Travel days, Chiang Rai and Bangkok

Day 14: Today is a travel day, I only booked the bus to Chiang Mai and hope to catch a connection. It's raining again, but it's just the season. It's 762 curves to Chiang Mai, a baby has vomited. I'm not feeling well either, maybe still from last night. On the way, we see weather damage and water buffalo on the road. The van driver is not very good. In Chiang Rai at the bus station, I got a ticket to Chiang Rai, unfortunately with a 3.5 hour layover (read a book) and the toilets are a challenge, meanwhile I also booked a hostel. The bus was good, but the weather in Chiang Rai was really bad. Checked into the hostel, the owners are very nice, and then went to the night market with music. I had a hot pot menu, which is real slow food. By the way, beer is quite expensive here compared to other places. A beer costs as much as a full meal. There was supposed to be a Sunday market, but Google got it wrong again.

Day 15: I'm starting to get sick, almost everyone gets the air conditioning sickness at some point. Chiang Rai is a big city in the far north of Thailand, bordering Laos and Myanmar, not as beautiful as Chiang Mai. I met Makki from Indonesia through Couchsurfing. We shared a motorbike for the day. The first stop is the Blue Temple, very beautiful and is said to represent life (in contrast to the White Temple). Then we drove to a Hill Tribe village in the rain. The entrance fee was quite expensive and it was overall not very meaningful. The hill tribes had a few old women on display selling handicrafts. Overall, it was very impoverished and I find folklore not very exciting. We continued to the Golden Triangle (Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar), known for opium smuggling. We also went to the Opium Museum. Makki had to briefly pray towards Mecca. On the way back, we stopped at a tea plantation and in the end, we wanted to go to the White Temple, but it got too late. The traffic in the rain and darkness was exhausting. In the evening, I changed my plans due to the weather, I will not go to Laos, but to an island in the south.

Day 16: Still raining. First, I dropped off my laundry, it was really necessary, I had almost nothing left to wear. I visited the Clocktower and the King Mangrai Monument. I took the city bus to the White Temple (which is said to be about death), it is the main attraction in Chiang Rai. On the short stretch to the temple, there were cockfighting shows, the Mexicans on the bus were excited and wanted me to join. No way. The White Temple is really beautiful, in the middle, a monk sits in deep meditation undisturbed by anything. Next to it, to my surprise, there was a Ganesha Temple. There is also some art by a well-known artist. In the afternoon, I visited another temple and snacked through a local market, not sure what everything was, but mostly delicious. On the way back, I relaxed in a cat cafe, an oasis of calm in the city. Then I made plans for the next few days and wrote something.

Day 17: It's not raining anymore today and the sun is shining. But I'm flying to Bangkok in the afternoon. I don't do much, eat, read, write, and sort photos. I take a motorbike taxi to the small airport. My flight is delayed, good thing I didn't book the bus to Koh Tao on the same day. Thailand from above is a huge rice field with lots of lakes, rivers, and canals. It's raining heavily in Bangkok, I take a Tuk Tuk to the hostel, which is not so good. The Khaosan Road (party street) is as always, loud and exhausting, but much less busy than in 2019. Everyone wants to sell you something, alcohol, parties, women, suits, or other things. Back at the hostel, I had drinks with others and played games.

Day 18: Today I visit the Grand Palace. As always, where there are many tourists, there are a few scammers. They approach you and engage you in conversation. They claim that the palace is only open to Thais today. Then they offer you an alternative with many other attractions. And of course, a Tuk Tuk conveniently appears around the corner to take you there for a super cheap price. The trick is that they take you to a shop where they want you to buy overpriced junk. Just inform yourself in advance about such things and leave them alone. The palace is beautiful, magnificent architecture. The museum is rather boring, but the Jade Buddha is an attraction. Unfortunately, you have to wear long pants in the palace grounds in the heat, very annoying. The palace ticket also included a show in a theater. They show historical and current folk dances from various regions. I wouldn't pay for that, but it was okay, well-done show. On the way back, I had duck soup, unfortunately with offal. At the hostel, I waited for the bus with Jack and passed the time. The bus terminal was a bit chaotic, but everything worked out. The bus was good, but there was no light for reading. So I listened to a podcast and dozed off.