Hmm . . . What do do next?

After finally sorting out the nonsense of the Burma visas we now find ourselves with a week left in Bangkok with nothing to do. Or, rather, nothing planned; there's always something to do. To celebrate getting our visas Mike took me out on a tour of his locals although, ironically, he hasn't managed to get his own visa yet. As we came back late, loud and drunk that night I thought I'd better take Linda out for a meal the next night. We aimed to go back to a Mexican we'd found last year called Bourbon Street. Its still there but has magically transformed into a Cajun restaurant (see link for web site) with a strong Texan clientele. Excellent grub though, with emphasis on the seafood. I had a spicy andouille sausage (yes, I know what that means in French -- much to my disgust when I first tried it in France 30 years ago, but this is slightly different -- see link). Both Linda's stuffed shrimps and my sausage and garlic mash, not to mention the ever-so-strong margaritas, were so good we might actually go back for more next month. The following night, after yet another morning doing nothing by the pool, saw Carolyn, Linda and I at another Mexican for margarita aperitifs and thence to a well known Tapas restaurant for lots of food, sangria and wine.

Now the more astute reader at this point will see a pattern emerging. Perhaps, I am thinking, it might be an idea to take another break from Bangkok. Another trip down Soi 23 took us to the Reunion Travel agents. We used them successfully last year to get to Laos so we asked them to get us somewhere else. The next day saw us in a taxi to the airport, destination: Chiang Rai. We've been here just under a day now. Last night saw us looking for the local bars (damn! That pattern again!) next to the most amazing clock tower I have ever seen. Here's a picture substituting the usual thousand words. Not sure what to do next (in fact, we were not sure what we were doing here other than the fact I remember Gary going here many years ago and I'd always fancied it), we walked up towards the Thanalai Road with the intention of visiting the Hilltribe museum. Instead we stumbled across the most amazingly long Saturday Night Market we'd ever seen in this part of the world. Unlike the one in Luang Prabang which, it has to be admitted, is basically selling the same stuff over and over again, this market has a diverse variety of toys, clothing, jewellery, crafts and foodstuffs from all over the Region, not to mention pockets of live music and lots and lots of people. We found a Cabbages and Condoms restaurant and got stuck into some Northen Thai/Burmese dishes that cost not very much at all. Enough for one day, we thought, so we set the alarm for six the next day.

Getting up at the crack of dawn (yes, really!) we grabbed a camera and made our way up the empty Sunday morning streets to Wat Phra Kaeo which is billed as the "city's finest monastery". It was, as you would expect, very elaborate, with well tended gardens and spotless temples. Perhaps even more spectacular, probably because of its out-of-the-way location was Wat Ngam Muang. Situated up a hill off a side road, our poor old knees were worn out climbing a pristine naga staircase to be greeted by the early morning sun glinting off the east-facing temple. The most impressive thing, however, were the eight intricately carved timbers depicting historical scenes vertically up the tree trunks. All Wat-ted out, we have just bumbled back through the now-bustling food markets for a late breakfast and the hotel pool. Enough for now.