So I'm up, with the help of 2 alarms and I get all my stuff packed. Still feeling a little strange after my nightly encounter. I have all my stuff ready and head downstairs for 7.30, for once the bus is on time and I climb in to the mini van. There are only 3 people in the van so I figure that I must be one of the early pickups, but we only pick up 2 more people before we hit the main road. For some reason the are 3 of us in the front seat, while seats behind lie empty, I don't know why this French guy has moved to sit beside me, especially as we are now not picking anyone else up. At the first stop I'll be relocating to get some room to myself. It's very unusual to have a minivan empty, they are normally rammed, and therefore cramped and uncomfortable. This on the other hand is great, after the first stop I move to a seat of my own and get to recline to aid comfort and sleep. The only thing hindering my sleep is the absolute lunacy in the way our driver is driving. I don't know how he didn't kill anybody, driving so fast and so close to cars it is frightening. At one point he missed taking out a Moto by about 1 inch, that is no exaggeration. Even though there are lanes on the roads our driver creates a new path by straddling the lines, flying over chevrons and going straight in a left only lane. I must hand it to him, he does a good job, though it is at the expense of his passengers. Amazingly there is no horn, or light flashing at our suicidal driving, Sven though at some points he is so close to the car in front that he could kiss it. At the first stop we all talk about the rally stage and a woman teacher, who is on the visa run, asks him to slow down, because we don't want to die. We all get a chance to get our breath back and change our trousers before It's time to get going again. Let's see how that goes.
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Needless to say we make it to the border in record time. With the bus driver not stopping for man nor beast. It is actually when he gets in to the towns that his driving becomes much worse, out on the highway it's not so bad, but when faced with cars and lights he turns in to a mad man! So here is how it works. The bus will wait for us for an hour and in that time we will get stamped out of Thailand, get stamped in to Burma, where we can visit a market, then get stamped out of Burma and finally stamped in to Thailand again, complete with a 14 day visa. It's fairly straightforward and I am heading round with some English guy from the bus, who's name I can't remember, it's not important.
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So we get to Burma and decide to go to the market. This involves leaving our passport and get a temporary card with our picture on it. Similar to other markets that I have been to except on a larger and more structurally sophisticated scale. Most of the stalls take the form of buildings and in some parts it is more reminiscent of a shopping centre than a market. We are getting hassled, hard, by the locals. Grabbing my hand and one boy slipping Viagra in to my pocket, telling me it was for a 'good price, very cheap' God only knows what it actually is. There is all manner of fake goods here, and some of them are exceptional copies, some, not so much. The 'iPad' isn't even the same shape, just has an Apple logo on it, ha. We wander around for about 20mins before we head back. The English guy is like a kid in a sweet shop, all wide eyed and excited about what he could buy. He has been in Thailand for 2 months and I'm starting to wonder if he has ever been to a market. We get out of Burma and get out passports back before entering Thailand. Job done. Much quicker than Poipet, which was a complete joke. Back down to the bus and we are on our way. It's only about an hour back to Chiang Rai and I should be there by 2, a good 2 hours earlier than I had expected. Works out well because that is the time that Bo's bus gets in, so I can meet her at the station. of course this bus driver has no idea where the bus station is and so after a while an American in the bus pipes up and ends up giving him directions to it. Handy. I get out at the bus station and wish everyone on the bus the best of luck an hope they get back the Chiang Mai in one piece.
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I meet Bo and we look to buy a bus ticket for tomorrow, back to Bangkok. They only have first class, which Bo is not happy about, she wants VIP. Ha. So I tell her that my plan is to go to a coffee shop, hook up the wifi and find somewhere to stay, while asking around for the best price for our bus ticket. Bo is a strange creature, she rented a Moto in Chaing Mai and got friendly with the guy. Anyway, he gave her a number of a guy in Chiang Rai who could help her get tickets and accommodation. I explain that we can do it ourselves and can get something we are happy with, but she is of the belief that Thai people know best. Fine, whatever. So she calls the guy and he appears. He speaks so little English that it is nearly impossible to explain what we want, so Bo has to phone the guy back in Chiang Mai to explain in Thai to this guy. Ohhh my God! So we walk round a couple of places looking for tickets with this guy, Bo is not using Asian English and is blabbing away with words the guy doesn't understand, he in turn is talking to the woman in the ticket office in Thai about I don't know what. Amidst all this talking we are getting no where. The woman at the counter speaks better English than the guy so I wade in and get the info. I ask for a bus for tomorrow night at 6.40pm to give us time to see the temple and something else. Done, bought. Bo is still asking questions about VIP and if there is free food and how long it will take etc. All of which don't matter, because they just lie to you anyway, which I tell Bo, not that she believes me. After this the guy wants to take us to some accommodation. I have personally had enough of this game of charades. It is better to talk directly with a hotel, not through this guy, who, although he means well, just doesn't understand enough English. Bo reluctantly agrees and thanks the guy for his help but then starts to feel bad that she didn't go with him. I get some info online and we head to the first place. Knowing what female travellers are like, I wait downstairs with the bags and let Bo check it out. What a surprise, she doesn't like it. I whip out old google maps, just to locate something nearby, next place we get to. Bo is happy, so we get checked in, at last I can take my bag off.
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It's dinner time and I know there is a night bazaar here, so we get our bags packed and off we go. The market had the same stuff as Chiang Mai, and is no where near as impressive. However we follow the music and come out at this large square. A stage at one end with live music, food stalls running up both side, must be at least 80 different places to eat. The middle is reserved for seating and tables. It is packed, this is where the people come. We browse around the food stalls and get some grub, Bo has a hot pot and some shrimp, I opt for a kebab and chicken pad Thai. The music is broken up with a stand up act presented by a ladyboy, obviously all in Thai, but people are laughing away, so he must be alright. After food we head for a walk towards the clock tower, a lovely golden beauty with a walkway up the middle of the road, illuminated with LED arches. Very nice. Again it is pap time for me while Bo pulls the Asian classics. After this I see a pub across the street. A wee sneaky beer before bed I think. Though when we get back Bo continues to talk until 2.30, I think I just fell asleep in the middle of her talking. Ha