I made it back to Thailand from Nepal in really lousy shape. I was hoping to spend several days in Chiang Mai taking care of some personal business over the internet, relaxing, getting messages, and gorging myself on fiery curries and icy frappes. Illness wrecked all but the first ambition. I think that I had two infections going at once, an ear or throat infection (running around in the cold with a wet head--not a good idea) and a parasitic infection (drinking water from the village well without treating it--extraordinarily stupid idea). I felt bad enough that I actually went to the hospital to seek medical attention and antibiotics. The doctors and nurses fees were nominal. The antibiotics cost me over 950THB (USD32). I wasn’t sure about the parasites, but I knew the meds wouldn’t do any damage if I was wrong. On top of that they only cost 81THB (less than USD3).
After 4 days of rest and recuperation at the RCN Court in Chiang Mai, I pressed on to Chiang Rai. I got to have a look at the night bizarre there and I found some incredible jewelry. I tried to ask the woman who was selling it if she made it herself, but she didn’t understand the English and my Thai phrasebook is in a box on it’s way back to Kansas. The Australian fellow I met during my Khao Yai trek, Sir Richard, had mentioned that during one of his trips he had purchased a suitcase full of jewelry at the weekend market in Bangkok and gone home and sold it for a handsome profit. That idea popped into my mind when I saw this woman’s pieces. Some of the jewelry that I saw in Nepal really caught my eye too. I stayed out in the evening as long as I dared because I hadn’t chosen my guesthouse very well. I wanted a room that was close to the bus station, and I ended up with one that smelled of old cigarette smoke and was near a very raucous outdoor bar. I went back to my room, worked on my computer for a while, turned out the light, and prayed that morning would come quickly.
In the morning, I took a walk around Chiang Rai and visited a few of the temples. If I had more time and a better place to stay, I would have liked to spent some more time exploring, but I have four other countries to visit. It’s time to move on to Laos. I picked up the 12:00 bus to Chiang Khong, and I spent two and a half hours looking at a northern Thai landscape that looks thirsty for the monsoon. I have never done a land border crossing and I was a bit nervous. I got off the bus in Chiang Khong. I shouldered my large pack for the two kilometer hike to the boat landing just to see if I could handle it. I lightened the load in Chiang Mai, and it was still heavy, or maybe my strength hasn’t come back fully. I was so happy to make it to the boat landing for the ferry across the Mekong that I didn’t even care that the charge has gone up to 40 Baht. I don’t know what I was so nervous about. The visa on arrival procedure was very simple and it only cost me USD35 for a 30-day visa into Laos. Unfortunately, I found out too late that the slow boat that I was planning to take to Luang Prabang was not running because the water level was too low. I’m not even a week into my Mekong River adventure and I have to stray away from the river. I didn’t want to have to take a bus to Luang Prabang, but I didn’t want to go back to Thailand either. I was stuck.
