Chiang Rai + Laos

Photo: Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple

This post is a little delayed! The last couple of days have been a fun adventure. Originally, I was going to post an update from Chiang Rai that included a one-month reflection. I’ve since decided to split the two posts, so keep an eye out for the reflection soon (if you’re interested).

Since my last post, I wrapped up a 3-day stay in Chiang Rai, before crossing the land border into Laos, where I’ve been since March 30th.

I arrived in Chiang Rai after an uneventful 3-hour bus ride from Chiang Mai. After checking into my hotel, I did my usual routine: find the nearest night market, grab dinner, and go to bed. The next day I slept in before heading out to see the couple of sites in Chiang Rai proper. The only one of note would be the White Temple, which, despite its fame, felt somewhat kitschy. I had some good dinner at a local food court dinner plaza thingy.

The next day I decided to take a day trip to the Golden Triangle, a region encompassing parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. The region is most famous for being one of the largest opium-producing areas since the 1950s. They don’t grow opium in Thailand any more (ostensibly), but there was an interesting museum on the opium trade, as well as a view of the point where Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos intersect. After taking the bus back to Chiang Rai, I had a really delicious dinner at this restaurant in town serving local specialties. I especially liked their signature dish “Barrab”, which as far as I can tell was specific to just this restaurant.

Unfortunately, the smoke returned to Chiang Rai with a vengeance, and the air quality has been awful. I bought a N95 at the local 7-11 and have been wearing it whenever possible. Regardless, I continued my trip by taking the bus to the border with Laos. In order to pay for my entry visa, I withdrew some Lao Kip from the local ATM. Due to massive inflation, that singular withdrawal made me a millionaire! (100,000 kip is about $5).

The visa cost more than I expected, which left me without any cash to pay for the tuktuk into town - and all the ATMs were broken! So in my desperation, I asked a local traveling couple if they would do a quick exchange with some extra Euros I had. This ended up being a very serendipitous choice; we got to talking, and it turns out they were traveling in the same day-by-day manner as I was. We really hit it off, and ended up spending the day together while I decided where to head next.

We’re still hanging out! After spending a night in the border town of Huay Xai, we took a “slow boat” to a small town called Pakbeng. The slow boat is just a narrow ferry that putters along the Mekong. Most tourists take the boat from Huay Xai to Pakbeng in one day, and the next day take the same boat to the tourist town of Luang Prabang. Both legs of the journey are about 7 hours on the river.

We decided to break from the mold and spend one full day in Pakbeng. Pakbeng is a tiny town entirely built around serving tourists for their one-night stay on the way to Luang Prabang. That didn’t stop us from exploring - we ended up finding this relaxing restaurant/beer garden setup in a local tributary river. All the tents were in the middle of the water so that you could dip your feet in while you ate. And there was this SUPER SWEET dog that followed us around, begging for pets.

After Pakbeng, we opted to continue the slow boat journey to Luang Prabang, where we are today.

Hanging out with this couple has been a real blast. It’s really nice to have the social connection and company while exploring, and I’m glad that I met them.

It’s also really helped to offset the bitter taste that Laos is leaving in my mouth. Everywhere we go, people have been trying to nickle-and-dime us for every cent, to a degree I have never experienced before. Service people have generally been rude, and try to scam us out of every extra kip they can. Children you encounter know two English words: “hello”, and “money” (please). Experienced travelers I’ve met tell me that this is the worst they’ve seen this behavior. It’s exhausting.

Then there’s the smoke. This is a seasonal problem not exclusive to Laos, but it is oppressive. From the slow boat we saw many brush fires on the mountain, most of which I believe are intentionally started.

So I’m not looking to stay for the full month my visa allows, and instead I am planning to re-enter Thailand in time for Songkran. In the meantime, though, I am still enjoying myself - especially the time I get to spend being social with like-minded travelers.