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Friday morning and it was time to leave Laos. We walked to the customs checkpoint and had our visas stamped to exit, then hopped on a long boat to cross the Mekong Rive to Chiang Khong in Thailand. This boat trip only took 5 minutes then we were passing through Thai customs. We had bought bus tickets to Chiang Mai already, so once we were stamped into the country, we took a tuk tuk to the bus station, hopped in a mini-van and we were on our way. This was definitely one of the nicest "bus" rides we've had in a long time; the minivan was newer, had good air circulation, and wasn't overfilled so there was plenty of leg room. The 5.5 hour ride was smooth and went by quickly.
We had been given some suggestions on where to stay by some of our Gibbon Experience friends, so we strapped on our packs and tramped across the city to the Old Town, which is located inside what used to be a moated, walled city (some of the wall is still intact, but it is mostly gone now). We asked around a few places until we found a cheap but decent room with a fan. We went out for a great Thai curry dinner and were walking around the city when we ran into Tim, our French friend that we'd met on the bus from Nong Khiaw. We walked around with him for a bit, and went to hang out with him during his dinner so we could share our seperate Gibbon stories. Since we had already eaten, we just ordered drinks, and I noticed there was apple pie on the menu. While I normally avoid anything but homemade apple pie, it had been too long so I ordered it. It was AMAZING - and definitely made fresh at that restaurant. Somehow, even in northern Thailand, they got it right. What a treat!
When Mark and I went back to our guesthouse, we realized what was different about Chiang Mai compared to everywhere we'd been in Laos. It did not cool down at night! Everywhere in Laos, it was very hot during the day, but mercifully cool during the evening and night. Here, this is not the case. It is sweltering during the day and doesn't manage to cool down at night. Our cheap room with the fan was a sauna, no real air circulation, and only an old creaky fan to help cool us down. Pair this with an old, springy bed, and we were in for a cranky sleep. We had already booked in for 2 nights, but made plans to search for a new place during the day.
We had a hot Saturday in Chiang Mai, and spent the hottest part of the day hiding out, trying to keep cool. The ever-present fresh fruit shakes definitely help with this, but we were left craving a dip in a nice, cold pool. So, we walked around in the afternoon and booked a bunch of nights at a hotel across the Old City with aircon in the room and a big pool in the garden. Nearing the end of our trip, we need to treat ourselves a bit, right?
We walked around the Saturday night market before meeting up with Tim again for dinner. The market was alright, but I think we were a bit spoiled by the amazing one in Luang Prabang. This one was neat though, because they close down the whole street just once a week for this market. There is one on Sunday night, as well, closer to our new hotel. We had an incredible Thai meal with Tim (best yellow curry, ever!), and again I had the treat of apple pie for dessert!
This morning (Sunday), we packed up out of the sauna bedroom and made the sweaty trek across the city to our new room. The pool is calling me right now, but tonight we're going to hit up the Sunday night market and we have plans to visit the Elephant Nature Park to see some rescued elephants tomorrow. There is a lot to do in this city an we're finding more and more ways to help beat the heat!
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