HEADING TO LAOS – LAST FEW DAYS IN THAILAND

My time in Thailand was nearly over, as we prepared to head over to Laos.

I could have definitely stayed in Pai for longer, but my 30 day visa was nearly up and I’m sure I’ll be back to visit again at some point.

RETURN TO CHIANG MAI

Leaving the hostel, I said my goodbyes to those I’d met there and jumped on a minibus to take me back down the nauseating route to Chiang Mai.

3 hours later I was reunited with the D-Well hostel and those I’d been travelling with in Pai, whom I was heading to Laos with.

Returning here felt a bit like coming home as I was already fairly familiar with the city and the hostel – I was rewarded with a bottom bunk in one of the new rooms. #winning

JAZZ!

Having got a taste for jazz music during my time in Pai, and following a friend’s recommendation, we headed to the open mic night at the North Gate Jazz Co-op.

There were some tremendous musicians here and an amazing vibe and the saxophonist who was hosting was incredibly talented. At one point he was playing two saxophones at once. Showboating a little perhaps, but it was pretty ace.

If you’re in Chiang Mai on a Tuesday night, definitely check this out.

Jazz open mic night at the North Gate Jazz co-op

YOGA

The following day, having never tried yoga before I decided to roll a dice on whether to join a friend or not.

The dice said yes, so off I went to my very first yoga class. I’m not particularly flexible and wasn’t really looking forward to the experience of being a total beginner in the class, but as it turned out I loved it and will definitely give it another try during my travels. Thanks dice.

Yoga in Chiang Mai

NIGHT MARKET

Our last night in Chiang Mai before heading to Chiang Khong, we decided to check out the night market for food and a few drinks.

The highlight for me was this incredible ice cream stand, where they use a cold plate and make the ice cream individually to order. Watching the process was mesmerising.

HEADING TO CHIANG KHONG

The next day we left Chiang Mai and started our journey towards the border town of Chiang Khong.

We’d booked a package from Travel Hub to get us all to Laos. This cost us 2,000 Bhat per person and included:

• Transport to Chiang Khong with a stop off at the white temple in Chiang Rai
• 1 night’s accommodation in Chiang Khong
• Transport to the border crossing
• Transport to the river Mekong boarding point
• Two days on the slow boat cruise down the river Mekong when in Laos

Quite a good deal all in all!

WHITE TEMPLE AT CHIANG RAI

Heading out on our minibus we stopped at Chiang Rai after a couple of hours, giving us a chance to get out and view the White Temple (or Wat Rong Khun as it’s known in Thai).

I’d seen plenty of temples in Thailand and so I wasn’t particularly fussed about seeing another, but this was something special!

Wat Rong Khun – the white temple

The white colour of the temple is meant to signify the purity of the buddha and the building was coated in small pieces of glass or mirrors which gleamed in the sunlight.

Walking across a bridge towards the temple, was a pit with sculptures of hundreds of outstretched hands, which symbolise human suffering and hell:

Hands of suffering at the white temple

The bridge over this area and towards the temple is symbolic of overcoming human suffering, temptations and greed and is the path to happiness and enlightenment.

There were many references to death and rebirth around the temple. Such as the skull motifs on top of posts on the perimeter:

Here’s a few other random pictures of the temple:

I don’t know what’s going on here though! Answers on a postcard….

The temple itself still isn’t complete as there are a number of buildings still to be constructed and some that haven’t yet been covered in the individually placed mirrors. I heard that it isn’t scheduled to complete until 2070! That’s one hell of an undertaking!

ARRIVING IN CHIANG KHONG

Leaving the white temple, we drove for another couple of hours before arriving in Chiang Khong.

This place is located on the banks of the River Mekong, which separates Thailand and Laos and is typically visited for making the crossing over to Laos.

We had one night booked at a hotel as part of the package deal, but reading the reviews about the place it seemed quite basic, so we booked separately into a hostel nearby named the Funky Box!

Sociable bunch

We headed out for a couple of drinks in the town that evening. There wasn’t much to the place, but we found a great little bar where we could take over the stereo and play our own tunes and the gin was fairly cheap.

After several gins we headed back to the hostel to rest up before making the journey across the border.

Au revoir Thailand. On to Laos!!!