Stuck in Chiang Rai


It was probably naive to think that I can make it to Chiang Mai on the day of the Loi Krathong festival, since this city is famous for hosting the most spectacular event. Apart from floating the krathongs, the flower wraths with candles and incense sticks, on the rivers and lakes, as it is done all across Thailand, in Chiang Mai they also have the flying lanterns. Anyhow, I was hoping till the last minute - from Bokeo, Laos, there is only bus service to Chiang Rai, and I thought once I get there I just take another bus to Chiang Mai. No such luck! In Bus Terminal 2 I was told there are no buses, but I may try Terminal 1 in the city centre. I took a tuk-tuk, just to find out that it is the same thing: all buses are fully booked for the day. That's when I started getting relieved after being stressed out all day - now I knew I won't make it. OK, so I skip Chiang Mai, I had been there before anyhow, and will go directly to Mae Sot on the Myanmar border. But guess what - no buses to Mae Sot for the next three days, they are all fully booked! So I started searching for accommodation and found a decent hostel in the centre, near the Clock Tower, for a decent price and with decent internet - I will work in the next few days, I thought, I'm behind with many things anyhow. And that's what I did and finished my jobs. On the first night I checked out the Loi Krathong celebration, which was a very low scale event, but nevertheless quite nice. And since being there, I checked the most famous tourist attractions: the White Temple, the Blue Temple, and the Black House. All of them are super touristy, but the city of Chiang Rai otherwise is a quite pleasant place. There is incredibly good Thai food in the market at around 1 euro a plate, which was great after a month of quite boring Lao cuisine. (I'm not a fan of noodle soup.)



































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