Chiang Rai

On Wednesday afternoon we arrive in Chiang Rai and walk to our guesthouse. We have booked a cozy double room with a bathroom, a private entrance, and breakfast for €13 per night. Let me tell you about the breakfast: it's amazing! They bake their own bread, and I'm not just talking about white bread. No, they have bread with texture and color. Yum! They serve seed bread, rolls, rye bread, yogurt with muesli, and fruits. And the bread is a buffet -> All you can eat! Maybe the bakery was the reason why we chose this guesthouse, but only maybe.

But let's start from the beginning. Unfortunately, it's quite cloudy in Chiang Rai, but at least we're not sweating :-D

We stroll through the city and indulge in delicious food at the night market. It's set up a bit differently here. There's a large square with tables and a stage, and the food stands are around it. I think that's perfect because otherwise you often have to eat standing up or walk around with your food forever. We treat ourselves to Khao Soi, fried chicken and shrimp, and for dessert, we have coconut ice cream, sticky rice, and mango.

The next day, after the already mentioned amazing breakfast, it's pouring rain and we have to postpone our plan to explore the surroundings of Chiang Rai by scooter. Luckily, it stops raining around noon and we hop on the scooter, which only costs us €4, and off we go. Later, Max also tries his hand at driving the scooter and he's getting much better. The next step will be city traffic next time :) We visit the White Temple, Singha Park, Big Buddha, and then the Blue Temple, which we both find the most beautiful. Even though it's already dark or maybe because of it. Some real artists worked on those temples! Around 8 PM, we return the scooter (the speedometer and odometer are broken, which is probably why it was so cheap). The day went by incredibly fast and I could have ridden the scooter around for hours.

Later, we get the $30 per person for the Laotian visa, have a snack, and then the day is already over. We have both become huge fans of pineapples. They taste incredibly good here and completely different from Germany. Juicy, fruity, and sweet.

The next day we are off to the next country - Laos.