.

Across the road is a bird a sanctuary which had this fabulous boardwalk (bamboo walk?).

Peacock.

We continued on our way and drove the top loop in the map shown below.

Having tea by the mighty Mekong River.

This place is known for it's amazing gardens and vegetables. We learned a lot about the opium trade on this trip and how the king and his mother worked hard and creating sustainable farming for the Thais instead of opium. Chiang Rai, being further north is suitable for many crops: pineapple, oranges, strawberries etc. 

Our road trip took us along the tops of mountain ranges with crazy curves and beautiful vistas.

The Golden Triangle: Over-touristed and underwhelming

We wandered 1 km down the road and found another sign...no tourists and had another feel altogether.

Our next adventure took us to Tham Luang Park. Tham is Thai for cave and it has become something of interest to us. 

We first visited the small cave which had buddha etc

Medium cave: people leaving money for good health etc.

The largest cave was incredible. It was 800 m of cave and pitch black darkness. We were the only two in the park and we got the spooks and made it about 150-200 m before it got narrow....and scary.

The map.

The entrance.

The entrance form inside.

The steps down into darkness.

Pitch dark save for the flash.

We stayed at a random place which was totally a budget/location choice. It came with it's own wildlife.

Although you get used to the geckos.

At first I though this was some kind of art. At closer look it's ant trails.

From the outside.

Random playground of which none would pass any safety test anywhere. Sometimes (often) we feel like we have been sent back in time.