After a 3.5 hour minibus to the Lao-Thai border, immigration control exit from Laos, a five minute boat ride across the river, immigration control entrance to Thailand, a quick tuk-tuk ride to the bus station, concluding with a 3 hour local bus ride, we made it to Chiang Rai. Inner city Chiang Rai is described as more of a livable city than a tourist attraction and this proved to be true for us as well. The main tourist attraction is a very modern and recently built White Temple located about 10 kilometers south of the city center. The design was so unique and over the top that you wouldn’t be surprised if it showed up outside of hotel in Vegas. Apart from the White Temple, the rest of the tourist attractions are all located north of the city and require a visitor to rent a car, take a motorbike or charter a minibus to visit them. We found a great deal and chartered a semi-private minibus to haul us around to the sites. The “attractions” included the Black Temples, the Golden Triangle (an area of land where Thailand, Laos and Burma collide and previously known as one of the world’s largest opium growing sites), the border town of Mae Sai, which connects Thailand and Burma and an Opium Museum (who knew heroine was derived from opium?). However, when we recapped everything we visited, nothing was that memorable or anything we would suggest to fellow travelers.

Due to the lack of touristic activities in Chiang Rai city, we decided to escape to the hills of Northern Thailand for two nights to breathe in some fresh air. The questionably rated top Bed and Breakfast on Trip Adviser is a nine bungalow retreat located about 25 kilometers (but nearly an hour by car) west of town. We were able to spend a couple of days in nature and explore the countryside on foot. We hiked through the hills and came across a beautiful waterfall, two local villages, a tea plantation and hot springs where you can actually boil eggs in the water. While the hike was at some points quite rigorous, it was very relaxing to be in nature, as well as take in the views from the hammock on the porch of our very rustic bungalow. We also met some good ol’ Americans who had spent quite a bit of time living in China and it was great to hear about their experiences abroad.

After a few days in Chiang Rai, we took a short bus ride south to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a large, walled city and the most well-known and visited location in Northern Thailand. Inside the city walls are several spectacular temples, where we found a group of young Monks willing to speak with us about their life. Contrary to our previous beliefs, deciding to become a monk may be as simple as wanting to hang out with your friends who have decided to leave the countryside. Some even aspire to better their English and eventually become tour guides.

Similar to Chiang Rai, many of the attractions are located outside of the city and are frequented via various package tours. We were “toured” out and decided to rent a motorbike for the day and explore the mountains on our own. We stopped at an elephant farm, came across a Palmist community and drove through strawberry fields in the countryside. The strawberries are very, very sweet up here.

The next day we woke up bright and early and took a half day cooking class. The cooking class included a trip to the local market to learn about the ingredients that make Thai food so delicious and concluded with each of us cooking four Thai dishes. We were surprised how easy Thai cooking can be when you have all of the ingredients already measured, chopped and prepared for you! Our second surprise was the large amount of palm sugar and fish sauce that goes into each dish. More sugar and salt please? Our favorite dishes were Tom Yum and coconut and chicken soups, along with a spicy papaya salad. It was also great to cook and hang with our new Polish friends.. We spent the afternoon enjoying massages and drinking medicinal teas and sweet coffees and topped off the day with a visit to the best Khao Soy stall in town. Not a bad way to spend the day.

We are currently on a 12 hour train (without a food cart) bound for Bangkok where we will spend a few days picking up some travel necessities and relaxing before we depart Southeast Asia and head to our next destination … India.

Getting a massage at a temple

Our favorite Northern Thai dish, Khia Soy

Our final product in our cooking class, coconut soup and chicken with cashews

Our ingredients for the cooking class

Palmist commune house

Jumbo ball soup

Elephant farm in Chiang Mai

Rustic bungalow (can you find the sink?…we couldn’t either)

Tea plantation in Chiang Rai

Relaxin’

View from our bungalow in Chiang Rai

White Temple

Burma border

Golden Triangle (Laos, Thailand and Burma)

Cooking class