So we spent the next day and half in Chiang Mai wandering around the night markets in the evening, testing our haggling skills which we haven't quite got down to a tee just yet! Our days we spent eating, stocking up on stuff in our local Boots and booking our trip to Laos.
Tha Phae gate Chiang Mai
I really enjoyed Chiang Mai and would love to do the trekking/rafting again in the wet season. El liked the trekking but I think wasn't quite as keen on Chiang Mai itself as I was. The fact that we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos probably didn't help either.
After one day of me convincing El that her insect bites on her legs really weren't that bad and that she shouldn't worry about them 2 Hawaiian girls say "oh you don't have mosquitoes in Ireland, right?". I was just like 'nooooooo, shut up shut up'!!! (apparently if you get bitten a lot the bites don't come up as red after a while). Information -interesting, however pointing out peoples bites when you've tried to convince the person they're not so bad- unhelpful!Cheers girls!
We decide to head for the border by overnight "VIP minibus". This is our first real experience of Thai roads and driving. And we get to enjoy it all with a front row view! In our minibus we draw the short straw and manage to get stuck up the front in the cabin with the driver. And the middle seat has no headrest. Can't really say I felt like too much of a VIP with my knees jammed against the dashboard and my head flopping around when I start drifting off- not that I actually managed to sleep as I was too terrified to close my eyes. The physical level of discomfort did not even come close to the emotional roller-coaster one experiences on the road in Thailand.
The drivers are all a bit risky, but our guy was a gem altogether!
Between the speeding, overtaking 5 cars at a time and driving in the middle/wrong side of the road for prolonged periods - including windy hills, I was a shivering wreck! I could really do with popping some of the Xanex El got from the travel clinic but it's packed away unfortunately!
We make about 3 unscheduled stops on the journey, and one scheduled one. Everyone else is a bit bothered by this but I don't really mind because any part of the trip where we are not actually driving is good for me! One of the stops is for the driver to take a nap for 20mins- after which I am sure I see him doing one of the "head bob-jerk awake" things WHILE DRIVING! get me off this bus! If I had any doubt in my mind that it just happened, he makes another stop off about 5 mins later at a petrol station to wash his face and get a big cup of coffee, and then puts about half a pack of chewing gum in his mouth. He knows I saw him fall asleep and I keep staring at him to make sure he knows I'm on to him!
I have to say though, the most death defyingly hilarious part of the trip was when about 12 cars all pulled onto the opposite side of the road to overtake a fleet of trucks!
I never thought I was a nervous passenger before but then I guess I'd never experienced Thai driving before! We eventually (against all odds) make it alive to Nong Khai near where the border crossing is. Eat a disgusting breakfast (which on the plus side was included in the price of the minibus. Score!). Here we change onto other bus and make our way to the border.
Nong Khai -Sunrise
Tha Phae gate Chiang Mai
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| From Chiang Mai |
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| From Chiang Mai |
I really enjoyed Chiang Mai and would love to do the trekking/rafting again in the wet season. El liked the trekking but I think wasn't quite as keen on Chiang Mai itself as I was. The fact that we were getting eaten alive by mosquitos probably didn't help either.
After one day of me convincing El that her insect bites on her legs really weren't that bad and that she shouldn't worry about them 2 Hawaiian girls say "oh you don't have mosquitoes in Ireland, right?". I was just like 'nooooooo, shut up shut up'!!! (apparently if you get bitten a lot the bites don't come up as red after a while). Information -interesting, however pointing out peoples bites when you've tried to convince the person they're not so bad- unhelpful!Cheers girls!
We decide to head for the border by overnight "VIP minibus". This is our first real experience of Thai roads and driving. And we get to enjoy it all with a front row view! In our minibus we draw the short straw and manage to get stuck up the front in the cabin with the driver. And the middle seat has no headrest. Can't really say I felt like too much of a VIP with my knees jammed against the dashboard and my head flopping around when I start drifting off- not that I actually managed to sleep as I was too terrified to close my eyes. The physical level of discomfort did not even come close to the emotional roller-coaster one experiences on the road in Thailand.
The drivers are all a bit risky, but our guy was a gem altogether!
Between the speeding, overtaking 5 cars at a time and driving in the middle/wrong side of the road for prolonged periods - including windy hills, I was a shivering wreck! I could really do with popping some of the Xanex El got from the travel clinic but it's packed away unfortunately!
We make about 3 unscheduled stops on the journey, and one scheduled one. Everyone else is a bit bothered by this but I don't really mind because any part of the trip where we are not actually driving is good for me! One of the stops is for the driver to take a nap for 20mins- after which I am sure I see him doing one of the "head bob-jerk awake" things WHILE DRIVING! get me off this bus! If I had any doubt in my mind that it just happened, he makes another stop off about 5 mins later at a petrol station to wash his face and get a big cup of coffee, and then puts about half a pack of chewing gum in his mouth. He knows I saw him fall asleep and I keep staring at him to make sure he knows I'm on to him!
I have to say though, the most death defyingly hilarious part of the trip was when about 12 cars all pulled onto the opposite side of the road to overtake a fleet of trucks!
I never thought I was a nervous passenger before but then I guess I'd never experienced Thai driving before! We eventually (against all odds) make it alive to Nong Khai near where the border crossing is. Eat a disgusting breakfast (which on the plus side was included in the price of the minibus. Score!). Here we change onto other bus and make our way to the border.
Nong Khai -Sunrise
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| From Laos Van Vieng and VNTN |
 |
| From Laos Van Vieng and VNTN |
 |
| From Laos Van Vieng and VNTN |
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